August 29, 2011|By Amy Bree Becker
About the blogger: Amy Bree Becker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mass Communication & Communication Studies at Towson University. Her research considers the impact of political comedy and political entertainment on everyday life. She also studies public opinion and participation on controversial political issues like the same-sex marriage debate.
Professor Becker will share her top 5 political comedy picks each month.
For more about Dr. Becker, visit her website or check out her new blog, Fresh Politics, New Media.
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Top 5 Political Comedy Highlights from August 2011
- The Daily Show correspondents preview the candidate tents at the Iowa Straw Poll
The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10cIndecision 2012 - Corn Polled Edition - Candidate Tent Coveragewww.thedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogThe Daily Show on FacebookThe Daily Show correspondents – Samantha Bee, Wyatt Cenac, Aasif Mandvi, and John Oliver -- offer an entertaining preview of the candidate tents at the Iowa Straw Poll on the August 11th broadcast. The segment focuses on all of the “attractions” being offered at the various candidate tents and the arrival of Sarah Palin’s bus tour. The best part of the segment -- which should be especially hilarious for those familiar with Rick Santorum’s Google problem (Google “Rick Santorum” and you get this site as the top result) – is Wyatt Cenac’s visit to Santorum headquarters and his consumption of the Pennsylvania senator’s homemade peach jelly. Apparently, among other things, it’s sugar free and doesn’t taste very good. Throughout the month of August, The Daily Show correspondents did a great job of keeping us up-to-date on events in Iowa and around the country. For more on The Daily Show correspondents see item #3 in this month’s list.
2. The heroes of Stephen Colbert’s Super PAC respond
The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cColbert Super PAC - The Heroes Respondwww.colbertnation.comColbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogVideo ArchiveStephen Colbert has received some serious media attention for his Colbert Super PAC with many media outlets questioning the true political impact of Colbert’s fundraising and television advertising efforts. The Super PAC can accept unlimited donations from supporters, and Colbert is free to promote his Super PAC as often as he likes during his half-hour time slot on Comedy Central, a Viacom media property. To date, more than 165,000 fans of the show have signed up as members of the Colbert Super PAC, and a good portion have given donations in support of the group’s attempt at “Making a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow.” During recent broadcasts, the names of these 165,000 fans have been scrolling across the bottom of the television screen – Colbert’s “scroll of heroes.” As Colbert pointed out on the August 4th broadcast, some of the names – including the all too funny “Suq Madiq” – are made-up. Colbert has a hard time getting through the segment once he mentions Suq’s parents “Liqa Madiq” and “Munchma Quchi.” Colbert’s giggles make the clip especially comical, and that’s why I’ve listed it in my Top 5 for August. Frequent viewers of the show will note his repeated recycling of the “Munchma Quchi” joke in subsequent August broadcasts.
3. John Oliver’s “The Forecloser”
