Burning Bush: Sitcom Treatments of the Bush Presidency

Takacs talks about the sitcom representations of the George W. Bush presidency. Two representations, in particular, trace the shifting perspectives on and power of the Bush presidency from its controversial inception to its near-defeat in the 2004 elections. Comedy Central's That's My Bush...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of popular culture 2011-04, Vol.44 (2), p.417-435
Main Author: TAKACS, STACY
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bush, George W
Cultural history
Cultural studies
Economic policy
Political culture
Political discourse
Political power
Politics
Popular culture
Presidency
Presidents
Social criticism & satire
Television programs
Tone
U.S.A
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Summary:Takacs talks about the sitcom representations of the George W. Bush presidency. Two representations, in particular, trace the shifting perspectives on and power of the Bush presidency from its controversial inception to its near-defeat in the 2004 elections. Comedy Central's That's My Bush!, which premiered in the wake of the 2000 election, provides a snapshot of the impoverished state of US political discourse in the pre-9/11 era. It is less a satire of the George W. Bush presidency than an indictment of the spectacularization of the political--its transformation into a form of publicity--that abetted his rise to power. Its cynical tone both records popular frustration with these developments and implies they are inescapable. The outcome is a program that not only conserves the social order but explains why it was so easy for the Bush administration to centralize authority in the White House after the 9/11 attacks.
ISSN:0022-3840
1540-5931
DOI:10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00840.x