Here I discuss satire about Hillary Clinton.
Clinton cameo in Middlebury sketch comedy skit
Middlebury Discount Comedy: Hillary/Bernie/Trump + 1 More
I (Marney Kline) play Hillary Clinton in a sketch my friend and I wrote for our sketch comedy troupe Middlebury Discount Comedy. I guess we just focused on Clinton’s uptightness and tendency to proclaim herself worried about the state of our country/democracy. We also joke about her gender and her distance from her husband. We filmed it on an iPhone during rehearsal on Sunday, Dec. 6. Sorry for the poor visual quality.
Clinton attempts relatable interview
Hillary Clinton Campaign Ad Outtakes
This is a spoof interview of Hillary Clinton in which the comedian portraying her acts like a quirky robot-human, or a cyborg, evoking what Jessica Ritchie describes as the cyborg-ization of females in the digital age. “I’m not some alien doing an interpretation of a human being so that I can become the first alien president!” cackles Clinton in this comedy sketch. Ritchie describes the cyborg as, “a figure of feminist transcendence within wider debates about the relationship between women and cyber-technology” which collapses the distinctions between “male and female, organism and machine, human and animal” (104-5, Ritchie). This is a recurring theme in satire about Clinton, and it’s funny because it is preposterous to insinuate she is not a human, yet also speaks to her difficulties with connecting to other people through media (i.e. instagram, TV interviews, etc.). “Loose? No problem,” Clinton assures the camera person in this interview. She struggles to remember her mother’s name: “When I think about why I’m doing this, I think about my mother… Dorothy,” she says. The off-screen camera person interjects: “Mrs. Clinton, we can see you reading off your hand.”
The Nutcracker
Hillary Clinton Nutcracker on Amazon.com
For $24, one can own a nutcracker that is a likeness of Hillary Clinton. Her masculine, and hence emasculating, strength is emphasized in this gag gift. The product description follows: “Stainless steel teeth secured inside upper legs to grip and crack nuts in their shell.” It is funny that between the figure’s legs there exists not a reproductive organ, but a means of shattering walnuts, a symbol of male virility and power.
Clinton’s Team Brainstorms Jokes
“Why the Long Face” New Yorker Humor Piece
This is a very amusing New Yorker “Shouts & Murmurs” humor piece. It imagines Hillary Clinton conferring with her strategists on how to make a funny joke. They are all depicted as so humorless and literal in their ernest attempt to construct a joke that they are funny precisely because of their unfunny-ness.
Excerpt:
STAFFER 4: What if a guy walks into a barn and sees a bar?
CLINTON: That makes no sense.
STAFFER 2: Is that funny, though? Walking into a barn?
CLINTON: Barns are hilarious. It depends on the barn, of course, as well as the time of year. Barns can also be sad. I’ve walked into barns in the heartland of this great country, where jobs have vanished and the American dream is dead.
(Long silence.)
Proclaims Self as “Fun”
“I am Fun” article from The Onion
This article impersonates Hillary Clinton, imagining her addressing voters with the thesis: “I am fun,” and proceeding to prove that point with dry, robotic elaboration.
Highlights from the article impersonating HIllary Clinton:
- “When situations are humorous, I signal my recognition of the fun by laughing, just as you do.”
- “Being a grandparent is fun. It is also a way in which I am similar to others. This is a fun topic through which I can connect with many people.”
Commentary: The jokes hinge on the notion that Hillary Clinton is a hard-nosed bureaucrat that lacks the capacity to relate to regular people. She is portrayed as frigid and calculating in her attempts to appear relatable. Other ideas about her personality: workaholic, not a good family member, careerist, official, intensely law-abiding, enthusiastic about dull paperwork, has no free time, never relaxes, serious.