SNL101

S49 E15: Ramy Youssef

We talk about how the comedic style of marginalized honesty is received in Youssef’s Opening Monologue, normalizing Islam in Ozempic for Ramadan, inter generational narratives with Immigrant Dad Talk Show, and gallows humor in Murder Detective.
S49 E14: Josh Brolin

We discuss Scarlett Johansson’s horror-humor takedown of Katie Britt in the State of the Union Cold Open, the history of tabloid talk shows in Shonda Talk Show, and the structure of insult comedy in Weekend Update.
S49 E13: Sydney Sweeney

We talk about the paradox of femininity and the rhetoric of “natural” in Woman Aging Gracefully, the rapid fire “seen here” jokes at Mitch McConnell’s expense on Weekend Update, generational differences in media use and the complexity of information online in Detectives, and the mechanization of art in AirBnB Design Commercial.
S49 E12: Shane Gillis

In Shane Gillis’ first time on the SNL stage after his very public firing before he ever appeared onscreen in 2019, we discuss satirizing fact, fiction, and fraud across Trump Victory Party Cold Open and Trump Sneakers, as well as stereotype threat and racial anxiety in The Floor.
S49 E11: Ayo Edebiri

We discuss the importance of civic engagement and accountability in Why’d You Say It, the ironic inclusion of power in satire in the CNN Town Hall South Carolina Cold Open, and the absurdities of (and opportunities associated with disrupting) white supremacy and normativity in Trivia Quest and People’s Court – Bad Hair Day.
S49 E10: Dakota Johnson

In Dakota Johnson’s second crack at hosting SNL, we talk about socioeconomic- and race-based othering in Home Movies, black friends and black-up bands with Justin Timberlake’s musical performance of Sanctified, and the long history of the Dozens in Roast, a film by Please Don’t Destroy.
S49 E9: Jacob Elordi

We discuss the attention economy and the Society of the Spectacle with Katt Williams/Club Shay Shay Extended Cut and the historical case studies of crisis communication in the new media environment with the Alaska Airlines Ad, as well as the relevance – and irrelevance – of laughter in satire in Weekend Update.
S49 E8 Kate McKinnon

We discuss Kate’s unique brand of corporeal comedy in North Pole News, the light and heavy interpretation of distraction of Yankee Swap, the implicit and explicit feminism in Tampon Farm and Rich Auntie with no Kids (as well as Gifts from Mom), and ethics of community expectations in the now-iconic Joke Swap.
S49 E7: Adam Driver

We talk about the congressional hearings on antisemitism, magnification of the conflict between academic expectations and popular discourse in the College Presidents Cold Open, racial and gendered differences in politeness and threat in Beep Beep showcases , the dehumanization of the elderly in Elder PSA, and the tendency to embellish and its impact on the…
S49 E6: Emma Stone

We discuss the role of AI in art in AI: A film by Please Don’t Destroy, art vs. craft and the humor of finding joy in shame in What’s in the Kiln, and the incredibly effective erasure of cigarettes in the public sphere in Michael Longfellow’s appearance as Old Fashioned Cigarette on Banning Vapes on Weekend…