Introduction to Satire n Activating Strategy Watch the

Introduction to Satire n Activating Strategy: Watch the following C-SPAN video clip of a Congressional hearing about immigration. Identify the speaker n Identify the speaker’s arguments n What do you notice about the way in which the speaker rallies for stronger immigration laws? n n https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=k 1 T 75 j BYe. Cs

SATIRE n Definition: A literary work which attacks human vices, follies, shortcomings, or stupidity through ridicule, derision, irony, sarcasm, wit, & scathing humor.

n Goal: Satire often ridicules a target in an attempt to bring about improvement n“Shaming into reform. ”

Targets of Satire na person or a group of people n an idea or an attitude n society and its institutions n a social practice n a place (city, state, or nation)

Examples of Satire n Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update—satirizes TV news and criticizes human flaws and vices related to politics, entertainment, and current events.

Political Cartoons n Satirize politicians and political issues by criticizing policy decisions and personality traits of elected officials.

Scary Movie n Satirizes horror movies by exaggerating the techniques used to scare audiences.

Austin Powers. Satirizes 1960’s n spy movies. Tackles sexism toward women and ridicules escapes by the spy and stupidity of the evil villain.

Weird Al’s Songs n Satirizes musicians & music videos by commenting on the excess of modern musicians as well as simplicity and immaturity of the lyrics. https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=8 Gv 0 Hv. Po. Dc

Types of Satire n Horatian – a playful, funny critique of some social vice n Uses wit, exaggeration, and selfdeprecating humor to address folly

Types of Satire n Juvenalian – contemptuous, pessimistic, and abrasive address of social evil Uses scorn, outrage, and savage ridicule n Characterized by irony, sarcasm, and personal invective n

Means of Satire n Art n Music n Poetry, prose n Drama, film n Cartoons, comic strips n Commentary

Techniques of Satire n 1. Reduction – degrading or devaluating a victim by reducing his/her stature or dignity; belittling

Techniques of Satire n 2. Invective – open insult, used occasionally for shock effect n A lengthy invective is called a diatribe

Techniques of Satire n 3. Irony – use of “double meaning”; meaning of words is opposite of what’s expected “Great!”

Techniques of Satire n 4. Caricature – exaggerating one particular quality/feature to achieve a grotesque or ridiculous effect n Refers more to drawing than writing (example: political cartoon)

Techniques of Satire n 5. Burlesque – ridiculous exaggeration in language; the discrepancy between words and the situation/character results in silliness n In other words, if characters speak/behave in ridiculously inappropriate ways “Imma teach y’all to talk English real good!”

Techniques of Satire n 6. Reductio ad absurdum – author disproves an argument by taking it to an extreme n Example: “Teenagers need more sleep to do well in school. Therefore, if they sleep for 23 hours a day and attend school for 1 hour a

Steps to Analyzing Satire (Use back of notesheet) 1. 2. 3. Identify the subject of the text. Identify the target audience Identify the tone used regarding the subject - Also, the type (Horatian vs. Juvenalian) 4. 5. Identify what the article is REALLY exposing, criticizing, etc. Identify the human flaws associated with #4

Questions?

Teen Sick Of Mother Barging Into Room With Clean, Folded Clothes ELIZABETHTOWN, PA—Voicing displeasure at her blatant disregard for his privacy, area teenager Chad Fleming reported Wednesday that he is fed up with his mother always barging into his room to put away freshly washed laundry. “Jesus, Mom! Why can’t you just respect my personal space? ” a visibly angered Fleming told his mother, who entered his bedroom unannounced carrying a basket full of clothes that she had spent the previous two hours separating by color, washing, and neatly folding. “Is it so hard to knock? God, you never let me be. ” At press time, Fleming was livid at his mother for once again violating his privacy to remove a pile of dirty dishes.

“A Modest Proposal” By: Jonathan Swift

Targets of “A Modest Proposal” n English People n Catholics n Irish People n Landlords n Americans

Anatomy of a Proposal n Proposal: the act of offering or suggesting something for acceptance, adoption, or performance. n Three literary tools used in proposals n Emotional Appeals n Ethical Appeals n Logical Appeals