PARODY FOR THE PUBLIC SPHERE: THE DAILY SHOW’S NARRATIVE ON DEMOCRACY INACTION by KRISTEN MARIE HEFLIN (Under the Direction of Dwight E. Brooks) ABSTRACT Parody is a narrative device that twists the conventions of an original work to create a new and typically subversive form of the original. Literary critics have studied parody in written works, but parody on television has not been closely examined. This study uses narrative analysis to look at how parody operates in the television show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Findings indicate that parody functioned to tell three major narrative themes in the show: 1) The television news media is not fulfilling its role in society. 2) The political institutions of the United States are not fulfilling their role their role in society. 3) Intolerant ideologies place harmful limits on society. This study discusses how parody works in The Daily Show to produce these particular meanings, as well as, what these recurring narratives say about the show’s opinion of our American democracy and our public sphere. INDEX WORDS: Parody, Narratives, Television News Narratives, Television Criticism, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Public Sphere, Democracy, Television News, Political Institutions, Intolerance PARODY FOR THE PUBLIC SPHERE: THE DAILY SHOW’S NARRATIVE ON DEMOCRACY INACTION by KRISTEN MARIE HEFLIN B.A., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2003 A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS ATHENS, GEORGIA 2005 © 2005 Kristen Marie Heflin All Rights Reserved PARODY FOR THE PUBLIC SPHERE: THE DAILY SHOW’S NARRATIVE ON DEMOCRACY INACTION by KRISTEN MARIE HEFLIN Major Professor: Dwight E. Brooks Committee: Peggy Kreshel Jay Hamilton Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2005 DEDICATION But let there be no scales to weigh your unknown treasure; And seek not the depths of your knowledge with staff or sounding line. For self is a sea boundless and measureless. Say not, “I have found the truth,” but rather, “I have found a truth.” Say not, “I have found the path of the soul.” Say rather, “I have met the soul walking upon my path.” For the soul walks upon all paths. The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed. The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals. - Kahlil Gibran, “The Prophet” Thank you to everyone who walked with me down this road. You’ve taught me more than a lifetime in a library. Thanks to my family for challenging me to be great and telling me when I’m not. Thanks to my friends for listening to my ideas, laughing at my jokes and preserving my sanity. Everyone deserves such love. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge Dr. Dwight E. Brooks for his guidance through this entire project. Without his help I would still be buried under papers in the library. He took in an unknown student and walked me through an alien body of literature. Thanks for helping me find my way instead of telling me where to go. Thank you to my committee members, Dr. Peggy Kreshel and Dr. Jay Hamilton for always providing kind and insightful guidance. This has been an amazing experience and I am thankful for having such incredible support. Finally, thanks to Jon Stewart and The Daily Show staff for providing such a valuable conversation about our society. Laughter is dangerous to the status quo. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………………….v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………...1 Why Study The Daily Show?……………………………………………...8 Past Research on The Daily Show………………………………………..16 2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK………………………………………………..20 Television Criticism……………………………………………………...20 Narrative Theory…………………………………………………………22 Cultural Studies…………………………………………………………..32 Parody……………………………………………………………………36 3 METHOD AND ANALYSIS……………………………………………………45 Method…………………………………………………………………...45 Analysis…………………………………………………………………..48 4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION……………………………………….......73 Contributions to Academic Literature…………………………………...84 Strengths and Limitations ……………………………………………….85 Opportunities for Future Research……………………………………….86 Conclusion……………………………………………………………….87 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………………..89 vi Chapter 1: Introduction I feel like the politicians will allow the discourse to be dominated by marketing and slogans and dishonesty as long as they are allowed to practice that on the airwaves. – Jon Stewart on The Charlie Rose Show When did the journalists become a referee? And why doesn’t that person have the ability to say, stop lying about that, you know, police it? - Jon Stewart on Larry King Live Politicians are dishonest self-promoters and journalists are incompetent referees. These are harsh accusations coming from a man who specializes in what he calls, “fake news.” Still, Jon Stewart is not just a comedian with a late night comedy show. He is also a critical voice providing analyses of American society. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart’s blend of pointed humor and the television news format has attracted the attention of a younger demographic, traditionally uninterested in the news. The show has also become a popular venue for newsmakers and political figures to share their views with an audience they may not reach through conventional news programs. The Daily Show may not be the typical news program, but its success seems to stem from its ability to report on our society with a jaded eye and a quick wit. This study is interested in how The Daily Show talks about our society and the particular meanings behind what the show is saying. If Stewart’s quotes above are any indication of what the show says about our society, politicians and the media are in for a tongue-lashing. The Daily Show is a popular late-night television program that uses television journalistic conventions to tell stories about the news and newsmakers. The show’s high ratings and award- winning status make it a noteworthy cultural phenomenon. The Daily Show combines humor and a newscast format to produce a program that shares similarities with both traditional network news and late night comedy shows. Because the show and its anchor, Jon Stewart, often issue 1 social critiques through this humorous format, it is important to understand these social critiques and the strategies used to advance this critical narrative. It is also important to understand how the show’s narrative operates to see if it performs other functions besides social commentary. Gaining insight into how parody works in this text can lead to a greater understanding of how parody could work in other television programs. Thus, this thesis seeks to understand and describe the way parody works in The Daily Show. In this first chapter I will provide background information on the show and discuss the show’s worthiness for academic study. Because there is little research on The Daily Show and parody, this study will not have a traditional literature review. Instead, I will discuss past research on the show in the first chapter and the literature on parody as part of my conceptual framework in Chapter 2. The third chapter will explain my analytical procedures and provide a narrative analysis of how parody works in the show. Finally, Chapter 4 discusses the implications of this study, the strengths and weaknesses of this research, suggestions for future research and this project’s contribution to the literature on television criticism, parody and The Daily Show. At the outset, it is important to understand the show, its audience, who is watching, what the media industry thinks about the program, and why academics should care. Chapter 1 will provide this background followed by a discussion of the existing academic literature on The Daily Show. Description of The Daily Show: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is a 30-minute, late-night, self-labeled “fake news” program, which airs on the cable network, Comedy Central. The show airs Monday through Thursday at 11:00pm eastern standard time with reruns airing at 11:30pm, 1:00am, 1:30am 2 10:00am and 7:00pm. Comedy Central is owned by media giant,Viacom, which also owns CBS among other national TV networks. The program first aired September 1996 with original host Craig Kilborn. Jon Stewart took over as anchor in 1999 when Kilborn left to host The Late Late Show on CBS (TV Tome). The Daily Show with Jon Stewart enjoys fewer restrictions on its content because of its late-night time slot and its home on the cable channel Comedy Central. Since the show airs on Comedy Central, it is not subjected to the FCC regulations placed on network broadcasts because the FCC does not regulate cable content. Thus, the show can use humor and language that other late-night talk shows on the broadcast networks cannot. Still, since the show does appear on cable, it has less reach and attracts a smaller audience than other late night talk shows on broadcast networks. The Daily Show is taped in front of a live studio audience at 6:00pm on the day the episode airs. This early shoot time is similar to that of other late-night talk shows. However, since The Daily Show uses the day’s headlines as fodder for jokes, the early filming time often prevents the show from “reporting” in a timely manner. Stewart frequently makes jokes about the show’s inability to cover events which are set to occur after the taping, like the President’s State of the Union speech. This problem is not unique to The Daily Show; all television newscasts encounter it when events occur after their broadcasts. The show begins with Stewart and the show’s team of reporters, who are actually accomplished actors and comedians, providing commentary on the day’s events. Stewart reports headlines in a fashion similar to traditional news programs incorporating the newsdesk, coat and tie, world map and boxed graphics featuring the headline over Stewart’s shoulder.