Is Satire Saving Our Nation? Mockery and American Politics

Does satire strengthen or weaken public perceptions of politics? While political satire is nothing new, talk shows and news parody shows have taken this form of entertainment to new—and arguably powerful—heights. As the social media-savvy millennial generation enters the voting pool, they continue to redefine notions of engaged citizenship and activism. Referencing scholarship on the state of democracy and media, McClennen and Maisel examine the critical potential of satire and the satirists most prominent in the nation today. They show us that one thing is certain: post-9/11 satire exercises tremendous influence on public opinion and is shaping a new version of US democracy.

Sophia A. McClennen is Professor of International Affairs and Comparative Literature at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, where she directs the Center for Global Studies. Her research focuses on the intersections between culture, politics, and society. She has published six books, most recently Colbert's America: Satire and Democracy (Palgrave 2011) and Neoliberalism, Terrorism, Education (Paradigm 2013), which she wrote with Jeffrey Di Leo, Henry Giroux, and Kenneth Saltman. In addition she has published over 60 essays and edited six special journal issues. She blogs regularly for Huffington Post and has blogged in Truthout, Counterpunch, and other sites as well. She has been interviewed by Wall Street Journal TV, HuffPost Live, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, TV Newser, Cronk News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Politico, Variety, The Hill, NPR-Miami, NPR-Brownsville, and Media Post among others. Her website is: sophiamcclennen.com. Find her on Twitter @mcclennen65.

Remy Maisel is an undergraduate student at Penn State University in in the Presidential Leadership Academy and the College of Communications, in addition to blogging for the Huffington Post. Remy is pursuing a B.A. in Media Studies with an emphasis on Society and Culture. Remy has been inducted into Phi Kappa Phi honor society for the top 7.5% of Juniors in her second year, and Kappa Tau Alpha, the honor society for communications. Remy also appears as a panelist on HuffPost Live TV, and writes for Penn State Network TV. This semester, Remy completed an internship at Nickelodeon (Viacom) in Manhattan. She has also moderated a book discussion on 'Colbert's America: Satire and Democracy' by Sophia McClennen, in addition to having written several blog posts for HuffPost with her. Remy has also taught writing workshops at her alma mater, Clarkstown High School North, in Rockland, NY, alongside other published authors and alumni. Remy tweets, Instagrams, pins,Rreddits, and tumbles @remeanie. She has been interviewed by Colbert News Hub, the Huffington Post, Politico, and the Wall Street Journal, in addition to her appearances on HuffPost Live.

Table of contents

Preface

Chapter 1: The Politics of Seriously Joking

Chapter 2: Comedy U: Lessons Learned Where You Least Expect It

Chapter 3: Some of the News That's Fit to Print: Satire and the Changing News Cycle

Chapter 4: The Dynamic Duo: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert Redefine Political Satire

Chapter 5: When I Mock You, I Make You Better: How Satire Works

Chapter 6: Mesmerized Millennials and BYTE-ing satire: Or How Today's Young Generation Thinks

Chapter 7: Savin' Franklin: Satire Defends Our National Values
Chapter 8: Laughing So Hard I Could Cry: Analyzing the Satire Scare

Chapter 9: I'm Not Laughing at You, I'm Laughing With You: How to Stop Worrying and Love the Laughter