Satire: The Powerless Against The Powerful

543 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Humor in society

Molly Ivins once said “satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful”, this excessively explains the purpose of satire in the current status quo. Satire plays a vital role in bringing out the sarcasm in a situation. Nonetheless when satire comes, it comes with people who are entertained by it, people who might be offended, and the specific tone and detail the author uses. In today’s society many individuals alleviate cruel situations with jokes. While not pertaining to the whole crowd, some people find certain satire funny. For instance, satire that brings out the most laughs are political cartoons. Source F articulates the fact that McCain is old and Obama is working against the United States. People who find this satire funny are probably people who dislike Obama and McCain. Not only that, but people find satire funny based on who they are and what they believe. The wrong type of satire for that person could generally lead to someone being offended if it goes against his or her beliefs. …show more content…

Depending on what type of person one is, and what they believe in, if one sees something that they are against, they will probably be offended. That is the irony in satire, while it is supposed to make people laugh, they get mad. For example, source C notes that this reckless teenager crashed his car and hurt another family without experiencing any consequences. In the text it states, “Trivial humiliation of being taunted by his peers for driving a slightly less expensive vehicle” (Source C), this accurately portrays an image of the rich ruling this world. The type of people who would be offended by this are middle class citizens, furious at the fact that if someone has a plethora of money then they run this

Show More
Related

  • Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut

    485 Words  | 1 Pages

    Satire can be defined as any work in which a human vice or folly is attacked with irony or sarcasm. An example of satire can be found in the song "When the President Talks to God" by Bright Eyes. In this song, the lyrics lay out hypothetical conversations between the President and God, which mocks current President George W. Bush and his use of strong religious influence while in office.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Satire In Fahrenheit 451

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Onion As A Satire

    620 Words  | 2 Pages

    Satire is form of comedy in which flaws in people or society are chastised in order to prompt change in the objects of criticism. Regardless of how long ago comedy itself may have existed, the concept of satire was introduced by the Roman satirists, Juvenal and Horace. The tones conveyed in their writing characterize the main modes of satire, being Horatian and Juvenalian, and are still used in satire today. Presently, two popular forms of comedy that employ satirical elements include parody news sources and comedic performances. Although satirical writing has evolved throughout history, many aspects of satire are still apparent in both the articles of parody news sources, like The Onion, and the performances of professional comedians, like

    Read More

  • Examples Of Satirical Humor

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Satire Essay

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    An example of satire is the film Dumb and Dumber. One part of this movie uses irony to focus on people who do not listen. Irony is the discrepancy between what is said and what is done. For example, Harry talks about how his old girlfriend broke up with him. Harry says, “She gave me a bunch a crap about me not listening to her enough, or something. I don’t know, I wasn’t really paying attention” (Dumb and Dumber). The problem is that some people do n...

    Read More

  • Satire

    1450 Words  | 3 Pages

    Satire is a great tool used by many writers and actors since ancient times. The earliest example that we know about is a script from 2nd millennium BC in Ancient Egypt (Definition: Satire) and since then has evolved into a great part of our society. Satire is used to point out the faults of human vice in order for change and reform in either of two ways. There is a very bitter Juvenalian or a mild and light Horatian. In order to fully understand these forms of satire, method, purpose, and applications will be addressed.

    Read More

  • Satire: Enlightened Wit in the Age of Reason

    1466 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mad Magazine, The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live. In our society, satire is among the most prevalent of comedic forms. This was not always true, for before the 18th century, satire was not a fully developed form. Satire, however, rose out of necessity; writers and artists needed a way to ambiguously criticize their governments, their churches, and their aristocrats. By the 18th century, satire was hugely popular. Satire as an art form has its roots in the classics, especially in the Roman Horace's Satires. Satire as it was originally proposed was a form of literature using sarcasm, irony, and wit, to bring about a change in society, but in the eighteenth century Voltaire, Jonathan Swift and William Hogarth expanded satire to include politics, as well as art. The political climate of the time was one of tension. Any criticism of government would bring harsh punishments, sometimes exile or death. In order to voice opinions without fear of punishment, malcontented writers turned to Satire. Voltaire's Candide and Swift's Modest Proposal are two examples of this new genre. By creating a fictional world modeled after the world he hated, Voltaire was able to attack scientists, and theologians with impunity. Jonathan Swift created many fictional worlds in his great work, Gulliver's Travels, where he constantly drew parallels to the English government.

    Read More

  • Satire Humor: A Tool for Understanding Contemporary Politics

    1416 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people tend to use humor as a positive communication skill to make us laugh. It has long been used as a tool to navigate how we better understand media and politics. In today's crucial times of political chaos, social unrest and in-fighting between political parties, the use of Satire humor is more relevant than ever before. According to Oxford dictionary, satire is defined as the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. In the last decade there has been a staunch increase in technology and a rise in social media, this comes with its own benefits and downfalls. The use of satire humor has been represented

    Read More

  • John Stewart Satire

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    For example, in August 2014, Stewart criticized comically Israel’s attacks on Gaza. A number of Congressmen condemned Stewart’s immoral satire, accusing him of being anti-Semitist, and though he’s Jewish himself, some accused him of being a “self-hating Jew.” Jon Stewart has been criticized and even accused of being a propagandist by most of his opponents. Stewart was asked whether sarcasm puts him in trouble. In his defense, Stewart answered that he exercises his job in a country where satire is a “settled law,” and if a certain regime is not strong enough to handle a joke, then there is no regime. He adds, “ A joke is a joke.” He

    Read More

  • Satire In A Modest Proposal

    516 Words  | 2 Pages

    People are defensive about what they believe in. No matter how open-minded they claim to be or how little support they actually have, they will still cling to their beliefs. This makes it hard to discuss controversial topics, but one solution to this issue is satire. Satire uses absurdities and humor to disarm people, making them more open to the item being discussed. Although this practice was fairly common in the past, it has become exceeding abundant in our modern day, with satirical shows like The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight, and The Colbert Report.

    Read More

  • Juvenalian And Horatian Satire

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    Satire is known as the literary style which makes light of a subject. diminishing its importance by placing it in an amusing or scornful light. Unlike comedy, satire attempts to create humor by deriding its topic, as opposed to a topic that evokes laughter in itself. Satires attempt to give us a more humorous look at attitudes, advances, states of affairs, and in some cases ( as in Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal - the entire human race. The least offensive form of satire is Horatian satire, the style used by Addison and Steele in their essays.

    Read More

  • Satire, the Mirror of Reality

    1859 Words  | 4 Pages

    Satire invites critical self-introspection from us in a way that no other media can. It also acts as an unbiased mirror that reflects the mirror image of the flaws of our society. This beautiful process, when unhindered and uncensored, is the epitome of western freedom of speech, which is the single most significant right that deserves to be cherished and defended. According to McClennen, however, all mirror images of satire might not be beneficial. She believes that shows such as South Park and The Simpsons, which are not afraid to attack anything, do not lead to any kind of positive political discourse.

    Read More

  • Satire in Brave New World

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    Satire is defined as “the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues” (Oxford). The best satirical writers can make the readers believe that an idea is “logical and practical.” This is seen in great abundance in Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World. Through his writing, Huxley uses satire to effectively point out the flaws of society at the time. Even though Brave New World was written in 1931, the satirical points Huxley makes are still relevant in today’s world.

    Read More

  • The Influence Of John Locke On Personal Identity

    1015 Words  | 3 Pages

    Summary of John Locke’s view on personal identity The concept of personal identity is a central philosophical component to a debate to which many theorists have contributed their theories to. One of the most prominent theories on personal identities was by John Locke, one of the influential theorist in the 17th century. Locke first begins by making an important distinction between the nature of identity as being relative, rather than absolute.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Humor

    354 Words  | 1 Pages

    Humor can be used like a sniper's gun, picking people off when they least expect it. When we use humor to hurt, we abuse the fundamental essence of this wonderful gift. We must teach our children the difference between what is funny and what is cruel. A joke is never humorous if it is at the expense of another.

    Read More

More about Satire: The Powerless Against The Powerful

Open Document