Saturday Night Live Satire

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Sexual harassment has been a continuous crime that was always looked over, but recently has been a pinpoint in the public eye. To keep a stern and continuous assessment on the way sexual harassment is handled, especially in Hollywood, Saturday Night Live conducted a skit using satire to address the issue while making it comical. To make satire effective, SNL utilized multiple literary devices to keep the issue in mind while allowing for comic relief and addressed multiple people in the industry while talking of their crime. Saturday Night Live captured the sad, yet realistic view on sexual assault in Hollywood. Many actors have been accused of touching a coworker inappropriately, flashing, molestation, and genital mutilation. The cast captured …show more content…
They used sarcasm to address the accusations against Tom Sturgeson: while ¨interviewing¨ the actor, they were sarcastic about his behavior. First, they talk about the harassment that he dealt, then, they claimed that his actions were ¨award-winning behavior” (:53) and that the competition is tough to compete with. They also addressed Tim Franklin and used the irony of his comments against him. When the accusation about numerous actors became public knowledge, he claimed that “all women deserve to be heard.” However, when he was accused, he called the woman a “lying troll” and had his lawyer publish her home address (2:50). His comments were hypocritical, and he was pro-women until the truth about his conduct was exposed to the public. Saturday Night Live then slipped in their own feelings on the sexual misconduct by claiming “I hope you get what’s coming to you” (3:29). Aside from their comical reputation, SNL still makes a point to address the serious issue and that it isn’t a funny topic. Even though they addressed the issue in the industry, the video is an understatement of the true issue. Because the video is comical, it can make the sexual harassment issue seem like a less serious problem in the …show more content…
SNL made clear points on the issue by addressing some of the worst cases of misconduct in the industry: Tom Sturgeson, Lenny Martin, Ronald Kellogg, Tim Franklin, and Catherine LeBourge. They recognized five people in the industry and didn’t fail to include a woman. This is especially important since most accusations are made against men; there are still women that do the same things and act the same way, it isn’t a single gender, and it should never be addressed as that.
Also, while “Lenny Martin” was being interviewed, he made the comment, “I’d like to thank guns for pivoting the national conversation away from harassment” (1:32) which puts in context a serious issue with how media handles severe topics; media bounces from one topic to the next without further consideration. To further Saturday Night Live’s aggravated behavior toward society, they also had “Lenny Martin” say, “I’d also like to thank my uncle for always saying “boys will be boys,” even when it was like OJ” (1:40). The cast was blunt, brutally honest, and didn’t hold back on the

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