Liiiiiiiiiive from New York, it’s Saturday Night!
To celebrate the iconic show’s 50th anniversary, cast members, former hosts, show alums, and pretty much all of New York made their way to 30 Rock for SNL50: The Anniversary Special on February 16 (which, surprisingly, was a Sunday night). With five decades of some of modern comedy’s best sketches, bits, and satire under its belt, Saturday Night Live (SNL) has poked harmless fun at everyone and everything under the sun — including the Philippines.
Who can forget when Season 13 cast member Jan Hooks played former President Cory Aquino, complete with oversized glasses and a yellow jacket? The sketch kicks off with Malacañang Palace under siege by rebel forces, but takes a turn when Hooks’ Cory, fed up by the gunfire aimed at her, dives into a luxurious bubble bath filled with BeautyBath, bringing her to “an island of tranquility.” In a stark-white bathrobe, Cory happily sighs as she jumps out of the bath and back into the crossfire, picking up a gun while the BeautyBath jingle plays in the background.
Or when Season 14 cast member Nora Dunn gave her best (albeit a tad too high-pitched) impression of former First Lady Imelda Marcos on the show’s Weekend Update segment? Appearing “via satellite,” Dunn’s Imelda sports the Marcos matriarch’s signature beehive hairdo and a lavish blue gown as she complains about being imprisoned in Hawaii and having “nothing.” “What about those three big buildings in Manhattan?” Fellow cast member Dennis Miller asks. “They are not that big, they are not that big,” retorts Imelda while shaking her head.
As SNL gears up for, hopefully, another fifty years, it’s clear that its legacy of bold political satire will continue to shape cultural conversations around the world for years to come. SNL remains a comedic trailblazer, unafraid to turn even the most serious moments (like our country’s coup d’états and dictatorships) into hilarious commentary.
