The Daily Show and Rhetoric: Arguments, Issues, and Strategies

by Trischa Goodnow (Editor), Jonathan E. Barbur (Contribution by), C Wesley Buerkle (Contribution by), Josh Compton (Contribution by), Aaron Hess (Contribution by)

Overview

The Daily Show and Rhetoric: Arguments, Issues, and Strategies examines the popular Comedy Central program from a rhetorical perspective to uncover the ways in which Jon Stewart, the cast, and writers critique mainstream media and politicians. This volume analyzes the nature of The Daily Show, the arguments the program makes about the media and politics, the strategies that are used, and some of the particular issues about which the program makes arguments. Overall, the contributors skillfully demonstrate that The Daily Show is more than just a show designed to make the audience laugh. Rather, the show provides useful information and arguments so that the audience can make informed decisions about the world around them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739150030
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	03/31/2011
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	268
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Trischa Goodnow is associate professor in the Department of Speech Communication at Oregon State University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: The Daily Show and Rhetoric-Arguments, Issues, and Strategies xi

I The Nature of the Beast

1 The Arete of Amusement: An Aristotelian Perspective on the Ethos of The Daily Show Jonathan E. Barbur Trischa Goodnow 3

2 Before and After The Daily Show: Freedom and Consequences in Political Satire Robert N. Spicer 19

3 Cramer vs. (Jon Stewart's Characterization of) Cramer: Image Repair Rhetoric, Late Night Political Humor, and The Daily Show Josh Compton 43

II Arguments

4 The (not-so) Laughable Political Argument: A Close-Textual Analysis of The Daily Show Jon Stewart John W. Self 59

5 Models of Democratic Deliberation: Pharmacodynamic Agonism in The Daily Show Kelly Wilz 77

6 Purifying Laughter: Carnivalesque Self-Parody as Argument Scheme in The Daily Show Jon Stewart Aaron Hess 93

7 The Voice of the People: Jon Stewart, Public Argument, and Political Satire Ryan McGeough 113

III Strategies

8 We Frame to Please: A Preliminary Examination of The Daily Show's Use of Frames Penina Wiesman 131

9 Breaking News: A Postmodern Rhetorical Analysis of The Daily Show Aaron Hess 153

10 Visual Aspects of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Lawrence J. Mullen 171

IV Issues

11 Gaywatch: A Burkean Frame Analysis of The Daily Show's Treatment of Queer Topics C. Wesley Buerkle 189

12 Modern Hebrew Prophets? The Daily Show and Religious Satire Brian T. Kaylor 207

13 The Daily Show and Barack Obama's Comic Critique of Whiteness: An Intersection of Popular and Political Rhetoric Stephanie M. Purtle Timothy R. Steffensmeier 223

Index 241

About the Contributors 257

Editorial Reviews

Trischa Goodnow's The Daily Show and Rhetoric: Arguments, Issues, and Strategies is an important contribution toward the study of an important artifact of contemporary popular culture. This volume assembles a strong, diverse set of voices to explore the significance of this television series. The book not only illuminates its object of study but suggests several ways to understand the intersection of popular culture and rhetorical media.--Barry Brummett, University of Texas-Austin

In her introduction to this objective essay collection, Goodnow (Oregon State Univ.) asserts The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, an entertainment program on Comedy Central, persuades by means of political satire. In their 13 essays, contributors compare The Daily Show to traditional news; consider the political arguments that host Jon Stewart makes; discuss strategies used to inform audiences; and contemplate the ways in which the show handles specific issues, such as race, religion, and sexual preference. The volume is similar to Satire TV: Politics and Comedy in the Post Network Era, ed. by Jonathan Gray, Jeffrey Jones, and Ethan Thompson (CH, Sep'09, 47-0107), but is of course more limited topically. Accordingly, it is a resource for those maintaining comprehensive collections in political communication.--CHOICE

From the Publisher

In her introduction to this objective essay collection, Goodnow (Oregon State Univ.) asserts The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, an entertainment program on Comedy Central, persuades by means of political satire. In their 13 essays, contributors compare The Daily Show to traditional news; consider the political arguments that host Jon Stewart makes; discuss strategies used to inform audiences; and contemplate the ways in which the show handles specific issues, such as race, religion, and sexual preference. The volume is similar to Satire TV: Politics and Comedy in the Post Network Era, ed. by Jonathan Gray, Jeffrey Jones, and Ethan Thompson (CH, Sep'09, 47-0107), but is of course more limited topically. Accordingly, it is a resource for those maintaining comprehensive collections in political communication.

Choice

In her introduction to this objective essay collection, Goodnow (Oregon State Univ.) asserts The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, an entertainment program on Comedy Central, persuades by means of political satire. In their 13 essays, contributors compare The Daily Show to traditional news; consider the political arguments that host Jon Stewart makes; discuss strategies used to inform audiences; and contemplate the ways in which the show handles specific issues, such as race, religion, and sexual preference. The volume is similar to Satire TV: Politics and Comedy in the Post Network Era, ed. by Jonathan Gray, Jeffrey Jones, and Ethan Thompson (CH, Sep'09, 47-0107), but is of course more limited topically. Accordingly, it is a resource for those maintaining comprehensive collections in political communication.

Choice Reviews

Trischa Goodnow’s The Daily Show and Rhetoric: Arguments, Issues, and Strategies is an important contribution toward the study of an important artifact of contemporary popular culture. This volume assembles a strong, diverse set of voices to explore the significance of this television series. The book not only illuminates its object of study but suggests several ways to understand the intersection of popular culture and rhetorical media.

Barry Brummett

In her introduction to this objective essay collection, Goodnow (Oregon State Univ.) asserts The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, an entertainment program on Comedy Central, persuades by means of political satire. In their 13 essays, contributors compare The Daily Show to traditional news; consider the political arguments that host Jon Stewart makes; discuss strategies used to inform audiences; and contemplate the ways in which the show handles specific issues, such as race, religion, and sexual preference. The volume is similar to Satire TV: Politics and Comedy in the Post Network Era, ed. by Jonathan Gray, Jeffrey Jones, and Ethan Thompson (CH, Sep'09, 47-0107), but is of course more limited topically. Accordingly, it is a resource for those maintaining comprehensive collections in political communication.

CHOICE