The Daily Show and Rhetoric

Arguments, Issues, and Strategies

Contributions by Jonathan E. Barbur, C Wesley Buerkle, Josh Compton, Aaron Hess Arizona State University, Brian T. Kaylor, Ryan Erik McGeough, Lawrence J. Mullen, Stephanie M. Purtle, John W. Self, Robert Spicer, Timothy Steffensmeier, Penina Wiesman, Kelly Wilz Edited by Trischa Goodnow

Publication date:

08 April 2011

Length of book:

268 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

240x163mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780739150023

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.

Part 1 Introduction
Part 2 Section I - The Nature of the Beast
Chapter 3 Chapter 1: The Arete of Amusement: An Aristotelian Perspective on the Ethos of The Daily Show
Chapter 4 Chapter 2: Before and After The Daily Show: Freedom and Consequences in Political Satire
Chapter 5 Chapter 3: Cramer vs. (Jon Stewart's Characterization of) Cramer: Image Repair Rhetoric, Late Night Political Humor, and The Daily Show
Part 6 Section II - Arguments
Chapter 7 Chapter 4: The (Not-So) Laughable Political Argument: A Close-Textual Analysis of The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Chapter 8 Chapter 5: Models of Democratic Deliberation: Pharmacodynamic Agonism in The Daily Show
Chapter 9 Chapter 6: Purifying Laughter: Carnivalesque Self-Parody as Argument Scheme in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Chapter 10 Chapter 7: The Voice of the People: Jon Stewart, Vernacular Argument and Political Satire
Part 11 Section III - Strategies
Chapter 12 Chapter 8: We Frame to Please: A Preliminary Examination of The Daily Show's Use of Framing
Chapter 13 Chapter 9: Breaking News: A Postmodern Rhetorical Analysis of The Daily Show
Chapter 14 Chapter 10: Visual Aspects of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Part 15 Section IV - Issues
Chapter 16 Chapter 11: Gaywatch: A Burkean Frame Analysis of The Daily Show's Treatment of Queer Topics
Chapter 17 Chapter 12: A Modern Hebrew Prophet?: Jon Stewart and Religious Satire
Chapter 18 Chapter 13: The Daily Show and Barack Obama's Comic Critique of Whiteness: An Intersection of Popular and Political Rhetoric

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.