This has been bugging me ever since the show cast Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump. On a show like SNL, getting face time is the key to moving forward in show business. Part of the reason we’re still watching Will Ferrell movies is because of his role on SNL as George Bush (who can forget “strategery?”). That opportunity has been closed to current SNL cast members for the foreseeable future- most politicians that show up regularly are played by political ringers.
Last night though, both Maya Rudolph and Alec Baldwin showed up in the nonpolitical Uncle Ben skit. The skit was hilarious, and I feel confident saying that it’s going to be watched in the future. That’s two cast members who have lost the chance to be seen over and over. There’s even a Black woman on cast, so why was Rudolph in the sketch? Is it that they think their regular cast isn’t funny enough?
Don’t get me wrong, I love Maya Rudolph (fuck Alec Baldwin). But what frustrates me is that this is another example of the rich getting richer. It’s reflective of everything that’s happening in our society. Opportunity and wealth continues to be sucked up towards the top, even when it comes to plum acting roles. This has also been a problem in voice acting for years, as celebrities get top billing in roles instead of actual voice actors.
It might seem silly to focus on the cast of SNL with everything else going on, but it’s a clear visual example of what’s happening to millions of people. The chance to improve themselves and get ahead is taken away from them, even after they’ve earned it! Those actors were hired by SNL to act, so why won’t they actually let them?