POW #2: Satire Example

Satire: A type of writing that makes fun of human weaknesses. It is designed to bring about social reform.

We are going to begin reading Brave New World, which is a satirical look at society written by Aldous Huxley. To understand the book, we need to understand the concept of satire. There are many examples of satire in pop culture: political cartoons, TV shows (The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live), and movies (Airplane!, The Naked Gun).

Here is a link to many examples of satire.

Remember, satire is different from PARODY.

Your mission: Find an example of satire and post it to your blog. Along with your example, post an explanation of the satire.

• What is the author making fun of?
• What techniques are he using? (Irony, Hyperbole, Saracasm)
• What social change is he trying to bring about?

Call your post: "POW #2: Satire Example" and label it "POW"

This should be completed by Tuesday, January 18th.

Here is my example:

 

The cartoonist is making fun of Britney Spears and our country's obsession with news about celebrities.

He is using hyperbole to exaggerate the way the characters look. Britney is depicted smoking and drinking Red Bull. Her head is way out of proportion with her body, and she has oversized sunglasses on. The people sitting on the couch are also exaggerated with their looks. There is also situational irony - the woman says that Britney needs to get a life, but she is the one who has been sitting there watching about her for hours.

The cartoonist is saying that we should spend more time concentrating on our own lives, rather than living through the lives of celebrities. If we don't pay attention to shows like TMZ, then maybe celebs won't act out and do outrageous things. As the consumer, we are a huge part of the problem.