Just like the many Second City alumni before him, Barack Obama, along with many other candidates in the 2008 election, left the Chicago scene and appeared on Saturday Night Live. SNL had arguably gone downhill in the 2000’s after the departure of Tina Fey, who was the first female head writer at Saturday Night Live. Luckily, Tina Fey returned to SNL to fulfill what seemed like an impression made just for her, Sarah Palin. In an acceptance speech for the Mark Twain Award, Fey said “I would be crazy if I didn’t thank Sarah Palin. My partial resemblance and her crazy voice are the two luckiest things that have ever happened to me” (“Tina Fey Acceptance Speech”). In the 2008 election, the voter turn out for the young population was extremely high, and I believe this correlates to the exact demographic that Saturday Night Live targets its show. Sarah Akers, a comedy student at Second City, doesn’t see herself in comedy but “in [her] wildest dreams [she’d] love to be standing up next to Tina Fey saying ‘Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night” (Akers). Not everyone watched the debates or followed the issues, but people did talk about the Sarah Palin, Barack Obama, John McCain and Hillary Clinton political sketches.
While stance of Saturday Night Live is proclaimed liberal, the show continued to spoof many candidates, but none more than Sarah Palin. The iconic sketch of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey portraying Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton was the first of many sketches that shaped how America viewed this relatively unknown political figure.
SNL touched on issues that are still relevant today in this first sketch, such as Palin’s mis-speaking and distance from the rest of the United States. Another notable and influential sketch was aired three days before the election, an episode that Presidential candidate, John McCain cameo-ed in. Just as in 1976, the episode 3 days before the election was crucial. During the sketch, ‘Sarah Palin’ declared defeat in the election and appealed to viewers: “Okay, listen up everybody I’m going rogue right now so keep your voices down. Available now we got a bunch of these Palin ’12 T-shirts. Just try to wait until after Tuesday to wear them, okay?” (“QVC”).
The influence of this skit went beyond the election and Sarah Palin even titled her book, “Going Rogue.” Tina Fey’s impression of Sarah Palin won her an Emmy in the category “Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.” Overall the political sketches and newly created Weekend Update Thursday with Seth and Amy (two comedians who also have Chicago roots), dramatically shaped the way the public was informed about candidates.
SNL touched on issues that are still relevant today in this first sketch, such as Palin’s mis-speaking and distance from the rest of the United States. Another notable and influential sketch was aired three days before the election, an episode that Presidential candidate, John McCain cameo-ed in. Just as in 1976, the episode 3 days before the election was crucial. During the sketch, ‘Sarah Palin’ declared defeat in the election and appealed to viewers: “Okay, listen up everybody I’m going rogue right now so keep your voices down. Available now we got a bunch of these Palin ’12 T-shirts. Just try to wait until after Tuesday to wear them, okay?” (“QVC”).
The influence of this skit went beyond the election and Sarah Palin even titled her book, “Going Rogue.” Tina Fey’s impression of Sarah Palin won her an Emmy in the category “Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.” Overall the political sketches and newly created Weekend Update Thursday with Seth and Amy (two comedians who also have Chicago roots), dramatically shaped the way the public was informed about candidates.
Political satire shaped the way that America responds to politics. Beginning as an underdog comedy troupe in 1959: “with international name recognition, annual revenues in the tens of millions, and a homegrown president it helped champion into the White House, [Second City] is no longer that” (Thomas 245). Second City created a name for itself in comedy, as well as a spring board for comedians to reach greater audiences and politically influence an entire nation on Saturday Night Live.
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