All About Satire

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All About Satire

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

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The Satiric Manner

• Ironic/Sarcastic
• Either good natured criticism or bitterly cynical
  denunciation
• Always opposed to pretense, affectation, and
  hypocrisy
• More than a little bit prone to references to
  things society finds taboo or disgusting (bodily
  functions, sexuality, etc.)

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Objectives

• Understand use and purpose of satire within
  literature and media
• Develop an understanding of the definition of
  satire
• Identify the writer or speakers purpose for
  using satire
• Recognize the importance of context for the
  success of satire
• Understand techniques of satire

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Use and Purpose of Satire

• All satire is criticism
• To reform, persuade and convince
• To analyze
• To strip away false impressions

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Writer/Speakers Purpose

• Any conflict between the ideal and the practical
• Any perceived hypocrisy
• The purposes of institutions
• Political positions
• The actions/ideas of well-known people

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Satirical Techniques

• Direct Satire
• Irony
• Sarcasm
• Ridicule
• Exaggeration / Diminutization
• Caricature
• Parody
• Utopianism / Dystopianism

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

• Comedian Dennis Millers popular series of
  books, Rants, are an excellent modern example of
  direct satire.

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Irony - language that has two levels of meaning
the first is superficial or literal the second
is critical and often the opposite of the
superficial meaning.

• Only a Lad by Oingo Boingo

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Sarcasm - extreme techniques of satire bitter
and spiteful comments are made to deliberately
hurt the subject

• A Political Piece

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Ridicule - technique used to satirize the faults
of others ridicule makes fun of the subject or
derides it with contempt

• Student Video Classroom

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Caricature An exaggerated portrayal of the
weaknesses, frailties, or humorous aspects of an
individual or group.
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• Caricatures of the presidential candidates by
  Saturday Night Live cast members in 03 year
  actually changed the way that the candidates
  performed in public.

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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
• Gullivers Travels
• GREASE!!!!

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Exaggeration The portrayal of something
trivial or unimportant as very important, usually
to emphasize its triviality.Diminutization
the portrayal of something perceived as important
as something trivial/unimportant to show its
unimportance. Zoolander and the fashion
world Weird Als Amish Paradise The Rape
of the Lock (A. Pope)
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Utopianism A criticism of the status quo
through comparison with a superior kind of
society that highlights the weaknesses of ones
own.

• Utopia, by Sir Thomas Moore
• Gargantua and Pantegruel
• Gullivers Travels, Book II

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Dystopianism A criticism of certain aspects
of society through comparison to an inferior
society that adopts some of these aspects.

• George Orwells 1984
• Aldous Huxleys Brave New World
• Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451
• Both Dystopianism and Utopianism use contrast
  to make point.

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The Assignment

• Part I Write your own satirical piece.
• Part II Analyze a satirical piece.
• Turn in Your satirical piece and your satirical
  analysis, both typed in MLA format

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Part I Your Satirical Piece

• Decide what the purpose of your satirical piece
  has, what your purpose is for writing the satire,
  and which satirical technique you want to you
  use.
• Create your own satirical piece. It could be an
  essay, a video, a cartoon, a speech, a poem, a
  song, or anything else you can think of.
• Write a reflection on your satirical piece,
  explaining the purpose of the piece, your purpose
  for writing it, and the technique you chose to
  use. This should only be ½-1 page in length.

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Part II Your Satirical Analysis

• Find an example of satire. These can be found in
  newspapers and magazines (easily accessible
  online), novels, videos, cartoons, and even TV
  shows.
• Analyze the satirical piece you selected. Refer
  to your notes for direction.
• Explain the use and purpose of satire
• Explain the writer/speakers purpose
• Explain the satirical technique that is being
  used

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Lets Go to Work!!!