Satire

What is Satire?

Satire comes in many forms and can be utilized in a variety of ways. Satire, if used in the correct way, can prove a point and draw attention to certain topics or issues. Satirical writing can be a tool for critiquing or captivating the reader's attention. Dieter Decelercq states that satire is “a genre which since Roman times has guided the interpretation and evaluation of works on the ground of their purpose to critique and entertain” (319) There are three basic types of satire. The first is Horation which tends to be playful and use light humor. The second type of satire is Juvenalian which is bitter, less playful and has more irony. The third and final type of satire is Menippean which is known for going after the way certain people think or their attitude. Satire is often miscategorized as humor whose purpose is to provide comedic value and make readers laugh. This mistake has intermingled the definition of comedy and satire together so that over time the two became unrecognizable. Conal Condren in the process of finding the definition of satire writes “The punitive exploits some shared affront to propriety and helps explain how easily satire, assuming a fit object of condemnation can have a further propagandistic end in group edification and consolidation” (379). The purpose of satire according to Condren is not just to critique but to punish that which does not meet societal norms. Going beyond humor and the critiquing, satire can expose and berate those who are not shaping to the common mold. Satire can be used with any viewpoint, and there are examples of such in multiple forms of media.

The Use of Satire 

Satire is commonly used in a variety of literature, media, and sources. Making knowledge on the subject crucial for students to know how to identify instances of satirical writing in works that may be seen in a Writing Arguments class. Using satire is a great way of capturing attention and making a topic more interesting for the reader. For example one article from the satirical site of The Babylon Bee the title of one of the main articles reads 9 Essential Items France is Providing In Defense of Ukraine. The article calls attention and berates France for not providing necessities for Ukraine in the war. The article takes a serious issue and instead of printing a boring headline, makes a satirical article that people enjoy reading and can gain something from it. The piece of writing also sheds light in the absurdity of the issue. When the author exaggerates certain topics the reader can infer that there is a real issue behind the satire. The use of satire can be seen throughout different types of media that are both very influential and popular. These types of media include shows such as The Simpsons, or South Park. While other examples of satire are shown in websites and articles such as The Onion, or The Babylon Bee. These different types of media, although funny, are meant to inform and shed light on issues that might not be paid attention to without the help of satire.

Example of Satire in literature: 

Satire can often be found in many works of literature, academic texts, and forms of writing. In literature, satire is often used as a type of social commentary and storytelling intended to provoke change through irony, sarcasm and humor. Some notable literary works are Animal Farm, Catch 22 and Gulliver’s Travels. With these works, satire is noticeably used to critique societal and political issues through fictional storytelling. 

Animal Farm: 

In Animal Farm, George Orwell critiques totalitarianism and political corruption through a satirical novella. 

The phrase, “Napoleon is always right” is often repeated by Boxer, a naive, hard working horse that is loyal to the pigs and Napoleon (Orwell, Chapter 5). Orwell satirically exaggerates Boxer’s unwavering obedience to mock the way authoritarian regimes demand and condition loyalty and obedience from subjects. Despite clear evidence of Napoleon’s corruption throughout the novella, Orwell uses Boxer as a satirical example of how authoritarian leaders manipulate and exploit common citizens by instilling subservience and stripping away logic and free thinking. The novella uses irony and exaggeration as seen in Boxer’s character, as a satirical warning of the dangers of indoctrination and blind faith that causes citizens to lose individual autonomy under oppressive governments. 

Examples of Satire in Academic texts/writing: 

In academic works and texts, satire can be used as a rhetoric tool to strongly express critiques on institutions or problems that the writer intends to bring awareness to in order to enact change. 

The Death of Expertise:

In Tom Nichols, The Death of Expertise, while not an intended satirical piece of writing, utilizes elements of satire in order to critique the growing ignorance in the United States. 

“Attacks on established knowledge and the subsequent rash of poor information in the general public are sometimes amusing. Sometimes they’re even hilarious. Late-night comedians have made a cottage industry of asking people questions that reveal their ignorance about their own strongly held ideas, their attachment to fads, and their unwillingness to admit their own cluelessness about current events” (Nichols 3). In this passage, Nichols utilizes irony, a satirical element, to highlight the contradiction between the public’s lack of knowledge and using opinions as fact. By pointing out how “late-night comedians have made a cottage industry” through exposing public ignorance, Nichols mocks and ridicules how widespread and common misinformation has become and underscores the concern that intellectual laziness has become culturally ingrained. Nichols overall use of irony and mockery in this passage, critiques the widespread public choice of ignorance and the dangers of spreading and accepting misinformation as fact. 

“Neoliberalism, the Culture Wars and Public Policy”: 

In Mark Davis, “Neoliberalism, the Culture Wars and Public Policy”, while also not an explicitly satirical work, employs satire as a rhetorical tool to critique conservative discourse: 

“Their role is to endlessly promote the above divide and its sustaining narrative that society’s so-called ills, from cruelty to asylum seekers, to sexism and the inequality of women, to racism and multiculturalism, to global warming, are little more than the pure-spun product of the fevered imaginations of a ‘politically correct’ Left” (1). In this passage the phrase, “so-called ills” is a mockery of the actual gravity of social issues. Davis uses that phrase to sarcastically demonstrate how the conservatives view and downplay the severity of societal issues and imply that the political left are exaggerating these issues. Furthermore, the phrase “pure-spun product” is an exaggeration of how the conservatives view these issues as fabricated, rather than real issues the world is facing. A common right-wing tactic is accusing the left of being delusional, and the phrase, “fevered imaginations of a ‘politically correct’ Left,” demonstrates this exaggeration in Davis’ writing. 

Example of Satire in News Articles: 

Satire is often found in news articles, digital media, and many forms of news writing. In journalism, satire is often used to provide social commentary, keep the reader engaged and entertained, and provoke thought and discussion through sarcasm and humor. There are numerous satirical news websites that use over the top headlines and ideas to provide social commentary on current events. Some of the longest running internet satire websites are The Onion and Waterford Whispers News both of these sites use satire to draw in their readers and highlight political and social issues

The Onion:

In the writing of news site The Onion satire is used to provoke interest and provide social commentary on current events.

 The article titled, “World Wonders What Trump Has On United States That’s Forcing Nation To Keep Him In Power” criticizes the unusual decision to elect president Donald Trump given his controversial views. Using satire to highlight the absurdity of the situation and to convey the claim that electing Donald Trump is not just potentially harmful, but an obvious blunder by the people of the United States. The Onion sarcastically remarks “Whoa, he must have some real bad dirt on the U.S. populace for them to just let him get away with so much unconscionable bullshit. You have to wonder what he knows,” (1) exaggerating the idea that the only way such a turn of events could have happened would be Donald Trump blackmailing the entire country to gain support for his campaign. By presenting this situation in a scathing, yet entertaining manner the article allows for reflection on how Trump’s actions were excused despite clear legal and ethical concerns. The use of irony and humor turns a serious critique of politics and culture in the United States to an engaging and more digestible commentary on the current  discourse in United States politics.

Waterford Whispers News:

In Waterford Whispers News, satire is used to critique world political relationships.

The article “Hey, You’re Making It Way Too Fucking Obvious, Putin Warns Trump,” poses alleged ties between world leaders Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. The article creates humorous quotes such as Putin stating “Comrade, c’mon, calling Zelensky dictator when I’m guy who is first result image when look up ‘modern dictators’ on Google? Tone it down,” Putin instructed in a text to Trump” (1) to satirize the Trump cabinet’s international relationship with the Russian state. The use of satire calls attention to alternative points of view, such as the larger implications of Trump’s foreign policy strategy and interpretations of his actions internationally. The exaggerated dialogue between president Trump and Putin serve to join the political discourse surrounding the strange stance Trump is taking dealing with Russia, a historical United States enemy, while remaining engaging and digestible to the public. 

Satire in journalism serves as an excellent tool for political and social discourse. The exaggeration of world events and presentation of these serious topics in a humorous way in satirical articles from sites like The Onion and Waterford Whispers News serve to help readers engage with current affairs in political discourse.

Examples of Satire in Media

Satire has been used in the media for a while. There are many forms of satire that are being used in the media such as Horatian Satire, Juvenalian Satire, and Menippean Satire. Juvenalian and Horatian are the forms of satire use most commonly in media, Juvenalian Satire is using more dark ways of expressing their anger with the world. While Horatian tends to be more playful and fun. An example of this being used in the media is the company Adbusters. With many of their works, they are trying to attack a bigger message through a dark message. Adbusters like to go after the neoliberalism and capitalism ideas that many of corporate America has fallen into. Something like this could show media being used in a comical way with a bigger underlying message being present. Satire is a way for authors to show underlying messages through the use of comedy.

South Park

While humor is not satire, there are a lot of similarities. The tv show South Park has been going on since 1997 and the show’s creators have done a great job of blending the two to produce a TV show that has kept running since 1997. Hoon Lee and Nojin Kwak, examining the effect of political satire between positive emotions, explains “Past works suggested that the viewing of humor may entail positive affective states as enjoyment” (2).  Satire is being used in all forms of the media as a way for filmmakers, tv show creators, and others to express their opinions, many times political, in the form of humor and a mocking way. The use of satire can be used lightheartedly at times. However in the case of South Park they can be kind blunt with their satire and do not try to keep anything secretive. South Park creators often use famous celebrities or politicians, like Joe Biden, Donald Trump, or Hillary Clinton, and use them as a way of satire to keep things funny but oftentimes get a point across. South Park is often using political and social satire in their shows. Satire is an effective tool in South Park because satire helps keep audiences engaged with the show because of the humor of the show. Also the creators can talk about serious political or social issues in a kind of humorous way.

Saturday Night Live

Late night TVs shows like Saturday Night Live are a satirical based show with how the show uses fake news segments during the show to often mock current social or political events happening in the world. Saturday Night Live is not trying to hide their political and social slant during their shows and can often have actors dress up as politicians to mock them. Satire is used to show the weakness and faults within our government. Satire is a tool that is used to attack important people in charge. Saturday Night Live often mocks celebrities and politicians like Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and Joe Biden. Recently Saturday Night Live made a satire skit of Marco Rubio, the United States Secretary of State, Elon Musk, and Donald Trump. This was used to make fun of the recent scuffle of Elon Musk going after and calling out Marco Rubio online. By blending satire and humor with current political and social commentary, the show sparks important conversations while keeping the audience entertained. Whether Saturday Night Live is mocking world leaders or famous celebrities, the show’s use of satire manages to keep the audience coming back.

Examples of Satire in News Articles: 

Works Cited

Condren, Conal. “Satire and Definition.” Humor (Berlin, Germany), vol. 25, no. 4, 2012, pp. 375–99.

Davis, Mark. “Neoliberalism, the Culture Wars and Public Policy.” Australian Public Policy, edited by Chris Miller and Lionel Orchard, Bristol UP, Policy Press, 2014, pp. 27-42.

Declercq, Dieter. “A Definition of Satire (And Why a Definition Matters).” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 76, no. 3, 2018, pp. 319–30.

Gottlieb, Evan. "What is Satire?" Oregon State Guide to English Literary Terms, 16 Aug. 2019, Oregon State University, https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/what-satire. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.

Lee, Hoon, and Nojin Kwak. “The Affect Effect of Political Satire: Sarcastic Humor, Negative Emotions, and Political Participation.” Mass Communication and Society, vol. 17, no. 3, May 2014, pp. 307–28.

Nichols, Tom. The Death of Expertise. Oxford UP, 2017.

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New American Library, 1946.

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. Penguin Random House, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/327220/animal-farm-by-george-orwell-with-a-foreword-by-ann-patchett-and-a-new-introduction-by-tea-obreht/. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.

Staff, The Onion. “World Wonders What Trump Has on United States That’s Forcing Nation to Keep Him in Power.” The Onion, 17 July 2018, https://theonion.com/world-wonders-what-trump-has-on-united-states-that-s-fo-1827666980/. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.

"Three Satire Types." Speako Club, https://www.speako.club/english-writing-skills/three-satire-types. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.

““Hey, You’re Making It Way Too Fucking Obvious” Putin Warns Trump.” Waterford Whispers News, 20 Feb. 2025, waterfordwhispersnews.com/2025/02/20/hey-youre-making-it-way-too-fucking-obvious-putin-warns-trump/. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.

‌"25 Years of South Park." Television Academy, https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/features/25-south-park. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.