SNL has a long history of impersonating political figures on its show. Usually the skits involve recent political events or situations where political figures have done something funny. A common skit, however, is an address from the current president. No on has done this better than Dana Carvey. His impersonation of George Bush Sr. is spot on and creates laughs every time he does it. He is no longer on SNL, but a sample skit of his can be found by following the link below.
Dana Carvey as Bush Sr.
Carvey exaggerates the accent and hand gestures of Bush Sr. to bring attention to the humorous aspects of his persona. This is best seen in the bit where Carvey doesn't say anything for a while but only communicates through various hand gestures which Bush Sr. presumably does.
Will Ferrell also does an impersonation, in this case George W. Bush, and when he did it on SNL it was one of the funniest skits they did. An example of this impersonation can be seen in the first minute of the link below.
Will Ferrell as George W. Bush
Most recently, Fred Armisen does an Obama impersonation which is in my opinion not as good as those of Ferrell and Carvey, but is still a crucial part of SNL (doing an impersonation of the president), so it is featured in many episodes in a similar way to how the Bush impersonations were frequented on the show. Armisen's impersonation can be seen in the link below.
Fred Armisen as Obama
Why do we like these impersonations so much though? I think it is because of the way that by impersonating the president, the most important figure in American culture, SNL brings down the president to the level of the ordinary American. He is someone, maybe not just like us but similar, who has flaws and humorous characteristics. Also, by laughing at the president, if you don't agree with some of his decisions it is a good way to vent those emotions. For those reasons SNL will most likely keep doing presidential impersonations for the duration of the show.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Commercials
Every now and then SNL will include in its show a parody of a commercial. These may either be a real commercial from current television that they find funny (see "Shake Weight" commercial posted below) or their own creation which makes fun of a type of store (see "Marble Columns" commercial posted below). Both commercials are funny because of either the images they use or the accents; the same general type of humor in most SNL skits. Each, however, also satires part of American culture by pointing out funny aspects of it.
Shake Weight Commercial - SNL
Actual Shake Weight Commercial
The Shake Weight commercial from SNL mimics the As Seen On TV product of the actual shake weight. It is a arm toning device designed for women. SNL took the actual commercial, accentuated the somewhat sexually suggested action that the Shake Weight requires, and made their own commercial. Their commercial takes the original Shake Weight and essentially turns it into pornographic material by offering the Shake Weight commercial on loop for men to watch. The premise of their idea is that the actual Shake Weight infomercial is by itself sexual enough to be pornography. This idea is very funny and points out the ridiculousness of the commercial that actually aires on television. SNL here is representing the American people in its views on the commercial. In this way SNL is trying to reach American society by representing its ideas and opinions on other features of American culture. In this way, SNL can represent American humor because it itself is a part of the American society that makes up the humor.
SNL Mom Jeans
SNL Marble Columns
These two commercials do not mimic any actual commercial, but carry on the idea that SNL is making fun of a culture which it is a part of. The "Mom Jeans" commercial plays on the idea of and American society which promotes certain aspects in mothers and that each mother fits a certain mold. This plays off the idea of the American dream and of a homogenous middle class, and satires both in the commercial. The features of the jeans are what SNL uses to satire the culture; the elongated fly and high waisted/ unflattering nature of the jeans come together to form an overall hilarious (but somewhat true) picture. The "Marble Columns" commercial makes fun of the mom and pop type of store often owned by immigrant families. The stores often sell items which are intended for the middle class, as in this one Mike is selling marble columns so that you will seem rich. This commercial also satires the American dream in its making fun of people actually willing to buy these columns in order to seem wealthy, the end goal of the dream. SNL parodies the columns by putting them in ridiculous places throughout the commercial such as in a bathroom or along your driveway. All of these commercials show how Americans like to laugh at themselves and reflect on their culture and its sometimes flawed/humorous aspects.
Shake Weight Commercial - SNL
Actual Shake Weight Commercial
The Shake Weight commercial from SNL mimics the As Seen On TV product of the actual shake weight. It is a arm toning device designed for women. SNL took the actual commercial, accentuated the somewhat sexually suggested action that the Shake Weight requires, and made their own commercial. Their commercial takes the original Shake Weight and essentially turns it into pornographic material by offering the Shake Weight commercial on loop for men to watch. The premise of their idea is that the actual Shake Weight infomercial is by itself sexual enough to be pornography. This idea is very funny and points out the ridiculousness of the commercial that actually aires on television. SNL here is representing the American people in its views on the commercial. In this way SNL is trying to reach American society by representing its ideas and opinions on other features of American culture. In this way, SNL can represent American humor because it itself is a part of the American society that makes up the humor.
SNL Mom Jeans
SNL Marble Columns
These two commercials do not mimic any actual commercial, but carry on the idea that SNL is making fun of a culture which it is a part of. The "Mom Jeans" commercial plays on the idea of and American society which promotes certain aspects in mothers and that each mother fits a certain mold. This plays off the idea of the American dream and of a homogenous middle class, and satires both in the commercial. The features of the jeans are what SNL uses to satire the culture; the elongated fly and high waisted/ unflattering nature of the jeans come together to form an overall hilarious (but somewhat true) picture. The "Marble Columns" commercial makes fun of the mom and pop type of store often owned by immigrant families. The stores often sell items which are intended for the middle class, as in this one Mike is selling marble columns so that you will seem rich. This commercial also satires the American dream in its making fun of people actually willing to buy these columns in order to seem wealthy, the end goal of the dream. SNL parodies the columns by putting them in ridiculous places throughout the commercial such as in a bathroom or along your driveway. All of these commercials show how Americans like to laugh at themselves and reflect on their culture and its sometimes flawed/humorous aspects.
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