She did it again. And this time the real Sarah Palin was in the house.
Tina Fey, with her uncanny resemblance to the vice presidential Republican candidate, has continued to leave viewers from around the world in stitches. Here is a cross-section of reactions from around the world, following Palin's appearance on Saturday Night Live. And is satire and humour what is keeping people from around the world glued to their television screens on the look out for political gaffes?
Naseem Tarawnah [1], from Jordan, describes the show as “good satire.” He sets the scene as follows:
SNL proves why it is still probably the best political satire on American TV (after the Daily Show). After weeks of being impersonated by Tina Fey, Governor Palin shows up on SNL and watches the impersonation live with show creator Lorne Micheals backstage. Soon enough, Mark Wahlberg shows up looking to beat up cast member Andy Samberg who did a halarious impersonation [2] of him a few weeks ago as well. Tina Fey’s co-star on “30 Rock†and outspoken Palin critic, Alec Baldwin then mistakes Palin for Tina bashing the former right in front of her. That’s just good satire.
Commenting on the post, MommaBean writes:
I have to agree I enjoyed it. But, if I were Palin and trying to reach the SNL audience, I would actually have tried to be funny. While the writers are good, I think she’d have been funnier if she impersonated Tina impersonating her… Just me though. She gets 1/2 point for having the sense of humor to poke fun at herself.
Kinzi adds:
As much as some of what she has said makes me cringe, this election (and SNL) would have been boring beyond belief without her. The rap was hilarious!
From France, blogger Marion [3] agrees that parody in the US election is what is making the process more fun.
“Heureusement que les Américains ont encore de l'humour. Le débat des faux VP est à mourir de rire, et le faux Biden n'est pas le moins drôle des deux! Quant à la représentationde McCain en vieux grognon qui n’ a rien à proposer, elle n'est pas mal non plus (voir le fauxdébat McCain-Obama dans Saturday Night Live). A quand la même chose en France lesamedi soir?”
On the other end of the spectrum, Michael van der Galien, writing on Poligazette [4] from the Netherlands, was upbeat and positive about Palin's performance on SNL. He writes:
Republican candidate for Vice President Sarah Palin appeared on highly popular TV Show “Saturday Night Live†yesterday. Palin was ridiculed by the crew of SNL only weeks ago – Tina Fey was praised for her caricature of the Governor of Alaska; she was portrayed as a simpleton, who was in way over her head.
On Saturday, however, Palin had the chance to strike back. She appeared on SNL and did a good job. She is no John McCain, who seems to perform very well in comedy shows and who is very good actor (for a politician), but she impressed nonetheless.
He continues:
Where Palin came across badly on most television shows, she looked great and comfortable on SNL. Whether it will help her improve her image remains to be seen, but what is clear is that Palin and the audience had a great time.
Darryl Wolk [5], from Canada, agrees. He writes:
I think Palin came across well.
And from the UK, Ala wonders whether Palin's appearance on SNL was “desperate.” Writing on Pickled Politics [6], he says:
Sarah Palin is set [7]
to appear in a satirical comedy sketch about herself on NBC’s Saturday Night Live, after the show gained new popularity with star
Tina Fey’s effortless satires of the governor. And what better way to redeem oneself than to mock oneself? It may even make her more cute and folksy: “Isn’t that adorable, she’s laughing at herself!†Some may call it ingenious. I call it desperate.