17/09/2017

Unit 6:

Satire

Patricia de Lille: “Cartoons have ramifications that you will not believe.”

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1. What is satire?
Jokes don’t change politics – but satire awakens people to
hypocrisy - although covered with comedy:- Satire
represents potent criticism of serious issues.

Satire: The use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule

to expose and criticize individuals/corporations/
governments/society itself stupidity, corruption or vices,
particularly in the context of contemporary politics and
other topical issues.

A writer in a satire uses fictional characters, which stand

for real people, to expose and condemn their
corruption/stupidity/vices etc.

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What is satire (cont.)

Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater
purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit to draw
attention to both particular and wider issues in society.

Does not need to be humorous.

All comedy is not satire.

The satirist attempts more than visceral laughter or corrosive

spite.
◦ Surely, a satire may fall dully flat, and the satirist may appear unfairly
prejudiced or sanctimonious; or a satire may be vacuously humorous,
playful, witty, or ridiculous without point.

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What is satire (cont.)

True satirist = more than a partisan advocate or a clownish
entertainer, for a true satirist must be a true believer, a
practicing humanitarian, responsible even in his or her own
subjective indulgence or personal indignation.

Satire also has the ability to protect its creator from culpability
for criticism, because it is implied rather than overtly stated; in
this way, it becomes a powerful tool for dissenters in difficult or
oppressive political and social periods.

There are two important things to remember about satire:

a) It makes fun of a person, idea, or institution
b) Its purpose is not just to entertain, but also to inform or make
people think.

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2. Origin & types of satire

Latin satura: Bowl of mixed fruit; type of lavish
dessert.
◦ Examples date back to 4BC; Lysistrata– comedy-
drama on war.

There are two types of satire:

1. Horatian satire (gentle satire) is:
tolerant, witty, wise and self-effacing

2. Juvenalian satire (harsh satire) is: angry,

caustic, resentful, personal

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Types of satire (cont.)

•Satire can be ‘informal’ – its true meaning is subtle/hidden.

Satire can be ‘explicit’ – this is the most favoured as its

impact is immediate.

Camouflaged:
◦ Satire is easily mistook for something else; Animal Farm was
regarded as a soppy animal fable and Gulliver’s Travels was
understood as a fantasy for children.
◦ Because of the nice dance beat and quirky sing-along lyrics of
Gimme Hope Johanna most folks never realized it was a staunch
antiapartheid song.

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Types of satire (cont.)

By underlining specific current issues through

outrageous lampooning satire presents its
audience with a fuller understanding of a wider
world view.
◦ The greater and deeper there is division in a society –
the more and harsh satire there will be.

American satire is increasingly subjective and

furthers specifics parties/candidates.Viewers
support satirists and satirical outlets that confirm
their own beliefs.
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3. Classification of satire
UTOPIA vs DISTOPIA:
◦ Satirist illustrates the magnificent beauty of the establishment/society
and then exposes it as a pipedream.
◦ Satirist exposes the potholes in the proverbial streets of gold.

EXPOSES HUMAN SIDES

◦ Satire exposes the shortcomings of leaders.
◦ Satire humanizes leaders and authorities – bringing down to earth.
◦ Satire’s outrageous dissection of leaders and their mistakes, calls for
answers and explanations.
◦ Satire is a – very – powerful penalty: Shaming a leader or government.
◦ Satire-as-penalty is devastating as the target – literally – becomes a
humiliated joke. The satirist ensures that the audience never forgets the
leader’s transgression or ‘sin.’

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Classification of satire (cont.)

SOCIAL SATIRE:
◦ Instigator: Hard-core satirists that deals with sensitive issues in a
particularly graphic way.
◦ Or Intellectuals tackling complex socio-economic and political issues with
humour; might be mild or savage.
◦ Politico: Deals with current political figures and issues; very topical.
◦ Sage: They warn about the pitfalls of present day life and deals with social
and economic issues.

SATIRE MOVES PEOPLE:

◦ Satire moves audiences not only to question the establishment but indeed
to criticize/applaud it.
◦ Satire invokes from its audiences strong emotions – ranging from laughter
to anger to pure hatred.
◦ Satire may also be used to promote or defend a leader and its government.

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Classification of satire (cont.)

CALMING EXTREMISM
◦ Satire presents the audience with a flipside view of its
own preconceived notions of realties.
◦ Satire has the ability to alter the audience’s perception of
their own realities and their view of how the world
works.
◦ Satire has the ability to dilute extremist attitudes by
fostering new viewpoints on issues that cause
polarization.
◦ Humour ensures the flow of communication whereas
“tragedy mystifies” and as such limits/prevents discourse
on it.

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4.Various systems of Satire

Stand-up comedy: E.g. Trevor Noah; Pieter Dirk Uys

Satirical magazine: Eg.The Realist during American counterculture; mocks

American society and leaders

Films & TV shows: E.g. Dr. Strangelove (1964, satirizes the Cold War),The
Interview (2014), ZA News, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (satirical news
television show):

Internet: E.g.The Onion (satirical news website)

Adverts: Eg. Nando’s

Cartoon: E.g. Zapiro

Others include: poems, books, lyrics, radio shows, podcasts, Youtube videos,
rap etc.

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5. Satiric Devices
Caricature: A representation in which the subject’s
distinctive features or peculiarities are deliberately
exaggerated to produce a comic or grotesque effect

Colloquialism: Use of slang or informal language—

includes regional dialect

Deflation: An object either assumes or is given elevated

status and then is treated in such as way that estimation of
the object decreases.

Disparagement: To speak of in a slighting way; belittle;

reduce in rank or esteem

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Satiric Devices (cont.)

Euphemism: a more agreeable or less offensive
substitute for a generally unpleasant word or concept

Hyperbole: Exaggeration or overstatement.

Incongruity: A surprising contrast occurring through

situation, image, allusion, character, diction, anachronism,
etc.

Invective: Harsh, abusive language directed against a

person or cause. Invective is a vehicle, a tool of anger.
Invective is the bitterest of all satire.

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Satiric Devices (cont.)

Irony: All satire is ironic, but not all irony is satire. Irony is
the tension that results when you expect one thing and get
more than, or less than, or the opposite of what you
expected.
◦ Verbal irony: Discrepancy between what is stated explicitly and
what is really meant
◦ Situational irony: Discrepancy between what is expected and
reality
◦ Dramatic irony: Discrepancy between what the reader or
audience knows and what a character knows

Critique: Aspects of society and human behaviour is

identified; the reader/listener/audience takes it into review
and deems it with dismay.

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Satiric Devices (cont.)

Implicitness: At once subtle and exaggerated, satire does not
preach but rather provoke.

Exaggeration: To enlarge, increase, or represent something

beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its
faults can be seen.

Burlesque is the ridiculous exaggeration of language.

◦ For instance, when a character who should use formal, intelligent
language speaks like a fool or a character who is portrayed as
uneducated uses highly sophisticated, intelligent language.

Incongruity: To present things that are out of place or are

absurd in relation to its surroundings. Particular techniques
include oxymoron, metaphor, and irony.

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Satiric Devices (cont.)

Parody: To imitate the techniques and/or style of some
person, place, or thing in order to ridicule the original.
◦ For parody to be successful, the reader must know the original
text that is being ridiculed.

Reversal: To present the opposite of the normal order.

Grotesque: creating a tension between laughter and

horror or revulsion; the essence of all “sick humour or
“black humour”

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6. Let’s bring it home…Satire in South

Africa
Pieter Dirk Uys / Evita
Bezuidenhout
◦ Author, comedian, playwright
◦ Satirized apartheid and its leaders
◦ Paradise is Closing Down (1979),
Adapt or Dye (1982), Farce About
Uys (1983)

Trevor Noah:
◦ Comedian, TV host in USA

Zapiro: Cartoons

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7. Cartoons
Eye-catching.
Impact is immediate.
Visually powerful.
Evidence of a issues of a certain period.
To grasp it implies a person has to be
well informed about the context.

“What is a political cartoon? Essentially, it is

a visual essay that sums up complicated
events or situations in a few, simple, sketched
black lines. A newspaper article will probably
take several minutes to read; the cartoon
delivers the message in a couple of seconds.
That is what makes it so powerful . . . They do
not simply represent; they comment as well.”
Timothy S. Benson The Cartoon Century.

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8. How comedy effects us

Satire, ridicule, and burlesque often work in the service of
change.
◦ Comedy acts as a way to change the individual or the society by using
laughter.
◦ Comedy uses exaggeration, understatement, role reversal and devices of
irony to make us laugh and compare.

Awareness of irony is an intellectual, not emotional process –

that’s why animals don’t laugh
◦ With emotional defences down, our mind can see the need for change in
a comic character.

Good comedy allows us to feel superior to the characters.

◦ We sense our own rigidity and blindness are like the comic fool’s and note
the laughter the comic fool arouses.

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How comedy effects us (cont.)

It can raise morale – or destroy it.

It has the power to light a fuse: invoke burning

emotions, boiling polarization, bolster simmering
extremism and ultimately violent outbursts.

Strips the target of its superhuman mystique.

Leaders’ responses are finely monitored by their

enemies/supporters: It is a test of their humility,
maturity and endurance

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