EDUCATION, POLITICS, AND PUBLIC LIFE S eries Editors: Henry A. Giroux, McMaster University Susan Searls Giroux, McMaster University Within the last three decades, education as a political, moral, and ideologi- cal practice has become central to rethinking not only the role of public and higher education, but also the emergence of pedagogical sites outside of the schools—which include but are not limited to the Internet, televi- sion, film, magazines, and the media of print culture. Education as both a form of schooling and public pedagogy reaches into every aspect of politi- cal, economic, and social life. What is particularly important in this highly interdisciplinary and politically nuanced view of education are a number of issues that now connect learning to social change, the operations of dem- ocratic public life, and the formation of critically engaged individual and social agents. At the center of this series will be questions regarding what young people, adults, academics, artists, and cultural workers need to know to be able to live in an inclusive and just democracy and what it would mean to develop institutional capacities to reintroduce politics and public commit- ment into everyday life. Books in this series aim to play a vital role in rethink- ing the entire project of the related themes of politics, democratic struggles, and critical education within the global public sphere. SERIES EDITORS: HENRY A. GIROUX holds the Global TV Network Chair in English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in Canada. He is on the editorial and advisory boards of numerous national and international scholarly jour- nals.Professor Giroux was selected as a Kappa Delta Pi Laureate in 1998 and was the recipient of a Getty Research Institute Visiting Scholar Award in 1999. He was the recipient of the Hooker Distinguished Professor Award for 2001. He received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2005. His most recent books include Take Back Higher Education (co-authored with Susan Searls Giroux, 2006); America on the Edge (2006); Beyond the Spectacle of Terrorism (2006), Stormy Weather: Katrina and the Politics of Disposability (2006), The University in Chains: Confronting the Military-Industrial-Academic Complex (2007), and Against the Terror of Neoliberalism: Politics Beyond the Age of Greed (2008). SUSAN SEARLS GIROUX is Associate Professor of English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University. Her most recent books include The Theory Toolbox (co-authored with Jeff Nealon, 2004) and T ake Back Higher Education (co-authored with Henry A. Giroux, 2006), and Between 99778800223300110044666622__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd 11 55//22//22001122 22::5544::3300 PPMM Race and Reason: Violence, Intellectual Responsibility, and the University to Come (2010). Professor Giroux is also the Managing Editor of T he Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies . Critical Pedagogy in Uncertain Times: Hope and Possibilities Edited by Sheila L. Macrine The Gift of Education: Public Education and Venture Philanthropy Kenneth J. Saltman Feminist Theory in Pursuit of the Public: Women and the “Re-Privatization” of Labor Robin Truth Goodman Hollywood’s Exploited: Public Pedagogy, Corporate Movies, and Cultural Crisis Edited by Benjamin Frymer, Tony Kashani, Anthony J. Nocella, II, and Richard Van Heertum; with a Foreword by Lawrence Grossberg Education out of Bounds: Reimagining Cultural Studies for a Posthuman Age Tyson E. Lewis and Richard Kahn Academic Freedom in the Post-9/11 Era Edited by Edward J. Carvalho and David B. Downing Educating Youth for a World beyond Violence: A Pedagogy for Peace H. Svi Shapiro Rituals and Student Identity in Education: Ritual Critique for a New Pedagogy Richard A. Quantz with Terry O’Connor and Peter Magolda Citizen Youth: Culture, Activism, and Agency in a Neoliberal Era Jacqueline Kennelly Conflicts in Curriculum Theory: Challenging Hegemonic Epistemologies João M. Paraskeva; Foreword by Donaldo Macedo Sport, Spectacle, and NASCAR Nation: Consumption and the Cultural Politics of Neoliberalism Joshua I. Newman and Michael D. Giardina Immigration and the Challenge of Education: A Social Drama Analysis in South Central Los Angeles Nathalia E. Jaramillo Colbert’s America: Satire and Democracy Sophia A. McClennen 99778800223300110044666622__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd SSeecc22::22 55//22//22001122 22::5544::3311 PPMM Colbert’s America Satire and Democracy Sophia A. McClennen 99778800223300110044666622__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd SSeecc22::33 55//22//22001122 22::5544::3311 PPMM COLBERT’S AMERICA Copyright © Sophia A. McClennen, 2011. All rights reserved. First published in hardcover in 2011 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN: 978–1–137–01472–6 The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: McClennen, Sophia A. America according to Colbert : satire as public pedagogy / Sophia A. McClennen. p. cm.—(Education, politics and public life) ISBN 978–0–230–10466–2 (hardback) 1. Colbert, Stephen, 1964—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Political satire, American. 3. United States—Politics and government— 1989–1993—Humor. I. Title. PN2287.C5695M44 2011 973.92902(cid:2)07—dc23 2011017102 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd., Chennai, India. First PALGRAVE MACMILLAN paperback edition: July 2012 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America. 99778800223300110044666622__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd SSeecc11::iivv 55//22//22001122 22::5544::3311 PPMM For Isabel and Sebastian Future Members of the Colbert Nation 99778800223300110044666622__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd SSeecc11::vv 55//22//22001122 22::5544::3311 PPMM This page intentionally left blank 99778800223300110044666622__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd SSeecc11::vvii 55//22//22001122 22::5544::3322 PPMM Contents Preface ix Introduction 1 1 I Stand by This Man: Colbert Speaks Truthiness to Power 13 2 The Public at Risk: Dissent and Democracy after 9/11 41 3 Proud to Be an American Satirist 69 4 America According to The Colbert Report : Or How a TV Show Can Change the Way a Nation Thinks 97 5 Amusing Ourselves to Activism? 169 N otes 183 I ndex 205 99778800223300110044666622__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd SSeecc11::vviiii 55//22//22001122 22::5544::3322 PPMM This page intentionally left blank 99778800223300110044666622__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd SSeecc11::vviiiiii 55//22//22001122 22::5544::3322 PPMM Preface “H ey, you’ve got to see this!” These are the words that first intro- duced me to the art of Stephen Colbert’s satire as I sat down to watch a streaming video of a comedian roasting the President on a site called ThankYouStephenColbert.org in the spring of 2006. Watching that video goes on record for me (and for many others) as a turning point during those years. It would be fair to say that many of us marked the Bush years according to the temporal shift from BC (Before Colbert) to AD (After Dinner). There was something thoroughly extraordinary about his performance that night. This was a form of satire that was totally outrageous—outrageous for its humor, for its boldness, and for its creative way of speaking truth to power. It wasn’t long after seeing his performance that I began thinking about writing this book. Colbert is always on the move. His persona and his show are ever evolving and the reference points he makes to current events are inex- haustible. This broad range of material meant that it would not be possible to cover every part of his work that I thought would be of interest to readers. I opted instead to focus on ongoing themes and to analyze major moments in his satire within that context. It was hard not to be infected by Colbert’s charisma, and I found myself laughing out loud constantly as I rescreened pieces from T he Colbert Report and read over transcripts of his work. All writing should be this fun. Thanks not only to Colbert but also to all of his staff and writers who work together on his material. While I write about the Colbert persona as the product of Stephen Colbert, it is important to remem- ber that the creation of the Colbert persona has been a collective effort. We always want to thank those that helped us during the pro- cess of writing, but it remains clear that it is never possible to fully acknowledge all of those who helped, encouraged, and lent a hand. Possibly because of the nature of the book topic, this was the least solitary writing experience I’ve had and I was very fortunate to have a large group of colleagues and friends accompany me through this process. Among these, a few deserve special mention. 99778800223300110044666622__0011__pprreexxiiii..iinndddd SSeecc11::iixx 55//22//22001122 22::5544::3322 PPMM