Many of us agree we have seen one or two SNL skits. In fact, in almost every episode they seem to have at least one fake commercial. I feel that this sketch in particular is pretty much the definition of satire. The sketch has the same structure as a jewelry commercial. It starts out with moments in people’s lives where love is clearly present (a date, father son bonding, and child birth ). It is even being narrated in a way that makes it look like the product is going to be a sentimental thing. But it turns out to be a gun in every scene even though the commercial continues on with the same tone.

This sketch is one of the best examples of a parody. To start off, the entire thing is prerecorded with the quality similar to a high budget jewelry commercial. If you didn’t know who these actors were it would be reasonable to infer that this is a commercial for Kay Jewelers, that is until you see the guns. The use of guns in every milestone of their lives is similar to showing clips of a woman with a bracelet at many different points in her life. On top of that, this skit also uses understatement considering these people are carrying guns in very public places. One person is shooting one in the air and another shows a pregnant woman bursting into a hospital with a shotgun. If this were to happen in real life, it would be terrifying and fatal but the sketch is making the idea of open carry “normal”.

The entire point of the skit is to call out our current political climate and our issue with gun restrictions. One line from the “commercial” says that guns “unite us” when in fact, they do the opposite. When they made this in the style of a commercial it shows how normalized guns can become if we don’t do something about it. We live in an era where mass shootings have become a common occurrence. SNL is poking fun and adding comedy to the situation to show how messed up our world is.