

Often times in media, people will use different techniques to represent the same scenarios. Whether it be by humor or sadness, these scenarios are portrayed effectively. An example of this would be the television shows Veep and Parks and Recreation. In two specific episodes of these shows, politics is parodied in satirical ways by both productions. While both these shows use comedy to illustrate their points, they do so in different ways. 

Season 4, episode 11 of Parks and Recreations is entitled The Comeback Kid. In this episode, Leslie, played by Amy Poehler, is in the midst of a campaign for city council. She hires Ann as her campaign manager at the beginning of the episode. The rest of the episode includes many humorous scenes. These scenes all center around the main fact that Leslie’s campaign team is grossly underqualified to help her win her campaign. Leslie openly admits this fact, humorously stating “I no longer have highly trained, professional campaign managers. So what? Are most murders committed by highly trained, professional assassins? No!”. Leslie and her campaign team, in an attempt to gain publicity and supporters, get Pete Disellio, a former local high school basketball star, to endorse her. Pete agrees, but only if his basketball career is not a forefront of his introduction. While Leslie and Ann are talking to Pete, the rest of the campaign team is given the task of setting up a rally for Leslie. This hilariously underqualified group of people find hijinks at all turns. Andy and April adopt a three legged dog, Champion, and the crew get pulled over in their truck because their supplies are falling out of the back of it. Additionally, Ron doesn’t even have a license to drive the truck that he is driving. This hilarious sequence of events shows how dysfunctional Leslie and her crew were. The team schedules Leslie’s rally at a gym. But, when they arrive, there is an ice hockey rink set up. This is obviously a problem. Secondly, the red carpet that Leslie was supposed to walk on is too short, so her and her campaign team are forced to shuffle out to the stage, with many of them falling. The stage is also much too small with no stairs. In summary, the episode mainly focuses on the lack of experience from Leslie and her campaign team and shows politics, and more specifically, political campaigns in the most humorous way possible. 

The episode of Veep also highlights political campaigns with the use of satire. In this episode, Selina Meyer is attempting to win the Presidential Election and remain President of the United States. She was Vice President, but after the President resigned, she took over office. In this specific episode, it is Election Night. Selina Meyer and her campaign team are hunkered down in a hotel room awaiting the results of the election. The election between President Meyer and her opponent, Bill O’ Brien, is a particularly crazy one. Meyer and her team are under the impression that they have lost the Election after a few states are called in favor of O’Brien. However, these callings are not true, and Meyer had been awarded the victories in these crucial states. In fact, Meyer is in the process of calling O’Brien to concede the Election, but quickly changes the topic of conversation when told by one of her advisors that the race is far from over. In a stunning turn of events, Selina Meyer and Bill O’Brien tie in electoral votes. Selina Meyer’s team is befuddled by this, and their lack of knowledge and awareness is hilariously displayed. There is a panic from the group, as almost everyone wildly attempts to figure out what exactly is happening and who the next President of the United States is going to be. Many turn to their electronic devices for the answer. The all-out panic of the campaign team is hilarious and the lack of proficiency by the group is shown perfectly. Most viewers of the show have absolutely no idea what behind the scenes of politics is like, so this episode gives people a funny view of what really happens. It also leaves the viewer to imagine if this really is what politics is like when the cameras are not rolling and the whole world is watching.

The similarities between the two episodes are obvious. Both shows have satirical views of politics, and more specifically, the political campaign. Both shows feature a female campaigner with a comically inaptitude campaign team. The two groups lack of awareness is a focal point of both of the episodes. While many similarities are evident, the scale of the campaigns are completely different. Selina Meyer is running for President of the United States while Leslie is merely running for City Council. The lack of function of the campaign team, however, is the same. Leslie’s team did not know how to organize a campaign rally in the same way that President Meyer’s team did not know who would be President of the United States in the event of tie in the number of the votes from the Electoral College. Both shows hilariously depict the struggle of a campaign team while on the campaign trail without a doubt.
