Adryana Santiago

Karen Williams

Satire: Swift to SNL

30 October 2019

Using Satire and Other Comedy to Teach Politics

As technology has become more advanced, instructors have been having a more difficult

time getting students interested in the topic of politics. Some instructors have found that using

comedy as a tool to educate the students, is an effective way of teaching. A survey was

distributed in 2008 to discover how students prefer to learn certain subjects in school. A survey

is one of the most commonly used research tools. Surveys are more likely to receive an honest

response, because they are anonymous and usually do not require any critical thinking. It only

gives the option to allow the students to express their opinion based off of the options they are

given. I believe that using satire to teach students about politics along with other subjects that

may not be considered “relevant” is a skillful way to teach.

In Beaver’s article he discusses his teaching approach for his research study. He decided

to ​ ​understand​ ​ the use of political satire with explicit discussion of the concept and goals of the

topic. He ensured that the use of the comedic clips he used were both steady and strategic. He

also made sure to include writing assignments that pushed students to analyze political satire in

different forms and lastly included various assessment components, which in the end included
student surveys. After the survey was completed 87% answered “yes” when asked if watching

the program”affected their interest in keeping up with/ or learning more about politics. (Beavers)

9 to 5 helped us learn about the nature of a male and female work environment. Although

the movie takes place in the early 1990s, the stuff discussed in that movie is still relevant today.

Women are still working without equal pay. It is also difficult for women to continue working if

they are forced to do so in a toxic work environment. 9 to 5 opened our eyes in a new light,

causing us to see things from the character's point of view and understand that there are real

problems with the work system. Being a movie, it was a lot easier for the characters to have

simple fixes such as creating flexible work hours, having a daycare system, and allowing

employees to work part time/ share shifts. There are a lot of companies that offer benefits such as

those listed, but the one thing they are all missing is equal pay. This film educated us about past

and current issues while also giving us a few laughs along the way.

Another movie we watched was Office Space. Office Space is also a workplace

environment type of movie, but takes a slightly different route. It allows us to relate to the

characters due to their daily struggles in the movie. The protagonist in this film is Peter and he

does not like the company he works for or his boss. This is a problem that a lot of people can

relate to and when we discussed it in class, a lot of people stated they were able to relate to his

character. The movie shows how being unsatisfied with your job and your boring lifestyle can

really end up affecting you later in life. This is something that everyone always thinks about but

no one ever discusses it. It is something that is always in the back of our minds and Office Space

allowed us to think it through and discuss common workplace issues with management, all while

having a comedic effect.

 Lastly “The Fey Effect” is a great example on how comedy can be used to educate

students about politics. Tina Fey participated in a skit on Saturday Night Live and acted as Sarah

Palin. Throughout the skit she dressed as Sarah Palin and answered interview questions sporting

her canadian accent. Throughout the interview Fey avoided answering the questions and

constantly changed the subject. Her doing this dramatized Palin’s interview a little bit, but also

showed us how politicians will dramatize their statements and speeches in order to sway the

public eye. It was comical to watch Tina Fey as Sarah Palin which made the topic of politics

easier for multiple audiences to understand.

In conclusion, as technology is advancing comedy is grasping students interest for topics

that they would usually consider irrelevant. Multiple instructors are now engaging their students

with different types of resources. Using satire and comedy videos to assist in educating students

is the best way for us to learn. Beaver’s case study proved that 87% answered “yes” when asked

if watching the program”affected their interest in keeping up with/ or learning more about

politics. Therefore, I believe that using satire and comedy videos to teach students about politics

along with other topics is a skillful way to teach.

 Bibliography

Beavers, Staci L. ​Political Science and Politics​, Vol. 44, No. 2 (April 2011), pp. 415-419.

American Political Science Association Stable [Accessed: 22-10-2019]