Colbert Commends NASA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Tnq4TJYN7A

     In this video, Stephen Colbert satirizes the accomplishments of NASA about three years ago. He targets NASA, a United States government agency that deals with aerospace issues, by underplaying their accomplishments in 2010. Colbert wants to force a recognition of common sense, by using his version of President Bush's "bold challenge", which is"launching a probe to find oil in heaven before the decade ends", and showing how he "won" the popular vote in the online node naming competition, but lost the actual competition to the name "Tranquility". Colbert uses the satire technique of exaggeration, congratulating NASA on a great year, by finding "dramatic pictures from Cassini", "finding water on Mars", and their "dramatic discovery of a new administration that believes in science." He also exaggerates when saying that the node name of "Tranquility" will scare the aliens. Colbert also uses innuendo, by aiming the attack on President Bush, implying that the President only cared about finding oil in every inch of the planet, and if he could not find it, he would attempt to use NASA to reach the "oil in heaven." He also aims the attack at the fact that the President lost the popular vote during his election, but somehow managed to win the Presidency. Lastly, Colbert uses distortion to satirize the weight of astronauts. His prize for winning the popular vote was a space treadmill, that was going to be installed in the international space station to slim down the astronauts. Colbert says ,"It's Buzz Aldrin, not Butt Aldrin." He distorts the idea that in reality, astronauts fly to space to escape the scale in the bathroom, and feel the sense of being weightless. Colbert wants the viewer to realize that the NASA has not accomplished as much as it has praised it has. Also, its accomplishments were minor and their pretentiousness is a point to satirize.