Satire

1. Satire

2. Examples

3. Definition of Satire: • A work that ridicules its subject through the use of techniques such as exaggeration, reversal, incongruity, and/or parody in order to make a comment or criticism about it.

4. Exaggeration (Hyperbole)

5. Exaggeration (Hyperbole) • Cousins Meaner This Year (The Onion) • http://www.theonion.com/articles/cousins-meaner-this-year,34841/ • Dec 25, 2013 • Weinberg family sources confirm that Jake and Jason seem a lot meaner this year. • POTOMAC, MD—Noting a perceptible shift in the young relatives’ general attitude and demeanor, Weinberg family sources confirmed Thursday that cousins Jason Weinberg, 13, and Jake Weinberg, 15, seemed a lot meaner this year. • Reports indicate the cousins’ noticeably changed personalities included sharper, more sarcastic senses of humor, an unambiguous lack of enthusiasm for spending time with cousins Katie and Ben—whom they always seemed to get along great with before, sources emphasized—and a marked indifference to the Weinberg family Christmas traditions in general. • “They got meaner. And bigger, too. Bigger and meaner,” Katie Weinberg, 11, said of her cousins, explaining that not only were Jason and Jake uncharacteristically rude, uninterested, and prone to wisecracks this year, but their physical appearances were also notably different, with Jason adding several inches in height and Jake adding substantial bulk to his previously slight frame. “They’ve said about five words to me the whole time they’ve been at our house. They just make little jokey comments to each other instead.” • “And their voices are all deep,” Katie added. • Sources close to the situation say the cousins’ behavior fluctuated between complete silence and snickering amongst each other, with Jake occasionally checking his smartphone and Jason almost imperceptibly rolling his eyes after every sentence uttered by an adult. • Jason and Jake also reportedly showed significantly diminished interest in typically popular Weinberg Christmas traditions including playing with the dogs in the backyard, checking out what new items the respective Weinberg children had added to their bedrooms and wardrobes, and alternately jumping, rolling, and lying on Carol Weinberg’s waterbed. • “They won’t even make eye contact, really, and the only words I’ve heard them say are ‘What’s up,’ ‘No,’ and ‘I dunno,’” Katie’s brother Ben told reporters. “Jake has been wearing his sweatshirt hood on his head, indoors, for almost the entire time he’s been here.” • On the bright side, Katie noted, cousin Jake was looking a lot hotter.

6. Exaggeration (Hyperbole) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4

7. Incongruity (absurdity)

8. Incongruity (absurdity) • Monty Python: Killer Bunny Rabbits • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcxKIJTb3Hg

9. Reversal

10. Reversal • The Onion http://www.theonion.com/articles/dads-tough-exterior-hides-angry-resentful-center,34859/ • Dad’s Tough Exterior Hides Angry, Resentful Center • SAGINAW, MI—Sources close to local father Wayne Abrams confirmed Thursday that, while his tough exterior might initially fool casual observers, the 45-year-old’s gruff demeanor actually conceals a deeply angry and resentful center. “Sure, Dad seems all strong and tough on the outside, but underneath that is a simmering rage that he doesn’t always show people,” said Abrams’ eldest daughter Bethany, 16, who added that her father is “really mean and hurtful when you get to know him.” “He comes off a little cold at first, but it’s kind of funny because it’s nowhere near as cruel and spiteful as he truly is deep down. You just have to wait for him to share his hateful side with you. And trust me, if you hang around long enough, you’ll really be amazed at how despicable he can be.” Abrams added that her mother’s chipper exterior concealed an even more bitter and resentful core than her father’s.

11. Parody • Monty Python’s Holy Grail • Scary Movie (parody of stereotypical horror movies) • Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (parody of Walk the Line) • Nightlight (The Harvard Lampoon version of Twilight) • Weird Al Yankovichttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss_BmTGv43M • The Peterson Farm Bros. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toyN81wZzLw • The BC (parody of the OC) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b9QB06oQiQ

12. Parody-A poetic example A Modern Curse • I do not like your mobile phone. I do not like its ringing tone. I do not like it here nor there; I do not like it any where. I do not like it on a plane, nor when I’m on a crowded train; not in a bus, not in a car, not even in a crowded bar. I do not want to hear it ping or, even worse, Madonna sing. I do not like the sound of pop; that wretched noise has got to stop. So let me make this mighty clear, your phone, I do not want to hear. And, should it ever start to ring, I’ll come and smash the wretched thing.

13. Shrek: Analyze It! • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-MdTxK0_E0 • (This is in Swedish…couldn’t find one online in English. The language isn’t important here—it’s just to refresh your memory of what happens)

14. Shrek • Exaggeration: • Princess Fiona fights and successfully defeats Robin Hood and all of his Merry Men without any help and without any weapons. • Incongruity: • Princess Fiona uses her ponytail to deliver a knockout punch to one of the Merry Men. While frozen in a mid-air martial arts kick, Princess Fiona pauses to fix her disheveled hair before knocking out two of the Merry Men. • Reversal: • The roles of the hero and the damsel in distress have been reversed. In this clip, it is Princess Fiona, the rescuee, who fights and defeats the foe. • Parody: • The fight scene is an exaggerated imitation of the martial arts style and special effects used in movies such as The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.