Satire

Defined

• Satire mainly exposes and ridicules evil and stupidity as these qualities manifest themselves in persons, groups of persons, ideas, institutions, customs or beliefs.

• Satire is born of the instinct to protest; it is protest become art and a refinement of anger.

• Horatian Satire • Gentle

Two types

• Tries to evoke a smile • Writer is urbane, sophisticated, man-of • Attitude: Amused at foibles of men • Juvenalian Satire • Harsh • Tries to arouse moral indignation, anger • Writer is a serious moralist, a dedicated reformer • Attitude: Bitter, denunciatory, attacking vices of men

Horatian or Juvenalian? You decide…

Horatian or Juvenalian?

Horatian or Juvenalian?

Sarcasm

• A harsh, personally directed comment; to use praise to mock someone • Example: To refer to a 98-pound weakling as a “real he-man”

Overstatement/ Exaggeration

• To say more than you mean to say; to exaggerate • Example: I am so hungry, I could eat a horse.

Understatement

• To say less than you mean to say • Example: When the computer crashes with all the final grades, and someone says, “We have a small problem here.”

Parody

• Mockery of a specific, known person, literary work, movie, event (imitation of a thing in such a way as to make it look ridiculous) • Example: General MacArthur said, “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away.” Parodies: “Old blondes never fade, they just dye away.” Or, “Old soldiers never die, but young men do.” (dye is also a pun)

Irony

• Usually situational, the opposite of what is expected to happen happens • Example: An Olympic swimmer drowns, a fire station burns down, etc.

Generalization

• Applying something to all cases, neglecting differences • Example: He’s an Asian. Of course he made an A.

Bathos

• To go from the serious to the ridiculous quickly • Example: “I love my country, my job, my wife, and chocolate.”

Pun

• A play on words based on the similarity of their sounds; using words that have different meanings • Example: What type of guitar do fish like to play? • A bass guitar

• Many modern TV shows combine satirical and comical elements. The most prominent TV satire is the animated series The Simpsons

Other examples are South Park Animated shows can easily use images of public figures and generally have greater latitude than conventional shows using actors.

American Beauty

American Beauty is an acclaimed 1999 drama film that explores themes of love, freedom, beauty, self liberation, existentialism, the search for happiness, and family against the backdrop of modern American suburbia.

Saved!

• Saved! is a 2004 satirical teen comedy about a girl (Malone) attending a Christian high school who becomes pregnant, she finds herself ostracized and demonized, as all of her former friends turn on her.

Mean Girls

Cady Heron (Lohan) is a hit with The Plastics, the A-list girl clique at her new school, until she makes the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels (Bennett), the ex-boyfriend of alpha Plastic Regina George (McAdams).

Parodies in Film

• Robin Hood Men in Tights • Spaceballs • Young Frankenstein • Epic Movie • Not Another Teen Movie

Let’s look at some examples of satire

Write down all the devices you identify with each clip.