By Valeria Bula
Donning an orange paint covered face, faded blonde wig, and suit, Alec Baldwin has made his Trump impression on Saturday Night Live a pop culture icon, a source of comedic relief at a time when our nation is more divided than ever.
From politically charged Golden Globe award speeches to controversy inducing commercials, rallies, movements, and mockery on national television, pop culture is now, more than ever, at a crossroads with politics as comedy is increasingly becoming a mechanism for political commentary.
With notable figures such as Stephen Colbert, Conan O’Brien, Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Trevor Noah and Samantha Bee, political satire has taken the center stage in entertainment; here, skits and episodes are dedicated to mocking, commentating, and providing a comedic and informative —sometimes biased—view on current politics, eliciting both admiration and outrage amongst audiences.
To many, these figures serve as a voice for others. Through the use of jokes and by picking on radicalism and disparities, they are not just providing comedic relief but warning and educating their viewers.
In the aftermath of Trump’s victory, these comedians and journalists seized the time to stand up and call for unity, and to question their own role in getting here. Today, they continue to report and place the government’s faults under the spotlight.
Right after the election, even comedians didn’t have the heart to laugh, however, now, with a Trump White House, they have taken a different approach in skewering the president— the persistent mockery of the president for entertainment has become the norm.
“Politics used to be something we thought about every four years—maybe two years if you didn’t have a lot of social life. And that’s good we didn’t think about it that much, because it left room in our lives for other things, and for other people,” said Stephen Colbert, host of the Late Show. “Now politics is everywhere, and that takes up precious brain space we could be using to remember all the things we actually have in common. So, whether your side won or lost, we don’t have to do this for a while.”
The President himself has also taken this into account, adding to his existing distaste for pop culture and the press.
“Frankly, the way the show is going now,” said Trump in a phone interview with the Today show regarding SNL, “who knows how long that show is going to be on?”
Similarly, many see the spoofs as absurd and not aiding in mitigating the current disparities. Politics and entertainment are collapsing into each other, converting dire events and issues into a joke and further rejecting our new president.
Political comedy can be found everywhere these days as Samantha Bee continues to mock Trump and rally for feminists, Stephen Colbert sarcastically addresses news, and the American population grows increasingly divided. Courting both praise and hate, comedians will ultimately continue to have their place in today’s politics.
