Ben Pettis

24 March 2017
Professor Rigoletto
CINE 410 Commented [G1]: Deleted:Stephen Colbert: New
Stephen Colbert: New Character, But Unchanged Ideology Character, But Unchanged Ideology

In contemporary society, the phenomenon of stardom plays a large and always-present

role. It might be considered unusual to run into someone who does not have a favorite movie

star, music performer, or television personality. Our society is saturated by countless forms of

media, and we have become obsessed with the individuals that appear within them. Of course, it

is no surprise to most people that the people we see on the screen are different than the real

people who they represent. Instead, stars are merely an artificial construction created through the

culmination of the effort by studios, the actors themselves, and society at large. Film theorist

Richard Dyer was one of the first to analyze aspects of stardom and the effect they have on Commented [G2]: Inserted: the
Commented [G3]: Inserted: s
society. These artificial constructions, the star personas, represent the public image of the star

and how they are generally viewed. For instance, Marilyn Monroe is associated with sexuality,

Rock Hudson with masculinity, and Donald Trump with over-the-top business antics. These stars

are almost inseparable with their personas, and might even be unrecognizable if they were

presented differently. However, it is interesting to consider what might happen if a star were to

try to redefine themselves and reconstruct their persona. Stars are defined almost exclusively by

their persona, so any attempt to adopt an entirely new persona calls into question the very nature

of stardom as a whole.

Regardless of if a star can successfully change their persona, the fact remains that the

phenomenon of stardom is closely related to culture that they exist within. Simply put, stars are

cultural products and are the embodiment of ideologies. (Dyer 2) When discussing the general

notion of stardom, Dyer continually uses the example of capitalismproduction and

consumptionas ideologies that stars embody. The neo-Marxist theorist Antonio Gramsci

described these types of ideologies even further, calling them cultural hegemonies. (Gramsci)

For him, a hegemony is a dominant ideology that permeates so widely throughout culture that it

exists largely unnoticed, and are accepts simply as just the way things are. Gramsci argues that

hegemonies stay in power if they go unnoticed. Contemporary examples of hegemonies could

include U.S. politics, including the two-party system, and the deeply-held nature of political

beliefs. Stars are an ideal vehicle for perpetuating hegemonies such as these because they occupy

several different areas of culture, and are seen by many members of the public at large. Even if a

star is able to successfully change their persona, such a change is ultimately insignificant because

the underlying ideologies that the star embodies remain unchanged.

There are many stars that could serve as examples of this phenomenon, and much

academic work has been done examining the relation of stars and various ideologies. However,

this paper aims to examine a stars attempt to change his or her own persona, and the effect that

it might have on their underlying ideologies. Stephen Colbert, who is a star from his television

appearances, makes for an ideal case study especially in terms of his transition from hosting The

Colbert Report on Comedy Central to hosting The Late Show on CBS. He hosted his final

episode of The Colbert Report on December 18, 2014, and premiered on The Late Show on Commented [G4]: Inserted: ,

September 8, 2015. During this interim, there was significant speculation as to how Colberts

star persona would be portrayed on the new show, to the point that Stephen Colbert specifically

announced that he would not appear in character in the new CBS show. (Zuckerman) Despite

the uncertainty over what version of the Colbert star would appear, it was always a given that

Colbert would still be involved in the propagation of certain ideologies. Cultural theorists Max

Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno describe this concept in their essay The Culture Industry:
Enlightenment as Mass Deception. They argue that the primary export of the entertainment

industry and of mass media is no the movies, music, and TV shows that they produce but instead

the hegemonies that they promote. (Adorno and Horkheimer) By extension, stars are yet another

product that the Culture Industry produces. Stars are important not because of the people they

represent or the characters they play, but for the ideologies they carry. In her book on Lady

Gaga, Amber Davisson reaffirms that stars themselves do now lack ideological significance,

which indicates that the decades-old theories of Dyer, Gramsci, Horkheimer, Adorno and others

still applies to contemporary notions of stardom. (Davisson 4) Stephen Colbert is the epitome of

this relationship between stardom and ideology; on both of his shows, he embodies the same

ideologies, which means that no matter what outwardly changes he makes in appearance, his star

persona is unchanged from one show to another. Commented [G5]: Inserted: ,

During his time hosting The Colbert Report, Colberts star persona and performance

portrayed him as a parody of traditional cable news political pundits. The show was designed in

such a way as to mimic the hegemony of typical cable news shows. For instance, Colberts set

featured him sitting at a desk, with a stack of papers in front of him. The set was decorated with

red and blue, with graphics appearing over his shoulder as he presented various topics. (Colbert,

Truthines) These elements aligned Colbert with other pundits such as Bill O'Reilly of Fox News. Commented [G6]: Inserted: alig
Commented [G7]: Deleted:co
However, his actual performance was different than traditional political pundits and was unique Commented [G8]: Deleted:form

to Colbert. His way of speaking was loud, abrasive, and aggressive. He frequently used the word

nation to refer to his audienceboth within the studio and on TV, which characterized him as

talking at the audience and not necessarily with them.

On his first episode, Colbert introduced the term truthiness, which came to define not

just his show, but his star performance as well. He specifically stated that Anyone can read the
news to you. I promise to feel the news. At you. (Colbert, Truthines) Because this appeared in

his first episode, it essentially serves as an assertion of what his entire show would be about

namely distilling politics down to a simple form and telling the audience what to think, or in this

case, feel. Though it appeared more than 50 years later, Colberts performance echoes what

Horkheimer and Adorno wrote about the Culture Industrythat The spectator must need no

thoughts of his own: the product prescribes each reactionthrough signals. Any logical

connection presupposing mental capacity is scrupulously avoided. (61) In this segment, Colbert

specifically tells his viewers that he will tell them exactly what to think throughout his show,

which is a clear confession of the ideological purposes that his stardom serves. Namely, Colbert's

stardom reasserts the hegemony of U.S. politics and the two-party system. His performance

erases any nuance between conservatives and liberals and forces the audience to identify with

one of those two categories. Colbert encourages the audience to view their political views in a

similar manner as religionnot something to be thought about rationally, but as a deeply held

personal belief that cannot be challenged. This ideology is encapsulated within the star

construction of Stephen Colbert and presented to the audience. Commented [G9]: Deleted:,

Colberts embodiment and performance of these political ideologies is especially

effective because it is effective at reaching a wide array of audiences. Viewers of The Colbert

Report saw in it what they wanted to see; Liberals saw it as over the top satire, and conservatives

often read it as genuine political commentary. (LaMarre, Landreville, and Beam) This

universality of Colberts performance on The Colbert Report is indicative of stardom in general.

(Dyer) Stars are for everyone and the ideologies that they embody serve to strengthen the

hegemonies that exist within society at large. The ideologies that Colbert, the star, portrays Commented [G10]: Deleted:,

remain in power because they are presented in a manner that they can be accepted by anyone.
I guess well have a full paragraph about how he interpellates others into his ideology. Luis

Althusser, another cultural theorist, describes this process in his essay on Ideological State

Apparatuses. He argues that an ideology can retain its dominance if it can be presented as and

accepted as something that everyone accepts. (Althusser, Balibar, and Bidet) Ideologies are

presented to a subject, who is then interpellated and hailed to join it, which is exactly what

Colberts stardom does to his viewers and their political beliefs. His loud and abrasive

performance are merely the surface-level of Stephen Colbert the star; the true effect of his

stardom is the political ideologies he promotes.

Therefore, it is effectively irrelevant if Colbert appears differently in his performance on

CBS The Late Show. Though it may seem that he has adopted a new star persona, if the

underlying ideologies that he propagates are unchanged, then Colbert is effectively the same star

as before. On the final episode of The Colbert Report, Colbert acted out the end of Stephen

Colbert, and supposedly the end of his previous star persona as well. He claims to have won

television and leaves the show by flying away with Santa Claus, Abraham Lincoln, and Alex

Trebek. (Colbert, Season 11, Ep. 40) Following this supposed end of his previous persona and

that fact that he seems to be different, Colbert is presented on The Late Show as being an entirely

new star persona. One example of this is a difference in his performance on the show. Rather

than using the phrase nation to talk at the audience, he begins each show talking with the

audience and asking hows everybody doing? The Late Show Additionally, on his first episode

he included a segment in which he asked Who Am Me? and took a personality test to reveal

the real Stephen Colbert. (Colbert, Who Is Stephen Colbert?) Of course, this very notion of a

"real" Stephen Colbert even existing is inaccurate, as stars by definition are illusions; it Commented [G11]: Inserted: ,

impossible for a real Colbert to appear on his show. (Dyer) And even though his outward
appearance on his new show are different, Colberts star persona is effectively the same as the

one that appeared on The Colbert Report because the underlying ideologies that he embodies are

the same.

On The Late Show, Colbert embodies ideologies that reinforce the hegemony of U.S.

politics. Specifically, his performance perpetuates the polarization of political ideals and that

those politics are akin to religious beliefs in how tightly they should be held. When discussing Commented [G12]: Inserted: those

the Republican primaries in the 2016 presidential election, The Late Show featured a segment

about the word Trumpiness. (Colbert, Trumpiness) In this, he directly referenced The Colbert

Report from 11 years earlier and presented again the same ideologies. In the segment, he directly

compared Donald Trumps supporters with supporters of Bernie Sanders by asserting that each

candidates followers didnt just agree with their messages, but deeply believed them as well.

This representation has two effects: first, it posits that there are only two potential political

partiesdemocrats or republicans. Second, it underscores that political beliefs should be deeply

held by an individual, much like a religion. In other words, conservatives and liberals are not

actually that different, at least in terms of how their members choose to follow them. Or as

Horkheimer and Adorno describe it, even the aesthetic manifestation of political opposites

proclaim the same inflexible rhythm. (41) Colbert has only been hosting The Late Show for a

few years now, so it is unclear whether or not his performance will evolve to look completely

different from that of The Colbert Report. However, because the ideologies that he perpetuates

are unchanged, his outward appearance is irrelevant in determining a change in star persona.

Because these ideologies are identical, his star persona did not change.

From his final episode of The Colbert Report in 2014 to his first episode of The Late

Show in 2015, Colbert seems to have attempted to take on a new role and new performance.
Ultimately, his appearance in his new role may look slightly different from his earlier role, but

the effects that he has on his audience are generally the same. Colbert embodies and promotes

the same ideologies in both roles. As a product of the Culture Industry, Colbert has the same role

in the reinforcement of dominant hegemonies. His shows promote U.S. politics, the two-party

system, and the personal nature of political beliefs. Though stars may not be real people, the

effects that they have on the world certainly are.

 Works Cited

Adorno, Theodor, and Max Horkheimer. The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass

Deception. Media and Cultural Studies: KeyWorks. Ed. Douglas Kellner and Meenakshi

Gigi Durham. Second Edition. N.p., 1944. 5374. Print.

Althusser, Louis, Etienne Balibar, and Jacques Bidet. On The Reproduction Of Capitalism:

Ideology And Ideological State Apparatuses. Trans. G. M. Goshgarian. London; New

York: Verso, 2014. Print.

Colbert, Stephen. The Colbert Report - Season 11, Ep. 40 - Grimmy - Full Episode. N.p., 2014.

Film. The Colbert Report.

---. The Word - Truthiness-The Colbert Report - Video Clip. N.p., 2005. Film. The Colbert

Report.

---. The Word: Trumpiness. N.p., 2016. Film. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

---. Who Is Stephen Colbert? N.p., 2015. Film. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Davisson, Amber L. Lady Gaga and the Remaking of Celebrity Culture. Jefferson, North

Carolina: McFarland, 2013. Print.

Dyer, Richard. Stars. New Edition. London: British Film Institute, 1998. Print.

Gramsci, Antonio. The Concept of Ideology. Media And Cultural Studies: KeyWorks. Ed.

Meenakshi Gigi Durham and Douglas Kellner. Second Edition. Wiley-Blackwell, 1971.

3437. Print.

LaMarre, Heather L., Kristen D. Landreville, and Michael A. Beam. The Irony of Satire:

Political Ideology and the Motivation to See What You Want to See in The Colbert

Report. The International Journal of Press/Politics 14.2 (2009): 212231. SAGE

Journals. Web.
Zuckerman, Esther. Stephen Colbert Will Take Over for David Letterman. The Atlantic 10

Apr. 2014. The Atlantic. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.