My research paper will be comparing The Martha Raye Show (1954-56) and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2014-). These two shows are extremely successful night shows that I want to compare and contrast how both hosts entertain their viewers: examining the structures of each episode, how involved the hosts in the shows themselves, and comedy in context to current events. My preliminary thesis will be arguing how The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon tailors its content better to its audience than The Martha Raye Show in terms of those three criteria mentioned: episode structure, hosts themselves, and comedy to fit more socio-political correctness. More specifically, really thinking about how both shows want to integrate and relate to their respective audiences and the implications of that being in a talk-show in terms of viewer interest, ratings, reviews, etc. Does making a talk/variety show all about providing what the viewers want to hear and see, or does it take away from views that need to be mentioned on television?
Thinking about critical analysis, I will definitely discuss the difference between a talk show and a variety show in both instances; both bring differences in how the viewer enjoys the show’s material. Additionally, I want to encapsulate what both of the shows wanted to capture and display to their viewers, i.e. what do Martha Raye and Jimmy Fallon want you to get out of their episode? What type of narrative is being portrayed across the show’s episodes about the content and the hosts themselves?
As for cultural comparison, it’s important to see both shows in the context of when they are being broadcasted. Thinking about post-war, consumerist lifestyle America in the 50s, analyzing how Martha Raye discusses those themes, if at all, and comparing that to how Jimmy Fallon’s show uses contemporary social, political, and cultural themes to produce his show and the response that brings.
Sources:
- Spigel: “Installing the Television Set”
- I’m really interested in utilizing Spigel’s “Installing the TV Set” because it allows me to put into perspective what these two shows bring to the household as a means of “other-worldly” entertainment apart from the mundane lifestyle within the home.
- Denise Mann: “The Specatularization of Everyday Life: Recycling Hollywood Stars and Fans in Early Television Variety Shows”
- Furthermore, with how both shows bring in Hollywood stars and celebrities in their respective shows, I’m curious about exploring the implications of using those actors, who are related to various spectaculars of film, onto the television set, as Denise Mann describes.
- The New York Times: “Martha Raye; Her Top Rating a Tribute to Resourcefulness of Program’s Writers”https://www.nytimes.com/1953/11/18/archives/television-in-review-martha-raye-her-top-rating-a-tribute-to.html
- Discussion about Martha Raye as an actor and the writing done for her show.
- Moser, Michael Louis. “Intimacy, In-Jokes, and the Feeling of Spontaneity on Late-Night Talk Shows: How Hosts and Audiences Laughed Together in Pandemic Times.” Studies in American Humor, vol. 9 no. 2, 2023, p. 247-265. Project MUSE, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/907820.
- Late-night shows used their program to bring people together during the pandemic, relating to many of the social themes shows like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon had to deal with and embrace, mainly to relate to his audience better.
- The Hollywood Reporter: “Jimmy Fallon Wants to Keep Avoiding Politics on ‘The Tonight Show’: “I Just Keep My Head Down”’ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/jimmy-fallon-wants-avoid-politics-the-tonight-show-1236391481/
- Journal article in reference to Jimmy Fallon’s response to the FCC’s cancellation of Jimmy Kimmel’s talk-show. Possibly relate to our conversation about narratives in talk-shows, additionally the need to be socially and politically inclusive to not just the viewers but to those who regulate TV.
- (Possibly More Sources to Come…)
One reply on “We’ll Be Right Back: Socio-Political Correction Comparison Between Night-Show Hosts Martha Raye and Jimmy Fallon”
I think this is a very smart comparison and I like where you’re going with it. I especially like the sources you came up with and how they fit into your thesis. I would be interested in how you’re going to make your argument structurally and the way you will frame it. It makes sense to point out how different the time periods are and how they are different shows. I think acknowledging that will add a lot of strength to your paper. When you talk about the Jimmy Fallon show tailoring it better to the interests I think specific sources about that would be helpful to make sure you can advance that claim.