Before the epic era of Leslie Knope, comedienne Amy Poehler was bringing Hillary Clinton to life on "Saturday Night Live." Regardless of the popular opinion on Clinton's personality and how she got her success, it's undeniable that her impressive resume and hard work are a source of inspiration for many girls who aspire to go further in the sphere of public service. Watching such an empowering person like Amy Poehler playing Clinton somehow had an ever more impactful effect on me.
And while "SNL" is clearly biased in its political leanings...
...behind its layers of comedy I think there's an honest social commentary on Hillary Clinton that is, to some extent, unbiased.
Since Poehler's migration to other projects, comedienne Kate McKinnon has taken the daunting task of portraying Clinton (Poehler's trademark act) with gusto, precision, spunk, and a great deal of scotch.
1. Acknowledging Bill's *personal* failings without casting them on Clinton's person or her platform.
Regardless of how you feel about Clinton's cover-up of her husbands' sexual assault against women, "SNL" does a good job in acknowledging Bill's past without letting it become the focus of the conversation when we talk about Hillary. It's an important reminder that Hillary, not Bill, is the one running for president.
2. Spoofing Clinton's questionable likability.
It's no secret that Clinton has acquired a persona of reservedness about her private life to the point of projecting an image that many people inexplicably dislike. I know a few voters who voted for Trump simply because they didn't like Clinton. While they didn't take the time to investigate why they don't like Clinton, their view of her is projected all across the media. She's been described as robotic, passionless, dull, shrill, angry, and frigid.
McKinnon's impersonation of Hillary's interpersonal moments faithfully depict the challenges Clinton has faced as she seeks to become a more personable figure for all people. Whether she's learned to keep her life private after the media tore her apart post-Bill's indiscretion, or whether the media loves to portray her awkwardly, OR whether she actually is an awkward person, McKinnon's portrayal, in bringing out Clinton's interpersonal struggles, resonated with me and made Clinton a more relatable person.
3. Spoofing Clinton's ability to get around town like the rest of us, mortals.
Someone had to do this after Clinton wore that infamous Armani jacket while giving a speech on inequality. To be fair, she's hardly the only candidate with a six-figure wardrobe.
3. Acknowledging the corruption of the Democratic Party.
We will feel the Bern forever.
4. Extrapolating on the gloating fireworks that must be going off inside Clinton's mind every time Trump says too many words all at once.
Like that one time he boasted about sexually assaulting women.
Wait... that may have happened more than once.
5. Depicting Clinton's struggle bus in reaching out to minorities.
It's been a process, to say the least.
6. Elaborating on the fact that Clinton will never elaborate on those emails.
If we're honest with ourselves, that horse is dead, people. Let's stop beating it.
7. Critiquing Clinton's belated support for the LGBTG+ community.
8. Explaining why Clinton has better credentials to speak for women's health than Donald Trump.
“What two better people are there to talk about women’s issues? Me, a woman who has had a child and has taken birth control, and him, a man who is a child and whose face is birth control.”
9. Proving that Clinton could take out Palin during a dance-off.
Among other things.
10. Consistently showing Clinton's determination to win.
Amy Poehler and Kate McKinnon have been playing as Hillary Clinton for years because Clinton has played the politics game for so long and she knows how to maneuver well. Perhaps too well? (I'm looking at you, DNC).
Yet throughout all its comic portrayals of Clinton, I think "SNL" understands something very important about the representation of a candidate: it can't be favorably achieved without the people. In this election fraught with conflict, comedy hasn't only served as relief, but for "SNL" writers, it has been a way to portray the failings of Clinton in the forgiving light of comedy while also making her a more relatable character. Clinton has fought an uphill battle in overcoming the stigma of the media in her appeal to the masses, but "SNL" has done a good job directly appealing to the masses through comedy. If that isn't teamwork, I don't know what is.
On the other hand, McKinnon clearly deserved the Emmy she received for Best Supporting Actress.
By the powers of association that be, the portrayal of Clinton by assertive, funny, powerful women like Poehler and McKinnon have made Clinton herself seem funny, approachable and real. In my opinion, "SNL" has done a better PR job than Clinton's team.
While these comic musings are inane compared to the urgent national and international issues that need to be dealt with, the sad reality is that many voters are not considering Clinton simply because they inexplicably dislike her personality. She's certainly difficult to decipher. Not only is her career in politics fraught with complications, she's also a female politician--an identity most people still don't know how to deal with.
For reasons mostly explained elsewhere, I still think Clinton's platform and political expertise make her a better candidate than Trump. There, I said it.
But that's also a dead horse that we need to stop beating, isn't it?
Disclaimer: No actual horses were harmed in the writing of this article.
