Why We Can't Get Enough of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Bill Maher

By Jeffrey Jones and Jonathan Gray and Ethan Thompson, NYU Press. Posted May 9, 2009.

By the time Lil’ Bush aired in 2007, American political culture had changed drastically, largely related to events such as the shock of 9/11, two disastrous wars, the flouting of the Geneva Conventions abroad, threats to civil liberties at home, a lapdog Congress, Republican Party corruption and scandals, and an endless barrage of PR, smear campaigns, fake news, spin, and outright lies—and nary an admittance by the administration that mistakes had been made. The ignorance and arrogance of Bush and his team of advisors no longer seemed benign, but childish. The public mood had soured from its somewhat disinterested stance toward politics to one of extreme displeasure (as seen by Bush’s historically low approval ratings). But the changes in political culture did not lead citizens to be more mindful and watchful by intensifying their newspaper reading or network television news watching. Rather, citizens seemingly sought some form of solace by either watching the patriotic cheerleading supplied by Fox News (resulting in Fox becoming the cable news ratings leader) or watching new satirical forms of political television that supplied quite meaningful critiques of politics for those disgusted with the state of affairs and journalism’s seeming disinterest in helping to rectify it. From The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report on Comedy Central to Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, cable television now regularly supplied programming that was entertaining, yet highly critical of politicians and the news media that support them.

Lil’ Bush reflects the frustration of the times. Its caricature is not nuanced, and it is more amusing than belly-laugh funny. It is an exercise in contempt. It is satire largely because of its gross exaggerations of political figures and their policies. But satire is not necessarily funny. Dictionary definitions of satire often include the notion of holding something or someone in contempt. And British satirist Rory Bremner contends that satire includes a “comic resolution of anger.” Jonathan Gray has written of the need for audience researchers to recognize the viewing practices associated with anti-fandom, or the visceral enjoyment that comes from loathing certain programs or personalities. The observation can be extended to include the representation of politics and political figures on television. Some forms of political satire may be enjoyable to watch for no other reason than they offer a venue through which citizens can revel in their disgust, loathing, and outright anger at certain aspects of political life.

Lil’ Bush is not necessarily funny or profound but is dripping with contempt for the Bush administration. Lil’ Bush reminds us that while television as an entertainment medium usually demands that all satire be funny, simply being able to participate in the public display and celebration of contempt, anger, and outrage is why Lil’ Bush matters. It also matters because it becomes one of the several television programs that have helped write the “meaning” of the Bush presidency while he is still in office. If journalism is the first draft of history, as the saying goes, then the elevation of television satire as a popular and legitimate avenue for processing the meaning of politics in contemporary society means that programs like That’s My Bush! and Lil’ Bush, as bookends to the Bush presidency, provide a poignantly sour counterpoint to those early drafts. And the second draft that emerges from the caricatures in these shows is not the “fallible yet funny” human being qua SNL. This draft, instead, is about the person who inhabits the most powerful political office in the world—the President of the United States— whether it be written as “President Dumbass” or “Resident Evil.”

 Click here to buy a copy of Satire TV: Politics and Comedy in the Post-Network Era.

See more stories tagged with: media, television, political comedy

Jeffrey P. Jones is Associate Professor of Communication and Theatre Arts at Old Dominion University.

Jonathan Gray is Assistant Professor of Communication and Media studies at Fordham University.

Ethan Thompson is Assistant Professor of Communications at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi.

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from Media and Technology! Sign up now »