“Saturday Night Live” is too often for propaganda, not satire.
Programs openly and freely bent broke the legacy of mocking the powerful, regardless of affiliation.
Overnight, however, the show’s propaganda gave way to something new. You could call it comic therapy.
A February 26 sketch features three couples discussing how the science has suddenly “changed” in relation to the pandemic.
One of the friends (Kenan Thompson) was still wearing his COVID-19 mask as they sat down to dinner, and he sheepishly took it off when his friends reminded him he was out of duty wearing the mask. That sparks a flurry of awkward confessions, framed by discreet whispers and flanked by panic.
Were we wrong… about everything?
Humorous performances are the clumsy lifeline of Kate McKinnon’s work. She’s still the show’s most relatable comic force.
There’s a lot to consider about the sketch in question.
First, it became clear that the six diners were all libertarians who read the same news day in and day out. It’s effective comedy, for what it’s worth. The five-minute sketch conveys that information and more without sharing it in person.
Look closer.
Sextet weeds out friends who don’t quite fit the COVID “truths” they perceive. Now, they are having second thoughts as the legacy media let the truth out.
The fact that The New York Times, everywhere, only shares how CDC is hiding important COVID-19 information to avoid the public “misinterpreting” the data.
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Perhaps the writers of the comedy show also have some guilt about the way they’ve behaved during the pandemic. Is this a comedy or a drama?
Diners also soothed themselves by rereading the media’s pandemic talking points, almost like an invigorating church hymn.
Second, each diner is afraid to share a thought that has not been approved by their colleague first. It’s played for comic effect, but that’s a sad reality for too many Americans. Say the “wrong” thing, like a former Levi executive Jennifer Sey learned the hard way, and you could lose your job.
Sey noted the irony on social media.
Note, I lost my job for asking some of the questions asked here in this SNL skit. 2 years on, I guess it’s okay for comedians to challenge group thinking but certainly not for the parents in the last 24 months. https://t.co/KFdTFzWTFq
– Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) February 27, 2022
The gathered diners were so scared of the emerging truth, and realized they might have been buying a lie for two years, that they were scared to tell the truth.
It’s an amazing depiction of the tribal group’s thinking in 2022.
Ultimately, as one of Sey’s followers astutely noted, this skit can have real-world consequences. Many Americans believe that the “Laboratory Leak Theory” related to COVID-19 is the content of conspiracy websites, not reality.
You can’t completely blame them. Everyone from the media and Big Tech to Dr. Anthony Fauci insisted it was a lie, until they slowly let reality seep in.
It was funny Jon Stewart to question that storyon the very liberal “Late Show,” before some people started questioning the truth behind it.
Don’t forget: You can question the source of covid once Jon Stewart did. Unfortunately, too many people get their “news” from shows like Colbert, Stewart, Kimmel, etc. So once they say something, it’s okay.
– Melissa (@Melissa34122852) February 27, 2022
A similar effect could happen if the diner sketch went viral. We’ll have to wait and see.
Currently, “SNL” has brought a refreshing breeze and self-perception in a short sketch. Who knows? Maybe next week they’ll finally realize that the president they’ve defended for the past year deserves a nasty blow?
