Satire Analysis
Will Ferrell as George Bush on Global Warming
Colbert “Dumps” Korea
Best in Show
To analyze a satirical piece, employ the following questions:
1. What institution, person, trend, practice, idea, characteristic, policy, etc… in
society is being lampooned?
2. What would the author’s argument look like stripped of its humor?
3. What understood model is being used as a vehicle for the humor? What
underlying assumptions or expectations do we have for this model?
4. How is this model manipulated to ridicule the issue?
5. What is the goal of the satirist (i.e., how does the satirist wish society, the
individual, the body politic, or an institution to change or amend itself?
6. How effective are the methods of this particular satirist?