The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn
by
Mark Twain
Purpose
SATIRE
• technique of writing
• ridicules its subjects and shows you something: good,
bad, political or pure amusement
• funny and witty
• used in film and television
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to make a critical point
to make the audience laugh
Ex: Saturday Night Live
http://www.examplesofsatire.com/
• exposes the follies of individuals,
organizations, or states
• to ridicule
• to provoke intentionally for change
• Uses sarcasm, irony, ridicule
Methods of Satire
• satirical techniques are irony, sarcasm, burlesque, parody
• Burlesque is an imitation of a person or subject by exaggeration or
distortion.
– a frivolous subject may be treated with mock dignity
– a weighty subject might be handled in a trivial style
– character who should use formal, intelligent language speaks like a fool
or a character who is portrayed as uneducated uses highly sophisticated,
intelligent language. Ex: Princess Bride – “Marriage, marriage”, giant
who rhymes
• Parody mocks not a person or subject, but a specific literary work or style,
by imitating features and applying them to trivial or incongruous materials.
Weird Al song, Beat it ---Eat it.
Examples of Satire in Pop Culture
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Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update
The Daily Show
Scary Movie
Austin Powers
Political cartoons
This is Spinal Tap
• Songs by Weird Al Yankovich (Eat It)
• The Simpsons
Jonathan Swift (1729)
A Modest Proposal
For Preventing The Children
of Poor People in Ireland
From Being A burden
to Their Parents or Country,
and
For Making Them Beneficial
to The Public
“I have been assured by a very knowing
American of my acquaintance in London,
that a young healthy child well nursed is
at a year old a most delicious,
nourishing, and wholesome food,
whether stewed, roasted, baked, or
boiled ...”
summary
“to better combat the poverty and
overpopulation of Ireland, the children
of the poor be sold as food to the
wealthy,” reducing the population and
increasing the income of the poor
• Adult-Proof Ringtone
• Some teens are reportedly using a
ringtone so high-pitched that most
adults cannot hear it. What do you think?
http://www.theonion.com/content/
• Jerry Garver,
Systems Analyst
"What would really drive adults nuts is if they
invented a silent ring option, like vibrate."
• Nate Steadman,
Lathe Operator
"With this new technology, I worry that
today's girls are losing critical note-passing
skills."
Mugger Can't Believe Crap Victim Has
On MP3 Player
JUNE 16, 2004
BOSTON—Following the successful mugging of a
jogger in Franklin Park, petty criminal Derek Mesker
announced Monday that he cannot believe the s***
he's found on his victim's Philips 20GB MP3 player.
"3 Doors Down? Maroon 5!" Mesker said, scrolling
through the songs. "The new Counting Crows?! Man,
I'm glad I *** that ***." Mesker added that the first
thing he did was toss the device's “***" teal neoprene
case.
Apple Hard At Work Making iPhone Obsolete
FEBRUARY 12, 2007
CUPERTINO, CA—Only a month after the much-heralded announcement
of the iPhone, Apple CEO Steve Jobs confirmed that his engineers were
already working around-the-clock on the touchscreen smartphone's farsuperior replacement. "We looked at [the iPhone's] innovative user
interface, the paradigm-shifting voicemail, the best-in-class mobile browser,
and we realized we could make all that seem ridiculously outdated by the
time the product becomes available to customers in June," said Jobs, who
described the project as "Apple reinventing the iPhone." "When the secondgeneration iPhone comes out this fall, we want iPhone users to feel not just
jealous, but downright foolish for owning such laughably primitive
technology." Jobs also hinted that the second iPhone device would not be
compatible with existing Mac computers, third-party peripherals, or any
future Apple products.
Factual Error Found On Internet
May 22, 2002 |
LONGMONT, CO—The Information Age was dealt a
stunning blow Monday, when a factual error was
discovered on the Internet. The error was found on
TedsUltimateBradyBunch.com, a Brady Bunch fan
site that incorrectly listed the show's debut year as
1968, not 1969.
Caryn Wisniewski, a Pueblo, CO, legal secretary and
diehard Brady Bunch fan, came across the mistake
while searching for information about the show's
first-season cast.
Attempts to contact the webmaster of "Ted's Ultimate Brady
Bunch Site," identified as Ted Crewes of Naugatuck, CT, were
unsuccessful. The page has been taken offline by its host,
Cheaphost.net, which released a statement Tuesday.
"We at Cheaphost were deeply saddened and disturbed to learn
that one of the millions of pages we host contained a factual
discrepancy," the web-posted statement read. "Please be
assured that we are doing everything within our power to
ensure that nothing of the sort happens again. We will not rest
until the Internet's once-sterling reputation as the world's
leading source for 100 percent reliable information is
restored."
Paul Boutin, senior editor of Wired, said the error is likely to have
a profound effect on how the Internet is perceived.
What is the tone?
What methods being used?
• "Will we ever fully trust the Web again?"
Boutin asked. "We may well be witnessing the
dawn of a new era of skepticism in which we
no longer accept everything we read online at
face value. But regardless of what the future
holds, one thing is clear: The Internet's status
as the world's definitive repository of
incontrovertible fact has been jeopardized."
The Onion videos
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http://www.hulu.com/watch/46689/the-simpsons-mypods-and-boomsticks
C:\Documents and Settings\User\Desktop\controversial_tell_all_book.htm
The Simpson’s Mapple Episode
• http://www.hulu.com/watch/46689/thesimpsons-mypods-and-boomsticks