preview

Fat Children Satire

Good Essays

Within past decades and the unequivocal heyday of fast food, obesity has become an undoubted issue for America, as well as other countries across the world. In terms of how to solve this issue, the majority of people are split on whether the government should have an active part in health regulation. Michelle Obama, who gave her statement in her, Remarks to the NAACP National Convention, as well as others such as Tim Minchin in his song, Fat Children, believe that one’s weight is a personal issue that should be solved socially, devoid of government interaction. In addition to their belief in trying to solve the obesity epidemic with creating an increased sense of social responsibility, they also make use of popular culture to aid in their points. …show more content…

Satire, for instance, is a form of comedy meant to imitate the irks of society in an attempt to show the general public why those irks are problematic. It can be conveyed through any means, such as by doing stand-up, television specials, writing novels or songs, etc. Tim Minchin is a man who has relied heavily on the latter. His work depicts a raunch and generally pessimistic view on a wide variety of topics, including the obesity epidemic. In his song Fat Children, he sings, "It's tantamount to child abuse, Kick them off the couch, Unplug the Playstation, Send them down to the park, If they don't wanna go, make 'em" (Minchin lyrics 55-62). He uses his influence from a standpoint capable of reaching a wide and diverse audience, similar to what Michelle Obama is doing to promote healthy living and eating. Additionally, during an interview with an Australian podcast called The Skeptic Zone, he further elaborated that, "Your defenses are down when you're laughing as well and it's couched in music. All I'm doing is making things consumable that are otherwise difficult to consume" (Minchin The Skeptic Zone). While far more candid than Obama, they both represent similar ideals and have used their influence to attempt to make a change. Although the methodology used by Minchin as well as numerous other comedians throughout the decades is more-so sarcastic than someone with Michelle Obama’s vigor, Minchin stated …show more content…

Essentially, the debate is whether body weight recognition should be a social or federal issue. Although Michelle Obama has proven to be an influential member of government, before and after President Obama’s inauguration, she states in her address that her opinion is more so the former. When speaking on the topic of obesity in African-American communities and America in general, she said, “We can offer people the best health care money can buy, but if they’re still leading unhealthy lives, then we’ll still just be treating those diseases and conditions once they’ve developed rather than keeping people from getting sick in the first place” (Obama 424). She believes that the only true way to solve the current obesity epidemic is to promote healthy thinking and an increased sense of responsibility for our bodies. If the government creates a direct link between itself and the well-being of its citizens, there would be no social change aside from the government treating diseases that could have been avoided if the common man ate a carrot instead of a cake. Additionally, if the American government, for example, were to go to extreme lengths to ban unhealthy foods or to create excessive taxes based on calorie count, the American people would probably create a repeat of Prohibition, except fast food would be the clandestine

Get Access