The Uses of Satire

The main point of modern satire is to expose new ideas about issues in real life. However, the real good thing about satire is that it does not have to be serious. It can actually consider having crazy ways to present a topic and introduce ideas to the viewers. Satire presents real life situations and events. It can discuss people, places and cultures. The topics are a little serious and are usually simple. However, it needs to be presented in an absurd and funny way. A satire is a discussion or an expression of new point of views towards relatively simple and serious events. Satire can even present funny and radical explanations for the readers to understand the topic.

The real characteristics of satire are to make fun of the topic or to entertain readers. Satire includes both concepts of entertainment and seriousness. Satire is most often found in the performing arts, but it is also found as a genre in writing.  Satire makes fun of real life situations for the purposes of irony and humor with the intent of bringing about shame and change of that behavior.  Although satire is usually funny it can still serve its purpose by displaying a strong sense of wit.  Pieces are saturated by noting the stand out features which make it unique.  A satirical piece about a politician or celebrity starts by selecting the one thing that stands out about that person and then exaggerate it. They exaggerate the feature by drawing particular attention to it.  For instance, in a play or movie, they repeat the turn of phrase loudly or obviously, or for a story they use a signature phrase excessively, to the point of ridicule.  For a public feature they might use a sign-off phrase or focus on a physical aspect, but keep it humorous.

Many satires end by turning the usual ending upside down.  For instance if the hero always saves everyone at the end, in a satire they have their specific trait cause everyone’s demise, or if people usually live “happily ever after”, they have an add-on section which starts “until…” and have something comical such as “she had triplets…” or “he lost his job and started to drink…”

There are many examples of satirical Television shows, such as The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Onion News, Saturday Night Live (Satires on the News & Politics). Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a good example of satire which basically satirizes everything from religion to science to environmentalism to war. Look in any of the major newspapers in the country and the political cartoon will probably be a satirical look at some current event of the day.  When friends get together to honor a colleague they will often have a “roast” of that person where friends give short speeches which satirize the person’s life in a comical way.  Satire then can be a useful tool to draw attention to particular situations while at the same time entertaining in a light-hearted way.

            Finally, satire can also be used to teach.  Writing satire requires looking at a topic from a

different point of view, and similarly those at whom it is directed are forced to view themselves

from a new perspective also.  However if satire is not written with clear thought, it can also be

seen with ridicule and harm. Satire is generally used for its comedic value though when properly

and thoughtfully applied it can be a powerful tool for change.

Satire is so greatly effective because it points out the stupidity of things. When things are said by

a credible news source, many times people don’t question what they hear. However not

everything they say completely makes sense, and by using satire, it is able to point out

how ridiculous some things are. Satire is also very popular because it is usually quite

entertaining. Satire can be very funny and is used on most comedy shows. Satire is able to be

used to inform people, and to entertain people. Another great effect of satire is that many people

think watching the news or reading the newspaper is boring. However by watching satirical

shows, like the Daily Show, they are able to witness news report, and then see an opinion that is

presented in a satirical way. This entertains the viewers and enlightens them. The main

component of satire, especially in the Daily Show, is the level of seriousness that is displayed

while presenting ridiculous statements. For example when reading A Modest Proposal, anyone

that didn’t understand satire would be disgusted. Throughout the essay it talks about all of

Ireland’s problems, and that a solution to their problem could be to eat babies. This would solve

food problems, abortion problems, money problems and many others. Throughout the essay the

author uses a completely serious tone making it seem like she is serious. However, by using

satire, she is able to describe how bad the conditions are in satire, and even compare the

conditions to be bad enough to start eating babies. Most satirical events are presented in a

completely serious tone. That is what makes them so funny and so informative. By using

a serious tone, the viewer is able to get a laugh, and realize how bad things actually are. In the

Daily Show, John Stewart constantly provides his own solutions that are completely

ridiculous, but he never acts like he is joking. However, his ridiculous decisions, sometimes

actually make sense, which serves in telling the viewer how bad an event actually is. Also John

Stewart is constantly wearing a suit. This helps add to his level of seriousness, and increases the

enjoyment of his satirical skits. Satire is able to bring enjoyment into people’s lives, but can also

serve as a call to action. Since satire is able to point out the problems within a country, or

state, people will help go out and try to make a difference to fix the problem. Since satire can be

presented in many different forms, people can constantly be informed through satirical pieces like

newspaper articles or TV shows.