Satire

1. Satire Noun. A literary manner which blends humor with criticism for the purpose of instruction or the improvement of humanity

2. The necessary ingredients • Comedy/Humor • Criticism, either general criticism of human nature or specific criticism of an individual or group. • Concealment (sometimes)

3. The Satiric Manner • Ironic/Sarcastic • Either good natured criticism or bitterly cynical denunciation • May offend some people through language or choice of topics

4. Direct Satire = stating a direct criticism humorously. This is the oldest and, historically, most common form of satiric writing.

5. Comedian Dennis Miller’s popular series of books, Rants, are an excellent modern example of direct satire.

6. The Death of Common Sense “You can't get in your car and not run into another idiot who pulls into the gas station with his fuel tank on the wrong side and then has to get instructions from a NASA team at Houston Control to figure out how to maneuver his car so that the tank is on the correct side.” “You can't open a paper without reading about a mondo idiot who gets hurt or killed at a railroad crossing because they had to try and beat the train to get home in time to watch Charlene Tilton's salute to porcelain clowns on QVC.”

7. Parody = a work of literature that mimics another work of literature, usually as a way of criticizing it. • Monty Python and the Holy Grail • Austin Powers • Scary Movie/Epic Movie • Gulliver’s Travels • Don Quixote • Wicked

8. Reversal… • When the satirist uses/describes the opposite of what he actually wants to happen in order to make a point… When Colbert discusses the Mexican “invasion” of Hollywood, he truly means that he does not mind the “immigration” but comments on the irrational fear conservatives have of Hollywood and immigrants.

9. Caricature = An exaggerated portrayal of the weaknesses, frailties, or humorous aspects of an individual or group.

10. Caricatures of the presidential candidates by Saturday Night Live cast members in ‘03 year actually changed the way that the candidates performed in public.

11. Types of Satire • Satirical literature can commonly be categorized as either Horatian or Juvenalian.

12. Horatian • Named for the Roman satirist, Horace, this playfully criticizes some social vice through gentle, mild, and light-hearted humor. It directs wit, exaggeration, and self-deprecating humor toward what it identifies as folly, rather than evil. Horatian satire's sympathetic tone is common in modern society. Examples of Horatian satire: Jonathan Swift's Gulliver’s Travels.

13. Juvenalian • Named after the Roman satirist Juvenal, this type of satire is more contemptuous and abrasive than the Horatian. Juvenalian satire addresses social evil through scorn, outrage, and savage ridicule. This form is often pessimistic, characterized by irony, sarcasm, moral indignation and personal invective, with less emphasis on humour. Examples of Juvenalian satire: Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal, George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, and the cartoon South Park.

14. Utopianism • Utopia word was invented by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempted to create an ideal society, and fictional societies portrayed in literature.

15. Dystopianism • A dystopia is, in literature, an often futuristic society that has degraded into a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian. Dystopian literature has underlying cautionary tones, warning society that if we continue to live how we do, this will be the consequence.

16. Satirical Cartoons