Performances and Politics (Supplemental Post #4)

It is interesting to see how many celebrities are going on to impersonate various political figures, usually as a parody to critique their political viewpoints. This past Saturday, Tina Fey once again impersonated Sarah Palin, the former Governor of Alaska, and running partner with John McCain in the 2008 Presidential elections, in her appearance on Saturday Night Live. This is not the first time this impersonation has happened. (You can watch the first impersonation at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXVIwo5fLYs).

This has not only been the only time an actor has done this. There are various times when Will Ferrell parodied former President George Bush. Many of these impersonations are to make fun of politicians, since they do not have a strong public support, and people accept them. For example, in this impersonation (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkqrI3IibYI), Ferrell makes fun of Bush's Texan background.

All throughtout the web, there are various viral videos in which actors do these types of impersonations. These performances allow for promotional purposes; for instance, Tina Fey is asked everywhere she is interviewed about her Sarah Palin impersonation. Sure, she is a huge success on 30 Rock, but people also know her as the actress that made fun of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live.