Satirical Impersonation of Sarah Palin by Tina Fey

Saturday Night Live is an American sketch comedy and variety show. After its debut in 1975, this show has been successful in American culture for over three decades. This success is largely due to effective cast members such as Tina Fey. In one particular episode, Fey and costar Amy Poehler impersonate politician Sarah Palin in an interview.

Aside from dresssing and talking like Sarah Palin to make fun of her, Tina Fey uses satire to make fun of Palin as a person and politician. When asked about her recent trip to New York, Fey as Palin mentions how her family went to a "goofy evolution museum" and how she had 30 false alarms because she thought she saw Osama bin Laden driving taxis. While American citizens are laughing, their opinions of Palin are being shifted negatively due to Fey's satirical impression of her.

Also mentioned in the interview was Palin's thoughts on foreign policy. Fey was able to make fun of Palin's political views on foreign policy in her mock interview with Poehler. When asked about her views on foreign policy, Fey as Palin would repeat questions into answers and not finish sentences. FOr example, when asked how she would specifically spread democracy, Fey answered, "Specifically we will spread democracy abroad to those who want it." This creates an opportunity to make Palin seem unknowledgeable on the topic of foreign policy. When Palin is given another opportunity to explain her claim of her expertise on foreign policy with respects to Alaska and Russia, Palin dumbfoundedly says that people in Alaska are only separated from Alaska by a mere boarder of the Atlantic Ocean. Here, Fey and Poehler are presenting Palin as an imbecile not only because she named the wrong ocean and finds it to be a "mere boarder," but Poehler's facial expressions and tone of voice also hint at the satire being portrayed.

While Fey and Poehler's intentions here were for mostly comic relief, the satire presented in this mock interview shapes American citizens to look at Palin differently when considering her ethos and how effective she would be in office.