Pussy Riots vs SNL: President Trump
Two satirical groups in the media take on President Trump. Pussy Riots depicted a “what if..” scenario, while SNL is depicting what is currently happening in America.
In late October, the Russian punk group the “Pussy Riot” released a controversial video showing what America would look like with Trump as President. This group is well known for being outspoken on political issues, and spreading their messages in controversial ways. In the video President Trump, played by Nadya Tolokonnikova, sings about immigration and listening to women about Women’s Rights, while the rest of the video shows oppression and destruction of the nation. The video shows Trump’s agents arresting a woman for being an immigrant and raping and torturing her. This video shows the women literally being branded with labels, such as “outsider” and “fat pig”. This video was created to warn people what life could be like with Donald Trump as president.
This video was effective in showing the dangers of what could happen if America voted to put such a racist and misogynistic man in the world’s most powerful position. Their controversial video might have difficult to watch for some people due to its violent nature, however due to this debatable nature it got people to talk about it. Whether the feedback was positive or negative, their video was spread around, which in turn spread their warning further.
Fast forward to after Trump’s Inauguration, Saturday Night Live has its highest ratings since 2010 due to their skits depicting the Trump administration. These skits have been taking actual scenarios and from the President’s administration and putting a comedic spin to it.
Alec Baldwin, Melissa McCarthy and other big names in Hollywood have joined the SNL cast to poke fun of Trump and his team, which also shows the American people just how bad the political climate in America truly is right now. In Alec Baldwin’s latest sketch as President Trump he was in a courtroom setting fighting the overturn of the travel ban. The travel ban has been a heated topic ever since Trump signed an executive order. Three judges have since overturned the travel ban due to it being unconstitutional, which SNL refers in the sketch. The SNL sketch also touches on the President’s controversial relationship with the Russian leader, Putin. Many people in America, and around the world, are understandably concerned about the friendly relationship these two unpopular leaders have.
Melissa McCarthy has also had a reoccurring role as Trump’s Press Secretary Sean “Spicy” Spicer. McCarthy’s role is notorious for Spicer’s heated temperament and love for gum. Her sketches also show the administration’s racism, one example being their “extreme vetting”, and their unwillingness to directly answer questions from the press. McCarthy’s character also refers to Kellyanne Conway’s illegal promotion of Ivanka Trump’s clothing brand on national TV. Her ability to portray Spicer’s demeanor in a funny way, informs people of what is happening in the White House
Other stars have joined Saturday Night Live’s efforts to shine light of the flaws within the current presidential administration. SNL is showing the seriousness of the deficiencies within this administration while putting a comedic tone to it. They are allowing people to laugh at a bad situation, while also pointing out to American’s that we can’t sit back and watch this blatant disrespect for the constitution and American people any longer.
Both the Pussy Riot group and the SNL teams publicize political concerns across a very public platform. They use their right to free speech and media to spread their messages. Due to the fact that society is able to spread content so freely and easily, both the Pussy Riot video and the SNL sketches have been seen by millions. Whether people agree with their messages or not, every article or social media post about the sketches spreads the message to more and more people. These protest videos are able to help people understand what is happening in our government in a basic and comedic way, while also helping to keep the fire lit, so to speak, in Anti-Trump supporters. . A lot of people have tried to quietly accept that Trump is president now and that’s just the way it is going to be, however these sketches force people to stay informed and bothered by the politics in America.
As a young female American, I personally appreciate the way both of these groups have been able to inspire people to fight back in politics. They are forcing people to stay aware of current issues and hopefully encouraging them to stay active in protests. Even if people aren’t out in the streets holding signs and chanting anymore, people are still able to share protest messages such these and stay active in politics. Our future as a country relies on people speaking up and against the things we don’t agree with. I never thought I would be able to say this, but SNL is a shining example of how we need to be. Just like the people associated with Saturday Night Live, the people in America need to continue to be vocal about our politics.
