Document Type
Dissertation
First Faculty Advisor
Holtzman, Richard
Keywords
The Daily Show; cynicism; democracy; politics
Publisher
Bryant University
Abstract
In recent years, satirical news programs like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart have emerged as an important development in contemporary American society, culture, and politics. Critics have argued that The Daily Show has a negative impact on the political attitudes of American citizens by making them cynical about government and the political process as a whole. As a result of these attitudes, they argue, citizens are less apt to participate in politics and, in turn, this behavior is detrimental to American democracy. The purpose of this research project is to explore the debate over whether or not The Daily Show is indeed bad for democracy. Its objectives are not simply to develop my own answer to this question, but more importantly to critically unpack the question itself in order to analyze the complex relationships between The Daily Show, cynicism, and democracy. To do so, I review, analyze, and assess various and competing definitions of the concepts “cynicism” and “democracy,” and then use close readings of scholarship from political science, communication, and cultural studies to construct a “debate” on the question of the show’s significance for contemporary American democracy.
Included in
Journalism Studies Commons, Political Science Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Television Commons
Comments
political science, communication, and cultural studies