DOCSLIB.ORG

Uses and Purposes of Humor in Televised Presidential

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Uses and Purposes of Humor in Televised Presidential SERIOUSLY FUNNY: A LOOK AT HUMOR IN TELEVISED PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School University of Missouri-Columbia In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by DAVID MICHAEL RHEA Dr. William Benoit, Dissertation Supervisor DECEMBER 2007 The undersigned, appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation entitled SERIOUSLY FUNNY: A LOOK AT HUMOR IN TELEVISED PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES Presented by David M. Rhea A candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy And hereby certify that in their opinion it is worthy of acceptance. Professor William L. Benoit Professor Michael Kramer Professor Jon Hess Professor Glenn Leshner Professor John Petrocik ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS If it takes a village to raise a child, then I think it must also take a village to finish a dissertation and make a graduate student into a professor. There are many to thank but it starts at the top with Jesus. Thank you for being my Lord and Savior and providing me with the talent I did not know was there to complete a project like this and to be a solid teacher. Mom and dad, thanks for a chance at life helping me to be who I am. To Bill Benoit…what can I say, you are simply the best. Thanks for stepping up when I was facing awkward situation as my previous advisor left Missouri for a time. Thank you for all your comments and your patience throughout. Thanks for your feedback and helping me take a good idea and turning into a great paper. To the committee thank you for your questions and comments during our meetings together. I really appreciate all you did to make a good paper even stronger. To my coders Leslie Rill, Corey Davis, and Jack Smith: thanks for your time and effort coding. This project does not get done without you and I hope you had a good laugh watching all the debates. In addition to everyone that worked on the project, there group of friends that lifted me up and encouraged me throughout to thank. Jack and Francie Smith: you are like family to me. Thank you for helping me not to procrastinate, your suggestions, and listening to me talk ad nauseam about the paper. Kara Kam in Hawaii, thank you for all your encouragement. You have been with me for both degrees and your wisdom has been instrumental in helping to navigate through graduate school. The same can be said for Laura Triplett thanks for your encouragement and friendship throughout both degrees. Thanks also the church family at Fairview Road church of Christ in Columbia, MO. Thanks for being a family to me in Columbia: your warmth, friends, help to keep my ii focus on Christ was tremendous. Special thanks for encouragement for encouragement and friendship from church members including Eric Wilson, Abby Laurel Bell, Betsy Bledsoe, and Sarah Herrera. Lastly, a very special thanks goes to my undergraduate adviser Dr. Rick Rowland. Rick was the first person that saw I might have a gift for teaching. When I realized it for myself Rick was great in helping me to nurture my education and put me on a track to get through graduate school and become a professor. He gave me a chance to work on some research projects for the Pepperdine speech laboratory as an undergrad and develop my potential for doing research. Moreover, Rick did all this with helping me to focus on Christ as the central focus of my work and potential. Rick has also played a big role in my interest and passion for campus ministry and serving college students. I would most likely have a completely different makeup as a person were it not for Rick‟s place in my life and for that I am very grateful to Rick and to God. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ ii LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. x ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................1 Justification for the Study .............................................................................................2 A Significant Campaign Communication ............................................................................2 Humor is Unexpected and Memorable ................................................................................4 Humor Impacts Candidates ..................................................................................................5 Humor and Candidate Perception in Debates ......................................................................6 Inaccurate reporting .............................................................................................................7 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................................8 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................9 Presidential Debate Research .......................................................................................9 Debate Verbal Content .............................................................................................9 Functional Theory ..............................................................................................10 Clash strategies ..................................................................................................11 Incumbent and challenger strategies ..................................................................13 Debate style ........................................................................................................15 Questions............................................................................................................16 Media Coverage of Debates ...............................................................................................18 Debate as a story ...............................................................................................19 Content of debate news stories .........................................................................20 iv News verdicts ....................................................................................................23 Post-debate commentary ...................................................................................24 Humor Research .........................................................................................................25 Defining Humor .....................................................................................................26 Techniques of humor ........................................................................................27 Theories of Humor .................................................................................................29 Relief theory......................................................................................................30 Incongruity theory .............................................................................................31 Superiority theory .............................................................................................32 Effects of Humor......................................................................................................33 Credibility .........................................................................................................34 Persuasiveness...................................................................................................34 Political learning and participation ...................................................................35 Uses of Humor in Political Campaigns ..................................................................37 Speeches ............................................................................................................38 Entertainment talk shows .......................................................................................40 Political cartoons ...............................................................................................42 Vice presidential debates ..................................................................................44 New Contribution to the Discipline .......................................................................45 Conclusion .............................................................................................................47 Research Questions .....................................................................................................47 CHAPTER THREE: METHOD ........................................................................................57 Content Analysis ........................................................................................................57 v Defining Relevant Content ....................................................................................57 Study Design ..........................................................................................................57 Samples Analyzed ..................................................................................................58 U.S. presidential debates ...................................................................................58 Newspaper coverage of debates ........................................................................59 Unitizing Data ........................................................................................................60
Load more

Recommended publications
  • George Bush and the End of the Cold War. Christopher Alan Maynard Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
    Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 2001 From the Shadow of Reagan: George Bush and the End of the Cold War. Christopher Alan Maynard Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Maynard, Christopher Alan, "From the Shadow of Reagan: George Bush and the End of the Cold War." (2001). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 297. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/297 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI fiims the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction.. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps.
    [Show full text]
  • Inventory of Presidential Gifts at NARA (Ie, Gifts from Foreign Nations An
    Description of document: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) inventory of Presidential Gifts at NARA (i.e., gifts from foreign nations and others to Presidents that were transferred to NARA by law and stored by NARA, 2016 Requested date: 15-August-2017 Released date: 18-September-2017 Posted date: 11-June-2018 Note: Material released appears to only be part of the complete inventory. See note on page 578. Source of document: FOIA Request National Archives and Records Administration General Counsel 8601 Adelphi Road, Room 3110 College Park, MD 20740-6001 Fax: 301-837-0293 Email: [email protected] The governmentattic.org web site (“the site”) is noncommercial and free to the public. The site and materials made available on the site, such as this file, are for reference only. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals have made every effort to make this information as complete and as accurate as possible, however, there may be mistakes and omissions, both typographical and in content. The governmentattic.org web site and its principals shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly or indirectly, by the information provided on the governmentattic.org web site or in this file. The public records published on the site were obtained from government agencies using proper legal channels. Each document is identified as to the source. Any concerns about the contents of the site should be directed to the agency originating the document in question. GovernmentAttic.org is not responsible for the contents of documents published on the website.
    [Show full text]
  • What It Takes to Rebuild a Village After a Disaster
    WHAT IT TAKES TO REBUILD A VILLAGE AFTER A DISASTER: Stories from Internally Displaced Children and Families of Hurricane Katrina and Their Lessons for Our Nation A Katrina Citizens Leadership Corps Report Commissioned by the Children’s Defense Fund’s Southern Regional and Louisiana Offices Funding Provided By The W. K. Kellogg Foundation O God, Forgive and Transform Our Rich Nation© O God, forgive and transform our rich nation where small babies and children suffer from preventable diseases and sickness quite legally. Forgive and transform our rich nation where small children suffer from hunger quite legally. Forgive and transform our rich nation where toddlers and school children die from guns sold quite legally. Forgive and transform our rich nation that lets children be the poorest group of citizens quite legally. Forgive and transform our rich nation that lets the rich continue to get more at the expense of the poor quite legally. Forgive and transform our rich nation that thinks security rests in missiles and bombs rather than in mothers and in babies. Forgive and transform our rich nation for not giving You sufficient thanks by giving to others their daily bread. Help us never to confuse what is quite legal with what is just and right in Your sight. Help us as leaders and citizens to stand up in 2009 for all Your children and give them the anchor of faith, the rudder of hope, the sails of health care and education, and the paddles of family and community to navigate the tumultuous sea of life and land safely on the shore of adulthood.
    [Show full text]
  • Through the Gateway Association Pg
    www.gatewaybrownscreektrail.org Inside this Issue DNR and Feature Story Pg. 2 Have You Heard? Pg. 3 Through the Gateway Association Pg. 4-5 Announcements The Back Page Pg. 6 Volume 28 Issue 2 Fall-Winter 2020 President’s Letter by Beth Hayden You can already feel a new energy in the air as the days grow delightfully longer. I hope that energy takes you out on the trails to let the crisp clean air and the muffled silence of winter renew your spirits in the New Year. As you head out, have some fun looking for a few points of interest you may not have noticed in your wanderings. Seek out the mural honoring the Gandy Dancers, workers who historically maintained the original railroad tracks for the Soo Line. The stone bridge on Brown’s Creek Trail was constructed in the 1860s as part of a military road for troops heading off to serve in the Civil War. The 45th parallel, marking the halfway point between the North Pole and the Equator, crosses the trail near Flicek Park in Maplewood, connecting you at that moment to cities in France, Croatia, Mongolia and Japan, before circling back to the States through Oregon. Learn a little more about wetlands at the North St. Paul Urban Ecology Center, a 24-acre wetland restoration project, northwest of the intersection of McKnight Rd N. and South Avenue E. Pause on the Iron Bridge over Manning Ave. Built in 1873, it was originally located in Sauk Centre, MN, and was moved to various locations before becoming a permanent part of the Gateway route.
    [Show full text]
  • Extensions of Remarks
    15850 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS June 20, 1991 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS A PERSISTENT AMERICAN atom bombs, but the human race just went sions of Woodrow Wilson and the other YEARNING on producing more children by the same de­ prophets of eternal peace. lightful old-fashioned process anyway. My optimism didn't go quite that far. I I admired the optimistic spirit behind thought the long nightmare of an atomic HON. BOB TRAXLER President Bush's new world order, but I war was over for the foreseeable future, but OF MICHIGAN couldn't find much new in it other than his I had more modest dreams. I didn't believe in IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES war in the Middle East. He vowed it would new world orders that relied on fighting wars assure "for ourselves and for future genera­ rather than deterring them, or in United Na­ Thursday, June 20, 1991 tions" an Age of Peace, "where the rule of tions resolutions that "authorized" the Mr. TRAXLER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to law, not the law of the jungle, governs the United States to do most of the fighting. I call the attention of my colleagues to the fol­ conduct of nations." I was all for George, but believed in collective, not selective, security, lowing article, "A Persistent American Yearn­ I thought this sounded very much like the and I thought we needed to ask ourselves pronouncements of other Presidents, par­ some questions. ing", by James Reston. I have long admired ticularly those of Woodrow Wilson, who What areas were really "vital" to the secu­ Scotty Reston since my days in college, and thought not only that America could rity of the United States? Would our schools I find his thoughts absolutely charming in this " change the w:orld" but also that it had a and slums be high on this list? When and how feature that appeared in The New York Times moral duty to do so.
    [Show full text]
  • Reagan's Victory
    Reagan’s ictory How HeV Built His Winning Coalition By Robert G. Morrison Foreword by William J. Bennett Reagan’s Victory: How He Built His Winning Coalition By Robert G. Morrison 1 FOREWORD By William J. Bennett Ronald Reagan always called me on my birthday. Even after he had left the White House, he continued to call me on my birthday. He called all his Cabinet members and close asso- ciates on their birthdays. I’ve never known another man in public life who did that. I could tell that Alzheimer’s had laid its firm grip on his mind when those calls stopped coming. The President would have agreed with the sign borne by hundreds of pro-life marchers each January 22nd: “Doesn’t Everyone Deserve a Birth Day?” Reagan’s pro-life convic- tions were an integral part of who he was. All of us who served him knew that. Many of my colleagues in the Reagan administration were pro-choice. Reagan never treat- ed any of his team with less than full respect and full loyalty for that. But as for the Reagan administration, it was a pro-life administration. I was the second choice of Reagan’s to head the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). It was my first appointment in a Republican administration. I was a Democrat. Reagan had chosen me after a well-known Southern historian and literary critic hurt his candidacy by criticizing Abraham Lincoln. My appointment became controversial within the Reagan ranks because the Gipper was highly popular in the South, where residual animosities toward Lincoln could still be found.
    [Show full text]
  • Scholastic Inc. Out-Of-Print Notification: Pw Advertisement
    SCHOLASTIC INC. OUT-OF-PRINT NOTIFICATION: PW ADVERTISEMENT MAY 1, 2006 RETURNS DUE BY AUGUST 28, 2006 Please note: other editions or formats of these titles may exist in print under different ISBNs. ISBN Title 0590338730 ACTS OF LOVE (HC) 0590435469 ADVENTURES OF BOONE BARNABY, THE (HC) 0590445855 ALBIE THE LIFEGUARD (HC) 0590434284 ALICE AND THE BIRTHDAY GIANT (HC) 0590403206 ALIENS IN THE FAMILY (HC) 0590443828 ALIGAY SAVES THE STARS (HC) 0590432125 ANGELA AND THE BROKEN HEART (HC) 0590417266 ANGELA, PRIVATE CITIZEN (HC) 0590443046 ANNA PAVLOVA BALLET'S FIRST WORLD S TAR (HC) 0590478699 AS LONG AS THE RIVERS FLOW (HC) 0590298798 AUTUMN LEAVES (HC) 059022221X BABCOCK (HC) 0590443755 BACKYARD BEAR (HC) 0590601342 BAD GIRLS (HC) 0590601369 BAD, BADDER, BADDEST (HC) 0590427296 BATTER UP! (HC) 0590405373 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (HC) 0590430211 BEYOND THE CELLAR DOOR (HC) 059041707X BIG AND LITTLE (HC) 0590426222 BIG SARAH'S LITTLE BOOTS (HC) 0590405527 BLACK SNOWMAN, THE (HC) 0590427709 BLITZCAT (HC) 0590433091 BLOODING, THE (HC) 0590601970 BLUE AND THE GRAY, THE (HC) 0590434489 BLUE SKYE (HC) 0590411578 BOATS (HC) 0590407104 BORN INTO LIGHT (HC) 059041237X BORN TO RUN: A RACEHORSE GROWS UP ( HC) 059046843X BOSSY GALLITO, THE (HC) 0590456687 BOTH SIDES NOW (HC) 0590461680 BOY WHO SWALLOWED SNAKES, THE (HC) 0590448161 BSC #01 : KRISTY'S GREAT IDEA (HC) 0439399327 BUTT UGLY MARTIANS #3 THAT’S NO PUDDLE THAT'S ANGELA 0439487196 BUTT UGLY MARTIANS THE EMPEROR OF HOVERBOARD PARK 0439399645 BUTT UGLY MARTIANS DEADLY DREAMS DOCTOR DAMAGE 0439375622
    [Show full text]
  • Sometimes It Takes a School to Raise the Village: Stakeholders’
    SOMETIMES IT TAKES A SCHOOL TO RAISE THE VILLAGE: STAKEHOLDERS’ STUDENT ASSIGNMENT PERSPECTIVES IN A SHIFTING POLICY LANDSCAPE by ANDREA PINTAONE NEHER (Under the Direction of JoBeth Allen) ABSTRACT This study examined the discourses used by stakeholders, including parents, teachers, school administrators, and district leaders as they described their perspectives on and experiences with issues related to student assignment policy including school closures, school choice options, and parent engagement. This qualitative interview study of parents’, teachers’, administrators’, and district stakeholders’ perspectives on student assignment policy impacts in a district with a recent unitary status declaration used Foucault’s (1978, 1984, 1990) notions of power and discourse as lenses for examining neoliberal discourses used by participants. It sheds light on what is known about the experiences and perspectives of these insiders, with the goal of enhancing community involvement, and ultimately, educational experiences and opportunities, in both student assignment policy planning in the aftermath of unitary status declarations. INDEX WORDS: Education Policy; Neoliberalism; Discourse; Power; School Closures; Student Assignment Policy; Parent Involvement; Foucault; Unitary Status; Desegregation; Neighborhood Schools; Critical Race Theory SOMETIMES IT TAKES A SCHOOL TO RAISE THE VILLAGE: STAKEHOLDERS’ STUDENT ASSIGNMENT PERSPECTIVES IN A SHIFTING POLICY LANDSCAPE by ANDREA PINTAONE NEHER B.S., University of Central Florida, 1999 M.A., University
    [Show full text]
  • Former First Lady Hillary Clinton's Book, It Takes a Village
    Quarter 2014 Quarter nd 2 Former First Lady Hillary Clinton’s book, It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us, was published in 1996. It presented her vision of the future for children of the United States. She wrote about the impact that individuals and outside groups can have on children and if that influence was for the better or worse. Clinton very much supports the idea that “it takes a village to raise a child.” I thought of that saying recently as individuals and organizations of all different kinds assembled at the IRC’s Wildlife Hospital to meet the needs and secure the future of a fellow creature, a raptor, known as the Osprey. When you hear the word “osprey” you may think of the Osprey backpack for hikers, the Boeing V-22 Osprey that serves as a helicopter/airplane hybrid, the Missoula, Montana minor league baseball team, or a tactical rifle scope company – that are all named Osprey! But the original Osprey is one of a kind. There are no look-alikes or hybrids when it comes to this bird. The Osprey is a magnificent fish-eating hawk sometimes weighing up to 4 pounds with a 6 ft. wingspan. The first time I saw an Osprey in the wild was at Sam Parr State Park in southern Illinois just before Jacques and I were to present a program. We were at the end of a dock overlooking the lake when we both saw something very large plunge into the water. I will never forget those large wings coming up and out of the water as if in slow motion.
    [Show full text]
  • Press Guests at State Dinners - Lists and Memos (9)” of the Ron Nessen Papers at the Gerald R
    The original documents are located in Box 23, folder “Press Guests at State Dinners - Lists and Memos (9)” of the Ron Nessen Papers at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Copyright Notice The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Ron Nessen donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. If you think any of the information displayed in the PDF is subject to a valid copyright claim, please contact the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. Digitized from Box-- 23 of The Ron Nessen Papers at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library -- GUEST LIST FOR THE DINNER TO BE GIVEN BY THE PRESIDENT AND MRS. FORD IN HONOR OF HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA AND MRS. LOPEZ ON THURSDAY, SEPT EM- BER 25, 1975 AT EIGHT O'CLOCK, THE WHITE HOUSE . His Excellency The President of the Republic of Colombia and Mrs. Lopez His Excellency The Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia and Mrs. Turbay His Excellency Rodrigo Botero Montoya and Mrs. Botero Minister of Finance His Excellency Rafael Pardo Buelvas and Mrs. Pardo Minister of Agriculture His Excellency Jorge Ramirez Ocampo and Mrs. Ramirez Minister of Economic Development His Excellency Humberto Salcedo Collantes and Mrs.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ascendancy of the Secretary of Defense : Robert S. Mcnamara
    The Ascendancy of the Secretary ofJULY Defense 2013 The Ascendancy of the Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara 1961-1963 Special Study 4 Historical Office Office of the Secretary of Defense Cold War Foreign Policy Series • Special Study 4 The Ascendancy of the Secretary of Defense The Ascendancy of the Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara 1961-1963 Cover Photo: Secretary Robert S. McNamara, Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, and President John F. Kennedy at the White House, January 1963 Source: Robert Knudson/John F. Kennedy Library, used with permission. Cover Design: OSD Graphics, Pentagon. Cold War Foreign Policy Series • Special Study 4 The Ascendancy of the Secretary of Defense The Ascendancy of the Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara 1961-1963 Special Study 4 Series Editors Erin R. Mahan, Ph.D. Chief Historian, Office of the Secretary of Defense Jeffrey A. Larsen, Ph.D. President, Larsen Consulting Group Historical Office Office of the Secretary of Defense July 2013 ii iii Cold War Foreign Policy Series • Special Study 4 The Ascendancy of the Secretary of Defense Contents This study was reviewed for declassification by the appropriate U.S. Government departments and agencies and cleared for release. The study is an official publication of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Foreword..........................................vii but inasmuch as the text has not been considered by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, it must be construed as descriptive only and does Executive Summary...................................ix not constitute the official position of OSD on any subject. Restructuring the National Security Council ................2 Portions of this work may be quoted or reprinted without permission, provided that a standard source credit line in included.
    [Show full text]
  • The American Presidency: Ronald Reagan Transcript
    The American Presidency: Ronald Reagan Transcript Date: Tuesday, 27 January 2009 - 12:00AM FROM ROOSEVELT TO BUSH THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY: RONALD REAGAN Professor Vernon Bogdanor Ronald Reagan is the eighth President I will have spoken about, and many of them have been a pretty odd lot, I think! Indeed, I believe only three of the eight, including Reagan, could be described as normal people: Truman, Eisenhower and Gerald Ford. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that neither Truman nor Ford originally stood for the presidency but inherited it, and Eisenhower, as it were, was offered the presidency, by both political parties in the United States. It may go to show that anyone who actually seeks the presidency in America and is prepared to campaign for it is, almost by definition, very odd indeed. But there are none odder, surely, than Ronald Reagan, the subject of today's lecture. In an age which celebrated youth, he was the oldest man to be elected President. He was nearly seventy when he took office. John McCain, if he had won the presidency, would have been older; he would have been 72. Reagan, instead of underplaying his age, mocked it. He used to say, when he opposed the wage and price controls introduced by President Carter but which had first been introduced by the Roman Emperor Diocletian: "I am one of the few persons old enough to remember that!" In 1984, when he was opposed by the youthful Walter Mondale, of Minnesota, whom he slaughtered in the election, he said: "Age should not be an issue in this election." He said, "I will not exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience," and even Mondale could not resist smiling at that! Much of Reagan's electoral support owed something to the religious revival in America, the growth of the religious right, and Reagan went along with that.
    [Show full text]