SNL101

S50 E4: Michael Keaton

We discuss the Weekend Update appearances of Sarah Sherman and Emil Wakim and the absurdity of internalized oppression, as well as how the film by Please Don’t Destroy: Skydiving can remind us to be more empathetic in our everyday lives. We also take a brief detour to ruminate on Tony Hinchcliffe’s remarks at a Trump…
S01 E01: Saturday Night (2024)

In this special episode, we are joined by Bob Thompson to talk about Saturday Night (2024). We discuss the viability of historical fiction in a post-modern media ecosystem that has been oral-history’d and behind-the-scene’d to death and how the film continues some of the longstanding critiques of SNL regarding issues of race and gender.
S50 E03: Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande already looks like a 5-timer in her second time hosting. We discuss the struggle for unionization with Monica: A Happy Amazon Employee and magnifying the absurdities of history in Castrati, as well learning and to lose and the relationship between competition and cooperation in Charades with Mom.
S50 E02: Nate Bargatze

Nate Bargatze hosts the second episode of the 50th season with his trademark generous use of social space. We discuss masculinity in the Opening Monologue, the desires of the dead in Water Park, grotesque bodies and food in Sushi Glory Hole and Mile High Burger, and asymmetrical bilingualism in Sabado Gigante.
S50 E01: Jean Smart

In Jean Smart’s first appearance as host after nearly 40 years on television, we talk about repurposing and sustainability in the parody commercial, Spirit Halloween, Black on Black humor in Devon Walker’s Eric Adams, and the privacy of public figures in Bowen Yang’s Moo Deng.
S49 E20: Jake Gyllenhaal

We discuss Mulvey’s Male Gaze and Kracauer’s Mass Ornament in Beautiful Girls, unfair labor practices and genocide in Fast Fashion Ad, and humans as props in Weekend Update Joke Swap.
S49 E19: Maya Rudolph

We talk about anti-queer discrimination and communities of practice with the Opening Monologue, the intersection of occupation, gender, and ethnicity in Nurse Appreciation, and the unruly woman in Hot Ones with Beyoncé.
S49 E18: Dua Lipa

We talk about algorithms and the loss of water cooler conversations in Jerry Seinfeld’s appearance on Weekend Update as The Man Who Did Too Much Press, virtue signaling and slacktivism in Teeny Tiny Statement Pin, and the cognitive correlates of blackface and culture vultures in Good Morning Greenville.
S49 E17: Ryan Gosling

We talk about emotional contagion and breaking with Beavis and Butt-Head, and the complexity of sexist jokes with the Weekend Update Guest Appearances from SNL’s Resident Boyfriend, Michael Longfellow, and Caitlyn Clark.
S49 E16: Kristen Wiig

We discuss resolving gender pay gaps in sports with the TBS March Madness Cold Open, the overlap of fitness and identity with the horror trailer Pilates, and the double edged sword of gamifying reality with Jumanji.