Friday, December 08, 2023
Satire Is Dead
I love satire, good satire. Satire is a specialized form of comedy (come to think of it, it is hard to say when a humorous tale transforms into a satire). Like all comedy, satire can elicit a grin or a belly laugh, but it can also be humorless—which seems like a contradiction. But think of Gulliver’s Travels, Skin and Bones, and Juvenal’s Satires in the former, and in the latter case 1984, Brave New World, and We. One of the few things that Freud got right was that aggression, whether overtly or not, is the basis of humor, and the instrument of humor is often exaggeration or incompatibility.
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Couldn't place the word satire had to check my dictionary yeah I have an old fashioned dictionary next to me oh and yeah I like that type of comedy as well
ReplyDeleteSee, that's why I couldn't be a professional writer. Writing high school level drivel every day is not for me.
ReplyDeleteConcepts like satire, along with other esoteric concepts such as irony and hypocrisy are high intellectual level constructs. They require the listener to be intelligent, educated and knowledgeable. Thus as time passes fewer and fewer people are capable of grasping, understanding and even enjoying such concepts.
ReplyDeleteOne of the chief reasons that the left has become almost impossible to parody.
DeleteI love all types of Satire. I also love plain old jokes. Not practical. Today you tell young people a joke and they give you a blank look. They just don't get it.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people want to describe themselves as a satirist. My usual response after listening to them is, "Molière was a satirist. You are a comedian."
ReplyDeleteMolière was French. He didn't have a choice.
DeleteFreud was half right: "wit" is the aggressive form, attacking someone, but doing it so cleverly that it becomes funny. "Humor" is a defensive response against verbal attack, such as turning the attack aside with a joke.
ReplyDeleteIt died with Jonny Hart.
ReplyDelete