Uses and Abuses of Satire
Many people believe that the presidency is a sacred institution and no one should be allowed to make fun of Donald Trump who is the current president of the United States. However, the First Amendment does not exist so people can praise the public officials; it exists so people can criticize them. Therefore, the use of satire against the president should not be prohibited if so, censorship would take place. Satire is a harmless way to critic an issue, organization, or an individual in power in an exaggerated and humorous way, it is also a protected form of speech, and speech is not a privilege; is a right. Furthermore, before becoming president, Donald Trump allowed people to use satire against him, by being part of it. America started to stablish the use of satire by the early decades of the 19th century. At first the targets of satire were important and mundane subjects such as the noisy neighbors, and the conflicts that were going on such as the Mexican-American war, the Battle of Palo Alto, etc. Satire in America these days compared to the 19th century is more common and the targets usually are people in power. Moreover, in the 19th century satire was based only on cartoons, now in the 21st century we have videos, movies, music and many other factors that contribute to satire.
In 1954 the Comics Code Authority was born, controlling and regulating the content of every comic book sold in stores in the United States, by requiring a seal of approval for those who wanted to sell their books without any limitations. Those who didn’t have the seal were prone to get their work rejected by stores, to avoid any inconvenience with the Comics Code Authority (Cowan, “Comics Code”). If the government or any other power entity decides to prohibit or limit the use of satire against the president, the same that happened with the comic books will happen to the use of satire. People would be afraid to post or publish anything in regards to their opinion or point of view in a political subject that could compromise their freedom or financial status by being charged for not following the rules. In fact, wanting to stop the use of satire against the president is somehow a way of censorship.
corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule. It intends to improve humanity by criticizing its follies1 and foibles2. A writer may point satire
Satire can be found everywhere around us, not just in our English classes. For instance, satire can be found in many television shows, newspaper articles, comics and many other places. Satire is used to criticize people`s stupidity or foolishness among many different issues through the use of irony, humor, and other rhetorical strategies. In other words, its main purpose is to mock a certain subject or person to expose the main issue to the audience. For instance, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Twain demonstrates the use of various rhetorical strategies, such as ironic and humorous language to satirize southern society`s hypocrisy toward education, religion and racism.
America is a culture that enjoys having some time away from the reality of political issues within society. Comedic entertainment has found ways to also inform its audience about important political statements that is used to “refer to any act or nonverbal form of communication that is intended to influence a decision to be made for or by a political party”( Wikipedia), or ideas through a comedic point of view. Comical news is what brings our attention with ease because listening to straight political debates can lead a person to not want to sit and become informed on latest political topics. The culture that society has developed into became accustomed to finding it better to have a laugh about serious news because through humor an audience
Satire reflects in different ways on our society today. While satire was all over back then today we mainly see it in political cartoons and on television. On television there are show such as the Colbert Report and John Oliver who relay "news reports" to viewers. They are poking fun at the news going in the world today. One of the biggest shows of Satire is SNL. Most recently they have had "Trump" on and have been making fun of presidential career thus far. In today's society the big butt and boobs are the goal for many up and coming stars. For television hosts this gives a chance for them to make parody's of them. For example, Ellen DeGeneres has dressed up as a fictional cousin of the Kardashians. In this costume she has the big hair, big
Satire is a literary technique that uses humor to emphasize a certain point, usually by over exaggerating its flaws. It is extremely effective because it approaches the topic in a seemingly light hearted manner, but portrays a deeper, more powerful message when thoroughly understood. In today’s culture, the media is flooded with various types of satire, irony, and sarcasm that efficiently conveys their ideas. For example, there are many political cartoons today of President Donald Trump. Pictures may over exaggerate certain features such as his bright yellow hair and orange-ish facial color in order to criticize him and express their disapproval.
Every word he says, action he takes, or gesture he makes is over analyzed and twisted before being broadcasted to the world by news media outlets who are supposed to provide us with an unbiased serving of news. That is the exigence being addressed by the political cartoon. The purpose of the cartoon is to bring attention to the fact that it seems pretty clear that many media outlets are in fact out to get Trump. They have been since he first announced his running for presidency and offended them by accusing them of broadcasting fake news. Trump offended the media, and they intend to chase him to the grave now, figuratively speaking of course.
A satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Like mockery or ridicule. In the pieces, my class read we saw a form of satire in every piece. In this essay, I will explain the types of satires I notices. As I mentioned in my opening paragraph satire can be making fun of something or mocking it.
Satire is the use of humor to talk about issues in the world. For example, Saturday Night Live uses satire all of the time. The show has recently made fun of the presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Satire is also used in books, movies, television, etc. One of the most common books with the use of satire is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. In the classic novel, Twain satirizes many topics such as racism, greed, and religion. Religious satire is one of the most common issues that is satirized throughout the novel. Talladega Knights, a movie staring Will Ferrell, also satirizes religion. Without the use of satire, entertainment today would not be near as funny.
Satire is the literary term used when humour, irony, hyperbole, or ridicule is used to criticize a serious topic. The following pieces of writing use satire to get their point across: ”Harrison Bergeron”, ”Man, You’re a great player”, and “High School Students Demand Wars in Easier-to-Find Countries”. In my opinion, some of the works are better than others. “High School Students Demand Wars in Easier-to-Find Countries'' is not a very effective way of using satire to get a point across. The problem with this piece was that the point wasn’t very clear and the satire wasn’t quite strong enough.
The dictionary definition of satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices. Particularly, in the context of contemporary politics or other topical issues. If one were to examine contemporary culture today they would notice that it is becoming more and more satirized. One could argue this by turning on any program and listening for hidden messages alluding to some cause or political reference. Satire appears in many forms and may be used to shock the reader or targets into changing their behavior.
It is very important to be aware that the media is capable of controlling the flow of information that citizens receive. Furthermore, much of the content suppressed in this country is for fear of retribution from others. When governments and other institutions suppress information, citizens are not able to address matters concerning their country, as well as around the globe. In ‘The Decline of American Press Freedom’ by Anne Applebaum, Applebaum explains a recent controversy with Yale University and the publishing of a contentious comic in a scholarly report on the global consequences of political comics. The comics in question were satirical in nature and displayed the Islamic prophet Muhammad in an offensive manner. In an aniconic religion where visual depiction of the prophet is inherently blasphemous, the Islamic response to these comics were violent. When an analysis of the comics and the cultural backlash was written, instead of publishing it, Yale University swept it under the rug for fear of offending Islamic extremists. Applebaum argues that if “Yale University Press refuses to publish [the comics], then that makes it much harder for anybody else to treat the cartoon controversy as a legitimate matter for scholarly and political debate” (Applebaum 640). By not allowing the publishing of this analysis, Yale University is censoring what the American populace have access to in terms of global controversy. The issue becomes trivialized because institutions fear retribution from extremist groups. Without these scholarly points of reference of this issue and others, it is difficult to have a serious conversations about the ramifications of political and religious satire. This leads to people remaining uneducated and ignorant of these serious issues, and liable to repeat these same actions that so sorely offended an extremist
Political and social satire go hand in hand in showing examples of the past and the future. While social satire mainly focus on the current problems of society, political satire can represent a warning about the future. Both types are important to learn and understand when reading works involving satire. Putting a light on satire will help people understand satire better. Educating students about satire in schools starting at a young age will allow for students to grow up with a better understanding of satire. Satire can play such an important role in novels that it is essential that everyone understands the concept. Understanding satire will allow for people to see different viewpoints of today’s society through the authors’ eyes. Satire can add humor to a piece, yet that humor can be revealing something much different. It is important for people to be able to differentiate from the two. People first need to understand satire to see the historical importance of it or understand the hidden warning it can
On the other side, satire may offend some people. As much as it can lift up a topic, so does it can ruin those related to the issue. The negative comments it receives can fire up a whole other conflict and that leads to the possibility of harming the society. It can be deemed unimportant and immature.
Satire is constantly evolving in order to maintain with the times. As technology, culture and humanity change and grow, satire is forced to grow with it. Satire of our modern time is more likely to be found on our phones than on print, more likely on a television than a telegram. By merging with pop culture, in forms of Family Guy and Comedy Central news shows, these forms of satire are able to stay relevant. But, despite the change in medium, the purpose of satire and effect of satire holds true. Modern satire, just as that of past satire, sheds light on the problems of our society through ridicule and mockery, without reinforcing and further cementing the stereotypes and prejudices they are trying to expose.
There are many prevalent issues, including abortion, race, religion, and pedophilia, that exist not only in America, but across the world, that many people have a difficult time discussing. These topics have a tendency to make people uncomfortable, and when brought up in discussion it can be easy to offend someone who has an opposing opinion. Even though conversation about these issues is difficult to engage in, the conversations are important to have. Satire has a way of making light of uncomfortable topics, and it allows for the conversation about these topics to be started. Since satire approaches these topics in a joking manner, people might be less inclined to be offended. In Bojack Horseman and South Park, the characters are able to talk about an incredibly controversial topic, abortion, in a way that should not be taken offensively. These examples demonstrate that if done in an effective way, satire can touch upon any topic. Since these two episodes are fictional and presented as an animation, there is a separation from reality that makes it easier to tackle more controversial topics effectively. Being a cartoon, audiences automatically view these shows as as fictional, so discussion about controversial topics can be brought up and audiences are less likely to be offended. When topics that are difficult or uncomfortable to talk about are covered in different mediums, like articles, novels, and non-animated shows, it is easier for