Satire In The Daily Show

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The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, CNN, Fox News: all popular news shows. Yet two of them are dissimilar. CNN and Fox News are news shows committed to truthful journalism. The Colbert Report and The Daily Show are what many call “fake news”. These shows are parodies of American culture and news, simulacrums. A "representation that does not reflect reality in any meaningful way, but...treated as real”. The Daily Show mimics traditional news show, parodying them in every way. It remains unconcerned with presenting accurate news. Its entire premise is to amuse. Trevor Noah, the host, blends the lines between reality and his own sarcastic commentary. Rare is the moment Noah breaks character to explain the difference. This show defines …show more content…
The host sits at a clean glass desk, a glowing map of the world behind him. The audience, along with the staff, remain tucked behind the cameras' eyes. Noah is the focus, a lone host with occasional guests. The set-up isn't dissimilar to shows on Fox News. Noah begins the show with a serious pose, starting the segment as a true reporter might. The subject is the Democratic Presidential Candidate Debate in Las Vegas. The “coverage” derails into a mockery of Hillary Clinton's stilted speech. Moving on from Clinton, Noah mocks the rest of the candidates in turn. None were safe from the commentary on their performance. The show did not debate the legitimacy of the candidates nor their suitability. Instead, it mocks their responses and how Americans perceive them. . The show goes "live" to fake representatives. They parody the candidates and their generated opinions of them. Even CNN fails to escape the satire. The show replays videos of CNN reporters repeating themselves over and over again. The audience laughs at how inane it seems, Noah encouraging it. The Daily Show mocks the thing it mimics, traditional news shows. On the surface, the parody appears real. Everything from the stage to the segments themselves appear to be authentic. For viewers who are unable to understand the parody, the false images replace truth. Noah's last segment further supports the uneasy "realness" of The Daily Show. …show more content…
When I do watch political news, it often comes from simulacrum shows like The Daily Show. Shows that have a large, unassuming influence on its viewers. Even as I watched the show, I felt myself forming opinions on candidates I had never heard of before. Trevor Noah introduced them to me. A man who has the job of ridiculing them. At what point does the satire turn into political perceptions? Satires comment on America’s politics, but these comments are often misunderstood. The Colbert Report, in its ten season run, often fell under scrutiny for twisting truth. In 2014, #CancelColbert began trending on social media. A twitter activist saw an out of context quote from the show and became enraged. The quote was a parody on racism in elite white men, but became viewed as racist itself. The issue finally ended when Colbert aired a segment explaining his side of the story. By that time, the original purpose of the satire had vanished. The activist herself fell under attack. #CancelColbert only provoked ridicule of advocates. These shows often raise awareness of problematic issues. Taken out of context they are
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