Satire 2/20/10 English Assignment

Satire and It’s Affects on a Changing Society
Satire is a form of witty social commentary which communicates ideas through humor and comics. Whether it is political cartoons found in the weekly newspaper or a weekly comedy skit show, satire exists as a major medium of the circulation of ideas. Some of the biggest examples of satire in our society are Saturday Night Live, Family Guy, The Simpson’s and newspaper political cartoons. Using humor may be the most effective way today to get people to listen and think. In many ways political satire is the dominant form, but social is out there as well based on the contrasting moral values we face everyday. Contrasting issues of abortion and stem cell research fight back and forth between political parties and people. People become so passionate about a topic they feel is morally wrong that they form groups that put out biased advertising which may be ironic or funny, thus satire is created. Writers especially of TV shows and movies use this to kind of secretly advocate their ideas to audiences all over the world.
In Avatar now a world wide billion dollar grossing movie there are green party ultra democratic ideas that take place in various parts of the plot. Often times we the audience have to laugh at the over the top army officer, who brandishes his scars and his ignorance like a medal war of honor. A TV show like Saturday Night Live which often puts out comedy skits hurting both parties, may have led to the downfall of the republicans in the last election. Had they not have portrayed Sarah Palin former runner for vice president as a redneck dimwitted person, the respect not have gone down and decreased votes. Satirical pop culture is too influential to be ignored. Some even say Pop culture picked the president. Another show which brings irony and humor to society is Family Guy, an animated show which shows the true ugly ignorance of the human race and how sometimes religion is blindly followed. This medium of entertainment has a major impact on society, as it points out the hypocrisies in government and society.