political satire is a type of satire that is based on entertaining people through politics. Its usually used in political protest or political opposition, not necessarily to push political agenda or influence the political process in the country. Mostly the dominant objective behind political satire is to simply entertain and make people laugh on the government expense.
You would defiantly not expect this kind of satire coming from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A country famous for their strict interpretation of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism, that interferes in all aspects of Saudi political and social life, including broadcast media. However, with the emergence of the internet and social media, many Saudis, weather liberal or conservative, old and young, started expressing their views and ideas and demanding change through their pages in social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter,
…show more content…
Many channels gained millions of subscribers and expanded their popularity worldwide, to an extent they can make a living out of it. An example of a popular Arab show is El Burnamg by Bassem Yousef, an Egyptian political satire show started from YouTube then moved to TV and became more popular not only in Egypt, but all over the Arab World. Saudis also took advantage of YouTube and started making their own content and YouTube shows that showcase Saudi political and social issues rarely discussed in broadcast media, unlike social media, using subtle satire and sometime explicit criticism and sarcasm. This platform offered Saudis a powerful place to express freely, (especially when living in a country with strict media censorship laws) and the potential to promote social change through their YouTube
While the tone may range from playful to angry, satire generally criticizes in order to make a change. Exaggeration, parody, reversal, and incongruity are satirical devices. Author’s use satirical devices to strengthen their central idea.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, no one imagined that the next great world power would emerge from Saudi Arabia. Especially, because ancient empires thought that the land was worthless but they didn’t know that it had great trade routes. Trade brought them in connection with other civilizations and that’s how the city of Mecca, located in Saudi Arabia became known. The city of Mecca was a mix of religious beliefs, they used to worship many gods and had their own rituals. The world of Islam took place in Mecca where Muhammad was born in 570 CE. He became known as “the Prophet,” he was meant to be God’s final prophet. The main two groups of Islam are the Shia and Sunni; which they were created after Muhammad’s death. The Islam religion as
Political cartoons could be defined as illustrations or cartoon strips that contain a social and/or political message in them. Political cartoons are often based on the current events around when they were written.
Satirical humor entertains the audience so that the people appeal some jokes and comic ideas more enjoyable to visualizes. Satire demonstrates something very safe and also not very cynical to the society. Sometimes, satire can misunderstand people that some people find it's an insult to the politics.Satirical humor can also be a tool to communicate people, so people can learn and get involved more about issues in politics. There are some people like comedians that expresses satirical humor in politics. Also, some comedy shows that expresses political satire. For example, some of the famous comedians that I found funny in satirical humor will be James Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Jon Stewart; they also host their satirical shows: The Colbert
Late May 2011, a YouTube channel by the name of ksawomen2drive posted an eight minute video. The first day it was up it became the most viewed clip in Saudi Arabia, and became so popular it started trending worldwide. Any non-Arabic viewer might have been slightly baffled by its popularity. To them it would merely be a clip of a woman in a hijab driving while talking to her passenger, and a poorly filmed clip at that. The hundreds of thousands of Arabic viewers however, saw something all together quite different. They were witnessing a crime take place, an act of dissent. The video gained over 600 000 the few days it was up, but was taken down following the arrest of the driver shown in the clip. Manal al-Sharif was that driver.
Satire, one of writing's most incomprehensible genres. On the outside, Satire may seem to be just an overly dramatic story. However, on the inside, Satire is a profound form of social commentary that stresses societal issues through over exaggeration. One of the genre's most famous literary works is Candide by Voltaire. Many people may interpret the novel as a tale about the misadventures of a boy named Candide attempting to be with his true love, Madame Cunégonde. Yet, a closer analysis of the book indicates that the author attempts to convey his perspective on life through the novel. Since Voltaire lived at a time of religious turmoil and monarchs, such as the enlightenment and King Frederick the Great, it is
According to Everything’s an Argument by Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz, “Humor has always played an important role in argument…” (38). Humor itself is something that activates amusement or laughter. Moreover, in popular culture satire is a tool that is used to point out things in our society. Satire opens the minds of people to philosophies they might completely deny, using humor. There are many elements of satire that identify flaws within our society. A couple of satire elements that will be discussed are irony and exaggeration. In addition, a parody is used in popular culture as a way to mock or mimic situation or person.
Satire is used in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen to show the deficiencies in morals and ethics of the characters that Austen disapproves of. Satire is used to "attack" characters and to bring about change. The different characters types she satirizes are "suck-ups," hierarchical, and/or ignorant.
Satire is customarily discussed as “humor critiquing current political or social issues. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary defines satire as the type of derisive humor or irony; mocking wit; sarcasm especially employed against something perceived as foolish or immoral.” While the Oxford English Dictionary’s emphasis on humor calls attention to the mockery of these issues, it does not present the consequences of certain actions. In the Onion article titled “Underfunded Schools Forced to Cut Past Tense From Language Programs” and The Simpsons episode “Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish, satire also addresses the effects of certain decisions on society. Attending to the consequences of the actions or decisions that are being satirized allows us to see how satire can help us come to
In Candide, Voltaire explores the ideas of paternalistic optimism and uses satire as a method of social commentary. His story follows the misery of one man as he pursues his one and only love and the happiness that he eventually finds. By framing the novel around a biblical story and having Candide lose and regain paradise, Voltaire suggests that one must cultivate their own perfect world as opposed to optimistically enduring the present in the hopes of a better future.
Satire is a literary manner built on wit and humor with a critical attitude directed to human institutions and humanity. A successful satiric play will show certain truths about society and then try to improve upon them. Satire is meant to be constructive rather than destructive. Aristophanes uses satire in Lysistrata to convey many different themes such as war and peace, the struggles of power and class, and the life and death issues that are seen in war. Satire is successfully used and seen in Lysistrata by stereotyping women in general and then the different classes of women as well. Double entendres are seen throughout the play to help add humor to the play. Sex is used as humorous tool but only to covey a deeper theme that consists of war and peace and also of life and death.
It is bordered by Iraq and Jordan on the north, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman and Yemen on the south. The Arabian Gulf Sea surrounded from the east and the Red Sea from the west. Saudi Arabia is a traditional monarchy. Al Saud dynasty is a royal family of the kingdom. The population of the kingdom was estimated to be 29,369,428 in 2014 - the 43rd largest in the world (Worldpopulationreview.com, 2014). In the technology side, Saudi Arabia is becoming focused on technology. They increase the spending on connectivity and human resources (Saudi Arabia Emergence of Innovation Kingdom,
This genre of satire has often been used with subversive purpose where political speech is forbidden by a regime. Megan Hill explains that political satire does not carry a political agenda or seeks to influence the political process, but its unplanned use and its often destructive feature can lead to protest or dissent against the political process. Besides that, Dustin Griffin argues that satire attempts to make a balance between the fictional and the real so as to amuse and educate in more or less equal measure. He
...gely by religious values: Conservative dress, conservative literature, and conservative behavior. Freedom of political and religious expression is not allowed, and diversions like dancing, or movies, activities are almost nonexistence in Saudi Arabia. As it has been for centuries, the cultural and political life of Saudi Arabia continues to be expressed in terms of Islamic principles.
To understand the situation in Saudi Arabia better, you need to know about the social traditions and how people live. Saudis believe women are not supposed to reveal their bodies and only reveal their faces. That is because Islam says so. However, more and more teenagers in public, even in the highways, are harassing women which led to the establishment of the religious police. Religious police's role is simply to make sure no one harasses any woman and the roads stay safe.