Foster 1
Jack Foster
Tracy Johnson
Entertainment Technology
19 September 2013
How does satire impact our society?
Ever since I was little I've been captivated by comedic media. Movies, TV shows, books, all of
it was really fun to take in. Satire is one of my favorite forms of comedies because it makes fun of other
things, but still can be serious. I was aware of what satire was prior to starting my research but I
definitely had some misconceptions about it. I wanted to know if there were 'serious' satire pieces in
addition to the humorous ones. I was also curious about some of the different forms satire has taken , as
well as some examples of each type.
Researching was difficult for what I thought was a broad subject. Many of the resources I found
merely spouted a definition of satire and did little analysis on the subject. I scanned through every
available resource at my disposal in order to find 10 really solid sources, which took up a large chunk
of time. Something that really helped me in my research was being well versed in satires like 1984 or
Fahrenheit 451, because these are very serious books, yet are satirical in nature due to their references
to modern societal tendencies. This was helpful because many of the sources didn't go into detail about
what a serious satire was, so these types of books were my only help in that regard. Any attempt I made
at researching serious satires specifically left me with either people serious about satire or satires about
serious subjects, which is certainly not the same.
Overall, the researching portion took almost equal time to the writing of the annotated
bibliography stage. I tried my best to find good sources that provided a lot of information as well as
analysis and not simply a definition.
Foster 2
Satire is able to influence modern society by mirroring the way people feel and points out the
inconsistencies and incongruities in the world, portraying them in a manner that is appeals to a large
section of the populous. One of the best quotes from my research that helped me develop this thesis
was, "For satire is not just a matter of attacking the target; it's also a matter of attacking or at least
challenging those who believe in the target, who do not see, that is, the moral imperfections at the basis
of a particular social or political stance" (Price)
In my first source, the origins of satire are presented. Satires are typically works of wit which
employs many different literary resources to achieve a goal: to 'shame' a subject. English literary satire
is typically found to have begun in the Middle Ages, with Chaucer being the apex of medieval ironic
satire. Satire can be employed via many different vehicles, whether they be a serious pamphlet or a
humorous comic, but they are merely a means to an end rather than an end in and of itself. Satire comes
from the Latin word 'satira' meaning 'medley', but became falsely attributed to 'satyr'. Satirists often set
themselves up as the judges of their peers and seek to justify their practice to themselves and others
(Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature), and they are a way of showing the social sentiment at
the time toward a specific thing (government, economy, etc.).
My next article addresses the paradox with satire that everyone recognizes satire, but
rarely knows what exactly it is. It goes into extreme detail regarding the very beginnings of satire.
Preceding Roman verse satire, there was Greek Menippean satire. The former was very formal in
definition, being written in prose-style hexameter, while the latter contrasted this by not having an
emphasis on specific form. Satire faces a difficulty in that it is dependent upon interpretation and it's
crucial to understand the context of what's being portrayed in order to understand the true message
behind satire. Defining satire as a tone (rather than a style) proves nigh impossible, only really being
Foster 3
able to be defined by listing elements of it (such as humor, wit, irony, etc.) and nothing specifically
defining what it is, referring us back to the paradox. (Encyclopedia of German Literature)
My third source specifically references the 1960's as the point of view it will take on
satire. Different media of satire enhanced the social, political, and cultural upheaval of the time period.
Improvisational theater worked off the comedy of late 50's comedians such as Lenny Bruce, which was
mainly satirical and challenged hypocrisies. With television being a booming source of entertainment
in the 60's, satirical shows were bound to pop up, which they did. The Ed Sullivan Show and The
Tonight Show were some of the first programs to present a satirical view on things, paving the way for
future shows to follow suit. Also being produced were satirical films, such as Kubrick's “Dr.
Strangelove”. The impact of the different satirical media being produced was social awareness by
members of the public.(Singleton) The social and political context of the 1960’s provided the means for
a generation of artists to respond with enriching and often very biting social satire that helped define
dissent of the era.
My fourth article also goes into details of satire in specific periods, but goes into a greater depth
than the other article I read that did this, mainly because the other is much shorter and less well
organized, designed to give only a brief overview. The article discusses Medieval satire, including
fabliau, rude tales told in octosyllabic verse, beast fables, and dream allegories. French satire is
typically directed at women and the clergy, as these seemed to be what people focused on much of the
time. The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer, successfully encapsulated modern forms of satire in
its time, making it a very advanced piece of work and considered to be the peak of satirical writings.
(Funk & Wagnalls) As well, the article refers to Renaissance satire, which was most often written in
prose-style than in verse. Some of the best satirical writers of the time were Erasmus and Rabelais, as
Foster 4
well as Brant and Cervantes. These writers wrote of humanistic ideals of the time and major social and
professional type persons.
The fifth source I used specifically discusses Juvenal, one of the pioneers of the satire genre,
having one of the 2 types of satire (Horatian and Juvenalian) named after him for his importance to the
literary world. Juvenal wrote 16 verse satires, ranging from 60 to 660 lines. These were written in 5
different books in the early 2nd century. He writes about friendship, city/country, law, food, and
women. He has a contempt for society and the standards to which it holds itself. Overall, his style is
one of indignation and this is inherent to all Juvenalian satire now. The article goes into detail about
each separate book and some of the most important themes in them. He criticizes wealthy people for
their arrogance and society as a whole in its ignorance and absurdity. The impact of his writing is that
he developed what is essentially the model for the predatory satire. (Chavalas) His works were very
popular and often people would imitate his style, even to this day his model is used.
In my sixth and what I consider my best source, the writer questions whether or not satire is an
effect persuasive tool. Many satires are used to attempt to persuade the audience into action, to change
something in the world. But not all satires have this underlying thesis to them, so it can be hard to
determine whether or not it's an effective tool. Studies have shown that the effectiveness of a satire is
very dependent on whether the audience is able to pick up on the serious thesis behind the obvious
comedic value to the story. These experiments found that prejudiced people merely respond to satires
that go against their beliefs by distorting the idea presented. One famous quote used by Cannan states
that “No tyrannous idea ever came crashing to earth but it was first wounded with the shafts of satire”,
pronouncing his belief that satire is an important tool to the downfall of tyranny and hate. (Gruner)
Foster 5
Researching this subject has taught me a lot more than I thought it would. From my research,
I've developed new ideas and techniques for writing and creating a satire piece. It has helped me learn
the different ways in which satire can be written and the various forms it can take. I've also managed to
figure out many of the intentions behind such pieces and how best to understand the underlying
messages, as well as convey my own meanings much better. Reflecting on the project as a whole, I
realized how inefficient I was at the beginning and have made efforts at becoming more organized with
regards to my schoolwork and such. This project has also helped to teach me how to properly do MLA
format (something I'd never really had to do before), which will help me in future essays in my classes.
As well, I have learned how to evaluate a web source and, more importantly, how best to scan through
many sources to find ones that will be beneficial to the work I am doing.
My research has helped answer the questions I had at the beginning of this project. I now know
that satire isn't restricted to just humorous media, but that they're are many different serious satires that
are very well known, yet aren't designed to be funny. I learned about the 2 types of satire: Horatian and
Juvenalian, with Horatian being mild, humorous satire and Juvenalian being caustic and predatory,
having less emphasis on humor. In addition I found examples of these two types. Some examples of
Horatian satire are: The Simpsons, Dr. Strangelove, and Gulliver's Travels. These are lighthearted and
comedic. Some examples of Juvenalian satire are: Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, and American
Psycho. These examples are less humorous (or at least, don't use it as the emphasis and means of
conveying their meaning), and more directly jabbing at society.
I've learned a lot throughout this process, which is a good thing. It was very tedious at times, but
the pay off in the end was worth the troubles I went through reading dozens of sources trying to find
the best ones, and then writing about each one in detail. This project has bettered my skills in many
ways and will help me with my future research papers that I will have to write.
Foster 6
Works Cited
"comedy." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 05 Sep. 2013.
Dominik, William J. "Roman Juvenal Composes Satires." Great Events from History: The
World, Prehistory-476 c.e.. Ed. Mark W. Chavalas. 2 vols. Salem Press, 2004.
Ancient
Salem History Web.
06 Sep. 2013.
Gruner, Charles R. "Satire As A Reinforcer Of Attitudes." (1995): ERIC. Web. 06 Sept. 2013.
NOVAK, DANIEL A. "Satire In An Age Of Realism." Victorian Studies 55.1 (2012): 164166.Literary Reference Center. Web. 07 Sept. 2013.
Price, Martin. "Conrad: Satire and Fiction." Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web.
5 Sept.
2013
"satire." The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press,
2000. Credo Reference. Web. 29 August 2013.
"satire." Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature. London: Continuum, 2006. Credo
Reference. Web. 28 August 2013.
"Satire." Encyclopedia of German Literature. London: Routledge, 2000. Credo Reference.
Web.
04 September 2013.
"Satire." (n.d.): Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Web. 6 Sept. 2013.
Shields, John P. "Social Satires." The Sixties in America. Ed. Carl Singleton. 3 vols. Salem
1999. Salem HistoryWeb. 04 Sep. 2013.
Press,