Satire TV Politics and Comedy in the Post-Network Era [Hardcover]

Satirical TV has become mandatory viewing for citizens wishing to make sense of the bizarre contemporary state of political life. Shifts in industry economics and audience tastes have re-made television comedy, once considered a wasteland of escapist humor, into what is arguably the most popular source of political critique. From fake news and pundit shows to animated sitcoms and mash-up videos, satire has become an important avenue for processing politics in informative and entertaining ways, and satire TV is now its own thriving, viable television genre.

Satire TVexamines what happens when comedy becomes political, and politics become funny. A series of original essays focus on a range of programs, fromThe Daily ShowtoSouth Park,Da Ali G ShowtoThe Colbert Report,The BoondockstoSaturday Night Live,Lil BushtoChappelles Show, along with Internet D.I.Y. satire and essays on British and Canadian satire. They all offer insights into what todays class of satire tells us about the current state of politics, of television, of citizenship, all the while suggesting what satire adds to the political realm that news and documentaries cannot.

“It has been said that if you have to explain a joke, it’s not funny. This wonderful collection proves that nothing could be farther from the truth.Satire TVtakes the study of comedy in new directions, expanding beyond earlier work done on classical Hollywood cinema and the sitcom. In politically trying times, the contributors to this volume reveal through analysis of programs such asSouth Park,The Daily Show, andThe Colbert Report, laughter is not the best medicine—it is the surgeons scalpel.”
-Heather Hendershot,editor ofNickelodeon Nation: The History, Politics and Economics of America’s Only TV Channel for Kids

“This smart and savvy crew has noticed something creeping up on uslÃS