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Satire as a Tool for Criticism and Change

This text explores the concept of satire, a literary style that uses ridicule and wit to criticize and correct aspects of human behavior. It examines various techniques employed by satirists, such as irony, direct and indirect satire, parody, caricature, exaggeration, utopianism, and dystopianism. Examples from modern culture are provided to illustrate these techniques. The text concludes by encouraging readers to analyze Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s work and determine whether they agree with his satirical viewpoints.

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Satire as a Tool for Criticism and Change

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  1. Satire A literary manner that seeks to criticize and correct some aspect of human behavior by means of ridicule and wit.

  2. Satire Satire is often funny, but it doesn’t have to be: sometimes the effect is simply grotesque or horrifying (Swift’s “Modest Proposal”). Satire is often bitter, since it points out the discrepancy between what is and what should be.

  3. The necessary ingredients • Irony (particularly verbal) • Criticism, either general criticism of humanity or human nature or specific criticism of an individual or group. • Some kind of moral voice: simply mocking or criticism is not “satire.”

  4. Some tools of the satirist • Direct satire • Indirect Satire

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

  6. Direct Satire = stating a direct criticism humorously. This is the oldest and, historically, most common form of satiric writing. Comedians Rick Mercer and Dennis Miller demonstrate an excellent modern examples of direct satire.

  7. The Death of Common Sense “You can't get in your car and not run into another idiot who pulls into the gas station with his fuel tank on the wrong side and then has to get instructions from a NASA team at Houston Control to figure out how to maneuver his car so that the tank is on the correct side. And you can't open a paper without reading about a mondo idiot who gets hurt or killed at a railroad crossing because they had to try and beat the train to get home in time to watch The Home Shopping Channel’s salute to porcelain clowns.”

  8. Some tools of the satirist • Direct satire • Indirect Satire

  9. Some tools of the satirist • Indirect Satire • Parody • Caricature • Exaggeration/Diminutization • Utopianism • Dystopianism

  10. 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 • Gulliver’s Travels • Shrek

  11. Caricature = An exaggerated portrayal of the weaknesses, frailties, or humorous aspects of an individual or group.

  12. Caricatures of the presidential candidates by Saturday Night Live cast members in ‘03 year actually changed the way that the candidates performed in public.

  13. 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 Al’s “Amish Paradise”** The Rape of the Lock (A. Pope)

  14. Utopianism = A criticism of the status quo through comparison with a superior kind of society that highlights the weaknesses of one’s own. • Utopia, by Sir Thomas Moore • Gulliver’s Travels, Book II • The Bible

  15. Dystopianism = A criticism of certain aspects of society through comparison to an inferior society that adopts some of these aspects. • George Orwell’s 1984 • Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World • Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 • Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron • Wall-E • V for Vendetta Both Dystopianism and Utopianism use contrast to make point. http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/the-top-50-dystopian-movies-of-all-time/

  16. Satire is a type of writing that serves to ridicule and denounce folly, evil and stupidity as these characteristics manifest themselves in persons, groups of persons, ideas, institutions, customs and beliefs. The satirist focuses on what is wrong with the world. • What separates satire from more direct types of social criticism is the subtlety with which an issue is criticized. Satirists are social critics who paint bleak pictures and create bleak situations and outcomes to mirror the misery of man and to exact change. The satirist instead uses humour and irony to point out the ills of man.

  17. Informal Journal Assignment Now that you have an understanding of the purpose and characteristics of satire, what I would like you to do now is sift through the humour and the irony and explain what Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was trying to do. Then tell me if you agree with him and why.

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