Satire
Journal 3-1
• What is satire? What is the goal of
satire?
• What do you associate with “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.
Two types
• Horatian Satire
• Gentle
• Tries to evoke a smile
• Writer is urbane,
sophisticated, man-ofthe-world
• 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?
Satirical Devices
• All devices can work to create satire:
tone, simile, metaphor,
personification, allusion,
juxtaposition, shift, contrast,
repetition, etc.
• But here are a few new devices that
are also found in satire.
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 your final project on it,
and someone says, “Houston, 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 wears glasses. 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, selfliberation,
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
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Robin Hood Men in Tights
Spaceballs
Young Frankenstein
Epic Movie
Not Another Teen Movie