The Art of Satire

Semi-Intellectual Musings

It’s the start of Banned Books week, which means we begin to pontificate over works that have been challenged, mostly wondering why someone would want to ban The Catcher in the Rye or To Kill a Mockingbird or One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. We figured a look at satire is a good entry way into the realm of the forbidden. Before we fall too far down that rabbit hole, we pause to thank some friends of the show.

The Art of Satire (14:33)

Satire isn’t easy. Too offensive and the satirist comes off as simply ill-hearted. Not offensive enough, however, the aspirating rhetorician will appear to be but a decoy (or in John Stewart's words: a hack). A good satire, a satire that sticks and makes people remember the punishment has to have just the right amount of wit, humour and pointedness. In this episode we discuss the art of satire from books, to plays, to visual arts and music. We try to understand what the idea of satire is and how it is best practiced. We wonder how satire differs from parody, irony, lampoons and farces. We end with a discussion of the cult-classic television cartoon South Park, exploring how satire is deployed in the series while debating it’s ironic value and wondering if it’s really all that funny (1:15:05). It’s an episode packed with attempts at humor, irony, exaggeration, and lots of ridicule. Not for the faint of heart.

Links to audio clips:

• André-Philippe Gagnon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAEM0jOvGkE
• Anthony Atamanuik on Intercepted Podcast : https://theintercept.com/2017/09/20/intercepted-podcast-merican-psycho/
• Jon Stewart implodes Crossfire : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvnyBCjPtmU
• Sean Spicer at the 2017 Emmys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX8MMxTQSzI
• Song “Jurassic Park” appearing on “Alapalooza” by ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gh4zvQfDhi0
• Song “Eat It” appearing on "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D by ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcJjMnHoIBI
• South Park Theme Song - Performed by Primus : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijBAG2O9GZs
• Song “Wynona's Big Brown Beaver” appearing on “Tales from the Punchbowl” by Primus : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYDfwUJzYQg
• Song “Eric Cartman - Come Sail Away” appearing on “Chef Aid: The South Park Album” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb3XWTWtRxc
• Song “Blame Canada” appearing on “South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOR38552MJA
• Son "America, Fuck Yeah" appearing on ‘South Park’ by Team America : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDfEKwJJBdU
• South Park - Cartman's Poem : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vk9CoZQuo4c
• South Park - Advice (Chef and Girls) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbwscO_1kuM
• South Park - The City Part of Town - “The Lofts at SoDoSoPa” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAPmjcBnxIs
• South Park - Hillary Clinton debates Mr. Garrison & Caitlyn Jenner : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcP8lZ1EHKg

Further reading:

• https://hyperallergic.com/81686/a-brief-history-of-popular-satire
• https://www.quora.com/profile/Varsha-Eluri
• https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-parody-satire-and-farce
• http://www.nestaso.com/new-blog/2013/12/10/andy-warhol-irony-in-art
• Jonathan Swift (1729) “A Modest Proposal”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal
• Trump and Paralipsis http://theconversation.com/how-donald-trump-gets-away-with-saying-things-other-candidates-cant-55615

Concluding thought:

Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own

-Jonathan Swift

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• Intro Music #1: Song "Soul Challenger" appearing on "Cullahnary School" by Cullah Available at: http://www.cullah.com Under CC BY SA license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Intro Music #2: Song “Word Crimes: appearing on “Mandatory Fun“ by ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic.
• Interlude Music: Song “Pollution” (1969) From the Reprise album RS 6179 "That Was The Year That Was" by Tom Lehrer
• Outro Music: Song "Model of a Modern Network TV Show" appearing on ‘Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip’, Season 1 Episode 2 “The Cold Open” (TV Series, Creator: Aaron Sorkin, Director: Thomas Schlamme)