Colbert Study: Conservatives Don't Know He's Joking - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

lostgirl · 04-29-2009, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Last week, Stephen Colbert revisited a segment he had done on Florida Representative Bill Posey, who sponsored a bill that "would require future presidential candidates to provide a copy of their original birth certificate," in order to put insane rumors of President Barack Obama's birthplace to bed.

Colbert thought a similar measure should be taken to end the whisperings that Posey was a human-alligator hybrid. Posey, in response to Colbert, said, "I expected there would be some civil debate about it, but it wasn't civil...There is no reason to say that I'm the illegitimate grandson of an alligator." And one wondered, "Does Posey not realize that Colbert is not speaking in earnest? His reaction seems uniquely stupid!"

Stupid, yes. But apparently it's not unique at all, according to a study from The Ohio State University, which proves, with math and stuff, that lots of conservatives seem to not understand the intrinsic, underlying joke of The Colbert Report:

This study investigated biased message processing of political satire in The Colbert Report and the influence of political ideology on perceptions of Stephen Colbert. Results indicate that political ideology influences biased processing of ambiguous political messages and source in late-night comedy. Using data from an experiment (N = 332), we found that individual-level political ideology significantly predicted perceptions of Colbert's political ideology. Additionally, there was no significant difference between the groups in thinking Colbert was funny, but conservatives were more likely to report that Colbert only pretends to be joking and genuinely meant what he said while liberals were more likely to report that Colbert used satire and was not serious when offering political statements. Conservatism also significantly predicted perceptions that Colbert disliked liberalism. Finally, a post hoc analysis revealed that perceptions of Colbert's political opinions fully mediated the relationship between political ideology and individual-level opinion.

I think a lot of conservatives are going to pissed when they realize that Stephen Colbert's performance at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner was not, in fact, an awkward and ineffective attempt to praise President George W. Bush, but actually a bitter and satiric criticism of his incompetence!

PREVIOUSLY, on the HUFFINGTON POST:

From: Colbert Study: Conservatives Don't Know He's Joking

I find this very funny as I could see my parents not getting the joke either.

Crack · 04-30-2009, 11:53 AM

Awesome. Pure awesome. I have always believed that there were people out there who watched Colbert because they thought he was being serious and believed his view point matched their own.

SSJTWIZTA · 04-30-2009, 01:18 PM

yeah, i knew this before the study. its nice to see it backed though.

vinceco252 · 04-30-2009, 01:44 PM

I guess, on one hand, I can see it. Some of the real pundits don't sound too different from Mr. Colbert, so how is a simple conservative follower to differentiate?

biznatch · 04-30-2009, 06:49 PM

Yes, I'm pretty sure there's a few conservatives out there that think Colbert is not acting; however I don't think it applies to most conservatives, as this article seems to imply.

vinceco252 · 04-30-2009, 07:01 PM

Well, I have some conservative views (NOT all), and I know he's kidding...

Skitto · 05-02-2009, 04:20 PM

Well yeahoo! The threshold of truth on tv has been moved up to around 50%, now 100% isn't quite plausable, but I'm guessing we'll get between 40-70% before E-day.

tricks · 05-05-2009, 12:10 PM

This is exactly what I thought of Rush Limbaugh when I first heard him. I thought he was hilarious.

I guess I'm just naive.

Unless... fans started taking him seriously and he had to respond in kind.

04-30-2009, 11:53 AM	#2 (permalink)
Crack Misanthropic Location: Ohio! yay!	Awesome. Pure awesome. I have always believed that there were people out there who watched Colbert because they thought he was being serious and believed his view point matched their own. __________________ Crack, you and I are long overdue for a vicious bout of mansex. ~Halx

04-30-2009, 01:18 PM	#3 (permalink)
SSJTWIZTA Master Thief. Master Criminal. Masturbator. Location: Windiwana	yeah, i knew this before the study. its nice to see it backed though. __________________ First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the communists and I did not speak out because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for me And there was no one left to speak out for me. -Pastor Martin Niemoller

04-30-2009, 06:49 PM	#5 (permalink)
biznatch Junkie Location: France	Yes, I'm pretty sure there's a few conservatives out there that think Colbert is not acting; however I don't think it applies to most conservatives, as this article seems to imply. __________________ Check it out: The Open Source/Freeware/Gratis Software Thread

05-02-2009, 04:20 PM	#7 (permalink)
Skitto Crazy Location: Westernmost Continental U.S.	Well yeahoo! The threshold of truth on tv has been moved up to around 50%, now 100% isn't quite plausable, but I'm guessing we'll get between 40-70% before E-day. __________________ Yeah, well, you're just that awesome, I guess. It's not like I guessed so anyways.

05-05-2009, 12:10 PM	#8 (permalink)
tricks Crazy	This is exactly what I thought of Rush Limbaugh when I first heard him. I thought he was hilarious. I guess I'm just naive. Unless... fans started taking him seriously and he had to respond in kind. __________________ People Are Stupid. People can be made to believe any lie, either because they want it to be true or because they fear that it is.

04-30-2009, 01:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
vinceco252 Upright Location: Keller, TX	I guess, on one hand, I can see it. Some of the real pundits don't sound too different from Mr. Colbert, so how is a simple conservative follower to differentiate?

04-30-2009, 07:01 PM	#6 (permalink)
vinceco252 Upright Location: Keller, TX	Well, I have some conservative views (NOT all), and I know he's kidding...