SNL101

Ariana Grande already looks like a 5-timer in her second time hosting on October 12, 2024. We discuss the struggle for unionization with Monica: A Happy Amazon Employee and magnifying the absurdities of history in Castrati , as well learning and to lose and the relationship between competition and cooperation in Charades with Mom . Readings include novels and documentaries on labor rights, as well...

Nate Bargatze returns to host the second episode of the 50th season with his trademark generous use of social space. We talk about masculinity in the Opening Monologue , the desires of the dead in Water Park , grotesque bodies and food in Sushi Glory Hole and Mile High Burger , and asymmetrical bilingualism in Sabado Gigante . Readings address the constructions of masculinity and femininity, philo...

The premiere of the 50th season is finally here! In Jean Smart's first appearance as host after nearly 40 years on television, we talk about repurposing and sustainability in the parody commercial, Spirit Halloween , Black on Black humor in Devon Walker's Eric Adams , and the privacy of public figures in Bowen Yang's Moo Deng . We also fan over Maya Rudolph's Kamala Harris, Jim Gaffigan's Tim Walz...

In the season finale hosted by Jake Gyllenhaal on May 18, 2024 , we discuss Mulvey's Male Gaze and Kracauer's Mass Ornament in Beautiful Girls , unfair labor practices and genocide in Fast Fashion Ad , and humans as props in Weekend Update Joke Swap . Readings include the philosophy of consumer responsibility and the role of American influencers in Chinese propaganda.  

Maya Rudolph returns to host the Mother's Day episode on May 13, 2024 . We talk about anti-queer discrimination and communities of practice with the Opening Monologue , the intersection of occupation, gender, and ethnicity in Nurse Appreciation , and the unruly woman in Hot Ones with Beyoncé . Readings include sociological investigations of a Queer community in Mexico City, structural racism in th...

Dua Lipa's first gig as SNL host on May 4, 2024 was generally enjoyable, but a few moments really stood out. We talk about algorithms and the loss of water cooler conversations in Jerry Seinfeld's appearance on Weekend Update as The Man Who Did Too Much Press , virtue signaling and slacktivism in Teeny Tiny Statement Pin , and the cognitive correlates of blackface and culture vultures in Good Morn...

Ryan Gosling's  third appearance hosting on April 13, 2024  was one of the best episodes of the season. We talk about emotional contagion and breaking with  Beavis and Butt-Head , and the complexity of sexist jokes with the Weekend Update Guest Appearances from SNL's  Resident Boyfriend, Michael Longfellow , and  Caitlin Clark . Readings include the philosophy and psychology of collective laughter...

Kristin Wiig returns to Studio 8H to host for the fifth time and did not disappoint. We discuss resolving gender pay gaps in sports with the TBS March Madness Cold Open , the overlap of fitness and identity with the horror trailer Pilates , and the double edged sword of gamifying reality with Jumanji . Readings include resources on gender pay gap, history of fitness culture, and how games promote...

Ramy Youssef's first time hosting SNL was unapologetically intersectional. 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 . Readings include the psychology of gallows humor and holiday imagery, re...

Josh Brolin returns to host for the third time in an unabashedly silly episode. 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 . Readings include selections from the Journal of Aesthetics and Art and the Journal of Popular Film and...

Sydney Sweeney hosted SNL for the first time on March 2, 2024. 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 . Rea...

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 .   Readings include the futuristic Boston Globe Editorial from 2016, Du Bois' The Souls of White Folks (1910), and se...

In Ayo Edebiri's hosting premiere fresh from her Emmy win, 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 . Readings inc...

In Dakota Johnson's second crack at hosting SNL after nine years, there was an important theme of appropriation – that is sampling minority culture without context and losing the original meaning of the artifact  in the interest of the majority's amusement. We talk about socioeconomic- and race-based othering in  Home Movies , black friends  and black-up bands with  Justin Timberlake's musical per...

We talked about 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 . Readings include 60 years of philosophy, 30 years public relations case studie...

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 . Readings including selections from the hosts, as well as articles on health communica...

We talk about the congressional hearings on antisemitism and the Cold Open's magnification of the conflict between academic expectations and popular discourse, how Beep Beep showcases racial and gendered differences in politeness and threat, the dehumanization of the elderly in Elder PSA, and the tendency to embellish and its impact on the concept of the "self-made man" and the American Dream in A...

In the sixth episode of the 49th season, Emma Stone hosts SNL for the fifth time. We discuss the role of AI in art in 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 appearances as an Old Timey Cigarette on Weekend Update. Readings include work...

Jason Momoa's second time hosting SNL was a feel good experience as advertised. We discuss the Biden Panda Cold Open and the politics of distraction, Old Timey Movies and the psychology of photography, Remember Lizards and the commodification and production of art, and a few classic Momoa moments like Cast Away and GE Big Boys (2018) that satirize masculinity. Readings include Stanley Milgram's ta...

Timothée Chalamet second time hosting SNL saw the return of classic segments like Tiny Horse and SmokeCheddaDaAssGetta, as well as some new experimental bits. In this episode, we discuss how audiences respond to impersonations with respect James Austin Johnson's amazing turn as Donald Trump in the Republican Debate Cold Open , flipping the gaze and the pleasure experienced by straight when women w...

Nate Bargatze is "The Nicest Man in Stand-Up," and it shows in his SNL debut. We discuss Cultural Ownership and Authentic Blackness in " Chef's Show ," Liberty, Logic, and American Exceptionalism in " Washington's Dream ," and Commodifying Masculinity in the Please Don't Destroy video " Dawg Food ." Suggested readings include Angela Davis' "Unfinished Lectures on Liberation," Charisse's article on...

Charisse and Luvell discuss dynamic and robust representations of Latino-ness in the opening monologue and throughout the episode, the complexity of satirizing cultural clashes in " Protective Mom 2 " and " Telenovela ", and disrupting stereotypes through normalization in " Enrique's Daughter ". Suggested readings include Alcoff's Mestizo Identity and Mastro and Behm-Morawitz's Latino representati...

Topics: Parody, Commodity Feminism, Misinterpretations of Blackness In this inaugural episode, Charisse and Luvell discuss the premiere episode of Season 49, hosted by Pete Davidson (musical guest, Ice Spice). We describe how educators can use " I'm Just Pete ," " Glamgina ," and " The Original Princes of Comedy " (a video by Please Don't Destroy) in the classroom to discuss parody, commodity femi...