Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 5-2021 Laugh until it’s No Longer a Scandal: The Use of Humorous Apologia to Reframe Crisis Narratives on Saturday Night Live Vanessa S. Hills Western Michigan University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation Hills, Vanessa S., "Laugh until it’s No Longer a Scandal: The Use of Humorous Apologia to Reframe Crisis Narratives on Saturday Night Live" (2021). Master's Theses. 5211. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/5211 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LAUGH UNTIL IT’S NO LONGER A SCANDAL: THE USE OF HUMOROUS APOLOGIA TO REFRAME CRISIS NARRATIVES ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE by Vanessa Hills A thesis submitted to the Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts School of Communication Western Michigan University May 2021 Thesis Committee: Keith Hearit, Ph.D., Chair Julie Apker, Ph.D. Richard Gershon, Ph.D. LAUGH UNTIL IT’S NO LONGER A SCANDAL: THE USE OF HUMOROUS APOLOGIA TO REFRAME CRISIS NARRATIVES ON SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vanessa S. Hills, M.A. Western Michigan University, 2021 This thesis examines the role of humor-based apologia as a crisis communication strategy for celebrities. Using a rhetorical method, it explicates the role that humor plays in shaping crisis narratives in response to kategoria within the context of Saturday Night Live. Four case study analyses determine whether the generic parameters of apologia include the use of a humor-based apologia or whether humorous apologiae should be classified as a unique subgenre. These findings further the body of research on apologia and highlight the need for additional research on the effectiveness of humor as a crisis communication strategy. Copyright by Vanessa S. Hills 2021 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Keith Hearit, for his unending patience, expertise, and guidance throughout the process of completing this thesis. Without you, this would not have been possible. I will always be grateful. To my committee members Dr. Apker and Dr. Gershon, thank you for your insight and support. Your knowledge and suggestions helped to shape this thesis. I have tremendous respect for both of you. Finally, many thanks to all the friends and family members who provided me with support. Tim, your encouragement sustained me throughout. Thank you! Vanessa S. Hills ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS...............................................................................................................ii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 Saturday Night Live and Media Scandals ............................................................... 3 Crisis and Crisis Response ..................................................................................... 7 Framing Theory ..................................................................................................... 8 Humor ................................................................................................................... 9 Summary and Organization ................................................................................... 11 II. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................. 12 Crisis and Response ............................................................................................... 12 Types of Crisis ........................................................................................... 13 Crisis Outcomes ......................................................................................... 14 Crisis Response .......................................................................................... 15 Framing Theory ..................................................................................................... 19 Humor ................................................................................................................... 21 Sarcasm and Satire ................................................................................... 23 Humor in Apologia .................................................................................... 24 Historic Use of Humor in Apologia ............................................................ 25 Contemporary Research on the Use of Humor in Apologia ........................ 26 iii Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER Saturday Night Live............................................................................................... 28 Research Questions ............................................................................................... 29 Thesis Overview .................................................................................................... 30 Summary ............................................................................................................... 31 III. RHETORICAL METHODOLOGY ............................................................................ 32 Rhetoric ................................................................................................................. 33 Rhetorical Criticism ............................................................................................... 35 Rhetorical Methods ............................................................................................... 36 Generic Method of Rhetorical Criticism ................................................................ 37 Generic Analysis ........................................................................................ 38 Humor-based Apologia as a Subgenre ........................................................ 40 The Conduct of Generic Analysis: Saturday Night Live Episodes .......................... 42 Identification of Rhetorical Artifact ............................................................ 42 Performing the Close Textual Analysis ...................................................... 43 Constituting the Genre ............................................................................... 44 Identifying the Effects ................................................................................ 44 Summary ............................................................................................................... 45 IV. ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................ 46 Generic Criticism of SNL Host Case Studies ......................................................... 47 Rob Lowe .................................................................................................. 47 iv Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER Miley Cyrus ............................................................................................... 52 Lindsay Lohan ........................................................................................... 58 Justin Bieber .............................................................................................. 63 Generic Analysis Summary ........................................................................ 68 Reconstituting the Genre ....................................................................................... 69 Rob Lowe: Comparison to Apologetic Genre ............................................. 69 Rob Lowe: Level of Success and Contributing Factors ............................... 71 Miley Cyrus: Comparison to Apologetic Genre .......................................... 72 Miley Cyrus: Level of Success and Contributing Factors ............................ 73 Lindsay Lohan: Comparison to Apologetic Genre ...................................... 74 Lindsay Lohan: Level of Success and Contributing Factors ........................ 76 Justin Bieber: Comparison to Apologetic Genre ......................................... 77 Justin Bieber: Level of Success and Contributing Factors ........................... 78 Summary ............................................................................................................... 79 V. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................ 81 Shaping Crisis Narratives Through Humorous Apologia ........................................ 82 Reshaping Lowe’s Crisis Narrative through SNL ....................................... 83 Reshaping Cyrus’ Crisis Narrative through SNL ........................................ 83 Reshaping Bieber’s Crisis Narrative through SNL ...................................... 84 v Table of Contents—Continued CHAPTER Humor-based Apologetic Responses Used on SNL ................................................ 84 Classifying Humor-based Apologia ....................................................................... 86 Further Conclusions ............................................................................................... 91 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 92 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................