SNL - what satire is all about

SNL's recent political satire has definitely made the comedy show relevant again. Not only are millions of people waiting to see them lampoon the political candidates each weekend, but political shows are showing the footage and asking for commentary from pundits. Somehow satire has been made serious.

In light of SNL's sudden political relevance, we thought we'd link to one of our all-time favorite clips that illustrates what SNL has traditionally done well, cultural satire.




This is what satire is all about, going boldly where polite conversation fears to tread: in this case, the feminine vs the maternal. Nothing beats the clip they did putting Palin with Clinton (Fey & Poehler: Below). Nobody captured the tension inherent in that juxtaposition better. Pundits alluded to it but were unable to describe it well. SNL nailed it. SNL's particular approach to satire is also why those Couric/Palin interview spoofs were so damaging: they used Palin's responses verbatim. Palin came across as entirely incurious and unthoughtful. No matter how the talking heads tried to spin it, Palin looked every bit the unserious candidate she is.