Satire Unit English IV

What is satire? An art form (literary, dramatic, visual) that uses humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, and/or society itself into improvement or reform. What does this mean? Put it in your own words. What is a vice? What is a folly?  Although satire is usually humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon and as a tool to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society. Tina Fey as Sarah Palin—as you watch, consider what it is that Tina Fey is satirizing. Teenage Affluenza—as you watch, consider what it is that is being satirized.

Satire and the Law The relations of satirists to the law have always been delicate and complex. In the United States, satirists attack individuals only at the risk of severe financial loss to himself and his publisher. In totalitarian countries he risks imprisonment or death. Under extreme conditions satire against the reigning order is out of the question. Such was the case in the Soviet Union and most other communist countries. For example, a poet was sent to a concentration camp and his death for composing a satirical poem on Stalin. Why would the law care about satire?

Main types of satire Juvenalian: any bitter and ironic criticism with personal attacks, angry and moral indignation, and pessimism Horatian: meant to delight and humor using laughter and ridicule in a non- accusatory manner to highlight vice and folly

Satirical Techniques Exaggeration/hyperbole Distortion/reversal Understatement Invective/diatribe Pun/malapropism Incongruity Parody/allegory Sarcasm

Exaggeration/hyperbole Exaggeration is a statement that represents something as better or worse than it really is. Hyperbole is exaggeration to a degree of being impossible. South Park Clip

Distortion/reversal Distortion changes the perspective of a condition or event by isolation or by stressing some aspects and deemphasizing others. Bush Clip Reversal – to present the opposite of normal order. Ex. A baby makes the decision in the family. Ex. The Affluenza clip

Understatement The opposite of exaggeration. Something is given far less concern, weight, or importance than is required/expected. Jonathan Swift: "Last Week I saw a Woman flay'd, and you will hardly believe, how much it altered her Person for the worse“ Monty Python Example

Invective/Diatribe A direct, angry attack in the hope of eliminating what the satirist regards as undesirable conditions, attitudes, and behavior

Pun Pun – a word employed in two or more senses, or a word used in a context that suggests a second term sounding like it.

Malapropism Malapropism – a deliberate mispronunciation of a term with the intent of poking fun. "The police are not here to create disorder, they're here to preserve disorder." - Richard Daley, former mayor of Chicago "He was a man of great statue." - Thomas Menino, mayor of Boston "Texas has a lot of electrical votes." (electoral votes) - Yogi Berra "Well, that was a cliff-dweller." (cliff-hanger) - Wes Westrum "Be sure and put some of those neutrons on it." (croutons) - Mike Smith "It's got lots of installation." (insulation) - Mike Smith speaking about a new coat "Create a little dysentery among the ranks." (dissension) - Christopher Moltisanti from "The Sopranos" "This is unparalyzed in the state's history." (unparelled) - Gib Lewis, Texas Speaker of the House

Incongruity To present things that are out of place or absurd in relation to its surroundings. Ex. The incongruity in Shrek is that a donkey named Donkey lived with an ogre. This is incongruity because ogres are typically gruesome and mean and the donkey thinks he's a friend

Parody/allegory To imitate the techniques and/or style of some person, place, or thing in order to ridicule the original. For parody/allegory to be successful, the reader must know the original text that is being ridiculed. This is Spinal Tap Clip

Sarcasm The use of irony to mock or convey contempt Ex. The South Park Clip