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Julian Wheating WRTG3020 7/26/11 The Report Many of us have seen, read, or at least heard of a man by the name of Stephen Colbert. He is the star of his own satirical show on Comedy Central that reviews the political happenings of today’s complex political system. His show ‘The Colbert Report’ beats both Leno and Letterman in the night talk show category for the ages of 18 to 34 ( ). He is the political-comedian and brainchild of the star of ‘The Daily Show’, Jon Stewart. Colbert has transformed the world of politics from one dominated by old, traditional beliefs and brought it into the eye of the younger generation in a way that is funny, exciting, and understandable. Colbert does this completely through various types of humor techniques. He uses the Burkean satirical frame to create an ethos for himself. He points to hidden meanings by being excessively exaggerated. The effectiveness of his show and expressed values has been tremendously successful. He has raised millions of dollars for various charities as well as captivated and educated his audience. Katherine Reutter commented in the Chicago Tribune, “That one man can have so much influence over an audience is fascinating.” ( Chicago tribune) What makes Stephen Colbert so successful? How does his humor connect with his audience? Why has his humor become such an effective method of persuasion? What, if any, is the real impact of his comedy on the policies and views of the politicians in the United States and how has it changed the way they campaign? The focus of Colbert’s motives and methods are exemplified through the rhetorical speech he gave at the White House Correspondents Dinner in 2006. This speech directly and indirectly slanders many important issues going on in the US and around the world. Colbert insults Bush to his face and does it to the pleasure of the people in the crowd. The only other time this type of continued abuse happens is when celebrities agree to go on Comedy Central’s ‘Roast’ in which the goal of the show is to brutally embarrass the person. Colbert targets Bush’s approval rating at the dinner, which is terribly low at the time, by saying, “pay no attention to the people who say the glass is half empty, because 32% means it's 2/3 empty. There's still some liquid in that glass is my point, but I wouldn't drink it. The last third is usually backwash.” ( ) He continues to sarcastically mock the validity of the approval polls saying, “they reflect what people are thinking in ‘reality’.” ( ) Colbert starts by taking Bush’s side but quickly uses a familiar phrase to turn against him. Colbert enforces the reality of the bad approval rating by putting it into a recognizable anecdote (glass half full/empty). Colbert then uses exaggeration and satirical sarcasm to bring the validity of these polls into question. As listeners we know that Colbert is mocking his own questions of reality because he uses his fingers to put quotations around the word ‘reality’. Colbert uses these types of obviously wrong suggestions to emphasize the horrible approval-rating Bush had. Not only does Colbert poke fun at Bush’s approval rating but he also attacks Bush’s foreign policy in Iraq. In a bold and sarcastic tone, Colbert says, “I believe the government that governs best is the government that governs least.” Colbert speeds up and trails off saying, “And by these standards, we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq. ”(transcript ) It is important to note that the way Colbert delivers this punch line comes quickly and clearly, and by doing so hits the audience harder than if delivered slowly like the first part of the joke. He starts off with a serious line relating to government and quickly applies it to our own war in Iraq. This line is genius and is clearly received well by the audience given their laughter. With each punch line he savors the moment afterward, giving a little time before he speaks again so as to let his words soak in. The soak in time for Colbert is an extremely important one. The key element he uses to allow the audience to value every word while delivering his jokes, and throughout his entire speech, is the power of silence. He never seems to stumble over his words and instead considers his next words carefully, deciding what to say and how to deliver it. His delivery makes his material impressionable and leaves very little unnecessary wording and information for the listeners to get tripped up on. This precision, combined with his reflexive responses, makes him a dangerous force in any interview. This silence, though, is also important when it comes to hiding behind his created ethos. Stephen Colbert’s quick wit and fast responses are all part of the persona he has created for himself. It is extremely important to note that he rarely breaks character, which is so effective because the persona he created oozes his ideals. The Chicago Tribune referred to him saying he “is a megaphone of influence, shouted by a comedian with a keen ethical compass who plays a blowhard with no ethical compass and hopes the audience gets the difference.” (Chicago tribe) Though he makes a lot of wild exaggerations, his acceptance and understanding come as much from his viewers as it does from himself. When he addressed the room full of top politicians at the correspondent’s dinner, he never broke character. Toward the end of his address, much of congress was not laughing but the points he was hitting on were all in the same, meaningful. Many people rarely realize that he is, in fact, acting. He creates his ethos to be someone of slightly left values but works to share the political happenings in a manner that is understandable. Everything he refers to has some reasoning behind it. He picks the charities because they have some meaning to him but also some value in the progression of American democracy. He uses his ethos to outline his beliefs towards how America is working and what sorts of things America is doing wrong. He never outright states the American politics have screwed up or they are doing something well. He uses many of the Burkean frames to impose onto those he interviews. Satire is his forte but he uses other forms as well. He portrays people in the comic light and especially in the satirical light. He combines satire with irony to bring out ideas and actions of others that are questionable. It is also a great way to convey his ideals as Christopher Borrelli of the Chicago Tribune says, “Satire always comes out of idealism, and to be a great satirist, you need to be an idealist.” ( ) This perfectly explains Colbert’s methodology. Yes, most of his material is funny, but it all comes from his beliefs and values. But why does Colbert’s humor, or any humor for that matter, work so well to convince people to believe in such concrete beliefs? In his article “The Science of Why We Don’t Believe in Science”, Chris Mooney makes the case that being more educated can lead to tougher shifts of belief. This may also be true in Colbert’s case. The target audience Colbert is trying to reach is a younger demographic who are generally not experts in the field of political understanding. This is especially true seeing some of the other shows that surround The Colbert Report on Comedy Central (some involving crude cartoons living together or fighting crime). Jody C Baumgartner and Jonathan S. Morris believe that because the political importance is surrounded with other less important shows, “the viewer is less likely to put up cognitive ‘guards’ that sometimes go up when he/she recognizes that they are the target of attempted persuasion.” ( ) It can be compared to watching a politically driven show such at Fox news. When watching Fox, most people are already suspicious of the factuality of the show so they are less inclined to believe it. Mooney would even say viewers would ever actively disagree with the things stated on the show because of internal beliefs. A show like The Colbert Report makes a giant attempt to stay away from political sides and use the show simply as a means of transmitting information in a different, more comprehensible way (though it doesn’t always succeed at being neutral). With the continued success of The Colbert Report comes a greater involvement of the once unreachable demographic of the US population. Colbert uses satire and humor to define critical issues in a way that gets a youthful generation involved. Many issues resonate through the rhetorical methods of Stephen Colbert. The creation of his ethos allows the viewers to develop their own opinions and loyalties. Colbert’s style of humor is received at many levels of education, which is a strong reason why it is so effective. As long as the causes Stephen Colbert chooses to support are ones he believes in, his followers will believe in them too. Works Cited Baumgartner, J. C., & Morris, J. S. (2008). One “Nation,” Under Stephen? The Effects of The Colbert Report on American Youth. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 52(4), 622-643. doi:10.1080/08838150802437487 Borrelli, Christopher. "The Colbert Bump." Chicago Tribune 21 July 2011: n. pag.The Colbert Bump. Web. 21 July 2011. youtube transcript…