satire

witty language used to convey insults or scorn

"he used sarcasm to upset his opponent"

"irony is wasted on the stupid"

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

Satire is a literary technique of writing or art which exposes the follies of its subject (for example, individuals, organizations, or states) to ridicule, often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. In Celtic societies, it was thought a bard's satire could have physical effects, similar to a curse. A satirist is one who satirizes. The main intent of satire is political, social, or moral and not comic. The humor of such a satire tends to be subtle, using irony and deadpan humor liberally. Most satire has specific, readily identifiable targets; however there is also a less focused, formless genre known as Menippean satire.The burlesque form of satire can also be segregated into two distinct categories: High burlesque, or taking subject matter which is crude in nature and treating it in a lofty style, or low burlesque, taking subject matter traditionally dealt with in an epic or poetic fashion and degrading it.

History of satire - In western European literature, satire has been an accepted form of social commentary since the 5th century B.C., principally in the form of plays and poetry. Aristophanes, a Greek playwright, is one of the best known early satirists. Other prominent satirists from antiquity include Horace and Juvenal, who were active during the early days of the Roman Empire and are the two most influential Latin satirists.There are few examples of satire from the Early Middle Ages; with the advent of the High Middle Ages and the birth of modern vernacular literature in the 12th century, it began to make a comeback. However, direct satirization of public figures was rare and heavy use was made of allegories; literary figures were occasionally satirized, but rarely actual people or institutions.More direct social commentary via satire did not return until the 16th century, when farcical texts such as the works of Rabelais tackled more serious issues (and incurred the wrath of the crown as a result). But the greatest satirists emerged with the Age of Enlightenment, an intellectual movement in the 17th and 18th century advocating rationality. Here, astute and biting satirization of institutions and individuals became a popular weapon. Foremost among these is Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), arguably the greatest prose satirist in the English language.In the 19th century, Mark Twain became the best-known American satirist, publishing satires in a variety of forms, including news satire and full-length books.In the 20th century, satire has been used by authors such as Aldous Huxley and George Orwell to make serious and even frightening commentaries on the dangers of the sweeping social changes taking place throughout Europe. A more humorous brand of satire enjoyed a renaissance in the United KingdomUK in the early 1960s with the ''Satire Boom'', led by such luminaries as Peter Cook, Alan Bennett, Jonathan Miller, David Frost (broadcaster)David Frost, Eleanor Bron and Dudley Moore and the television programme ''That Was The Week That Was''. It continues to be a popular form of social commentary and expression today, although there is an increasing perception that satire must be explicitly humorous (which has not always been the case).

Satire in pop culture and public media - Some works of satire are subtle enough in their exaggeration that they still seem believable to many people. The satiric nature of these works may be lost on the public at large, and there have been instances where the author or producers of a satirical work have been harshly criticized as a result. In 2001 the British television network Channel 4 aired a special edition of the spoof current affairs series Brass Eye, which was intended to mock and satirize the fascination of modern journalism with Sexual abuse#Child sexual abusechild molestors and pedophiliapedophiles. The TV network received an enormous number of complaints from members of the public, who were outraged that the show would mock a subject considered by many to be too "serious" to be the subject of humor. The movie ''This is Spinal Tap'', a spoof of rockumentaryrockumentaries, about a fictitious hard rock band was mistaken for non-fiction by some critics.On occasion, satire can cause social change when used to make a political or social point (although simply revealing absurdities to the public, as opposed to the quality of the satire, may be the actual cause of any consequences). For instance, the comic strip ''Doonesbury'' satirized a Florida county that had a racist law that minorities had to have a passcard in the area; the law was soon repealed with an act nicknamed the Doonesbury Act. In the 2000 CanadaCanadian federal election campaign, a Canadian Alliance proposal for a mechanism to require a referendum in response to a petition of sufficient size was satirized by the television show ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' so effectively that it was discredited and soon dropped.Many modern comedy TV shows use satire to some extent, especially animated comedies such as ''The Simpsons'', ''South Park'', ''Family Guy'' and ''Futurama'' which can easily use images of public figures and generally have greater latitude than conventional shows using actors. Satire and parody are also popular forms of expression on the internet; one of the most prominent examples is the news satire site The Onion.

Other notable examples of satire/satirists -

Ovid ''The Art of Love''

Juvenal (c. A.D. 55-140) - ''16 Satires''

Petronius (c. A.D. 55-140) - ''Satirae''

Lucian of Samosata (c. A.D. 160) - ''True History'' and "Alexander"

Nigel of Canterbury - ''Speculum Stultorum (Mirror for Fools)'', 12th c. satire of monks and universities

''De Nugis Curialibus (The Courtiers' Jests)'', 12th c. satire of life at court in England

Jonathan Swift - ''A Tale of a Tub,'' ''Gullivers TravelsGulliver's Travels'' and ''A Modest Proposal''.

Alexander Pope - ''Rape of the Lock''

Bill Hicks - The late Hicks was a revolutionary satirist and stand-up comedian.

Voltaire - ''Candide'', satirizing optimism

Erasmus - ''In Praise of Folly'', a satire of corruption in clergymen.

George Orwell - ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'', a dystopia, a form of literature which also commonly satirizes.

George Orwell - ''Animal Farm'', satire of Stalinist Russia

Anatole France - ''Penguin Island (book)Penguin Island'', a utopia

Aldous Huxley - ''Brave New World'', a dystopia

Mark Twain - Later works, notably ''The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg''

Flannery O'Connor - ''Wise Blood'', satirizing contemporary religious attitudes

Thomas Nast - Political cartoons against Boss Tweed

Stanley Kubrick - FilmMovies ''Doctor Strangelove'' and !''A_Clockwork_Orange_(film)A Clockwork Orange''.

Robert Clark Young - controversial novel, ''One of the Guys''

Dario Fo - ''Accidental Death of an Anarchist''

''le Canard Enchaîné'' publishes satirical cartoons and columns along with well-researched information on French political or economic life.

''Private Eye'' publishes satirical cartoons and columns along with well-researched information on British political or economic life.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. - ''Cat's Cradle'' is a political satire, adopting a sci-fi motif.

Chuck Palahniuk - ''Fight Club'', a satire of masculinity, consumerism, and nihilism.

Paul Fericano - ''Sinatra, Sinatra'', a satire on conservatism in America.

''Yossarian Universal News Service'' or ''YU News Service'', a parody news and disinformation syndicate.

''The Onion'' and ''The Daily Show'', satires of the United StatesAmerican news media

''The Landover Baptist Church'' - Internet parody of Christian fundamentalism

Don DeLillo - ''White Noise'', satire of consumerism and modern society

Witold Gombrowicz - ''Ferdydurke'', satire of modern society

Father of the Pride, an animated satire which criticises many different aspects of society in its one season.

Joseph Heller - ''Catch-22'', novel, satire of the military, war, consumerism, capitalism and communism.

Richard Condon - ''The Manchurian Candidate'', novel, satire of Cold War paranoia and patriotism

External links -

virtualsalt.com - The Purpose and Method of Satire

onion.com - The Onion - news satire

checkplease.humorfeed.com - Check Please! - an online publication focusing on serious study of satire

tikitom.com - Llama Tribune - news !satireCategory:HumorCategory:R hetoricCategory:Satire*SatireLink FAde !bg:Сатираda:Satirede:Sat irees:Sátiraeo:Satirofr:Satir ehr:Satirait:Satirahe:סאטי רהnl:Satireja:風刺no:Satir epl:Satyrapt:Sátirasv:Satir

The Storch Report
The Storch Report is an online news resource written and edited by Don Storch and consists of commentary,opinion and satire on relevant news events as well as links to news resources and selected feature stories of the day.
http://www.thestorchreport.com/

Maggie's Dead (Margaret Thatcher)
satirical, political site celebrating the imminent death of margaret, maggie thatcher, online shop selling maggie thatcher products and merchandise with flash games.
http://www.maggiethatcher.com/

The Deck of Republican Chickenhawks
The Deck of Republican Chickenhawks, depicting the 54 Republican officials, congressmen, politicians and pundits who lobbied for war but avoided serving their country when their turn came.
http://www.chickenhawkcards.com/

www.ansaman.com
A site dedicated to humor, satire, and fun. The Annual Gurning Contests are particularly notable.
http://www.ansaman.com/

The Outsiders
Relax and meet new friends, discuss life, music, books, art or poetry. Find some more discussions or help with your pc-problems. Present your Websites in our Showroom or write some funny Storys for our Website too. Write a review or take a look in our music-, film-, hardware or gamereviewdatabase. Your're welcome to find a german site and forum to spend your time there.
http://the-outsiders.net

SatireWire
Geeks cannot live by tech alone. SatireWire provides news and events of interest to technophiles in bit-sized portions for the bandwidth impaired.
http://www.satirewire.com

The Onion
A satitical newspaper lambasting current events and popular cultures.
http://www.theonion.com/

GupSup
Satire targetting the "new economy", business and politics.
http://www.gupsup.com/

SatireSearch
Headline service delivered by mail, live feed or integrated into other sites. Also offers a discussion forum.
http://www.satiresearch.com/

Satire by Steve
Humorous gaming editorials, media and comics.
http://satirebysteve.com/