The View from Below: Rob Ford and Perceptions of Canada on U.S. Late Night Comedy

Abstract

This analysis aims to review the means by which an imagined Canadianness is described through the responses of American comedians to late Toronto mayor Rob Ford on comedy shows which aired between May 2013 and May 2014. The Rob Ford story, as taken up in late night U.S. comedy, both maintains and transgresses stereotypes about Canada and Canadians. Likewise, an examination of the constructed Ford (and the constructed Canada which simultaneously emerges) in late night comedy focuses on appropriate behaviours and expectations, especially with respect to the governance of body and mind.