The importance of satire in society
Seen by many
people as an acid and radical manner of expressing the weaknesses, mistakes and
imperfections of a certain individual, society, organization, or government
through the use of irony, sarcasm, wit, caricature, self-deprecation, and often
humor, satire is a style of literature whose main objective is making a social
critic by drawing attention to human’s everyday flaws.
Although satire can sometimes be confused with humor, there are some evident differences between them. One of these differences explains humor basically makes people laughter, but it isn’t an essential element of satire. There are various types of satirical works that are not considered funny, that is, they consist of non-humorous and sarcastic portraits of a society’s behavior.
In addition, several important issues that are common in our everyday life – including mass media – such as economy, politics, religion, art, and celebrities, as well as their respective characters, are generally targets of satirists, who focus on their negative or strange aspects, but without losing the sense of humor. Therefore, since the antiquity, satire has attracted the popular needs to ridicule the major figures in many social fields, like politicians, artists, etc., and it has become a way of challenging them.
A most relevant example of satire in literature is Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, that was originally published in 1884. Considered by many the first great American novel, this book is narrated in first person by Huckleberry “Huck” Finn, a boy who has been brought up by his father, and has become friend of a slave named Jim. In this classic but controversial work, Twain (1835-1910) used a lot of irony and sarcasm to emphasize the consequences of slavery in the United States before the American Civil War.
Besides being classified as a literary genre, satire may often appear in multiple artistic expressions. To illustrate this amazing diversity, we can still find satirical references and/or elements in music, performing arts (dance, theater, etc.), graphic arts, cartoons, comics, charges, sculptures, TV, and radio.
We can say that the systematic act of satirizing someone or something means showing the flaws and weaknesses of a person, group of people, or thing in a ridiculous, ironic, or even humorous way. Thus, when someone satirizes one of these elements, this implies putting a spotlight on certain everyday characters or subjects that have controversial ideas.
Although satire can sometimes be confused with humor, there are some evident differences between them. One of these differences explains humor basically makes people laughter, but it isn’t an essential element of satire. There are various types of satirical works that are not considered funny, that is, they consist of non-humorous and sarcastic portraits of a society’s behavior.
In addition, several important issues that are common in our everyday life – including mass media – such as economy, politics, religion, art, and celebrities, as well as their respective characters, are generally targets of satirists, who focus on their negative or strange aspects, but without losing the sense of humor. Therefore, since the antiquity, satire has attracted the popular needs to ridicule the major figures in many social fields, like politicians, artists, etc., and it has become a way of challenging them.
A most relevant example of satire in literature is Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, that was originally published in 1884. Considered by many the first great American novel, this book is narrated in first person by Huckleberry “Huck” Finn, a boy who has been brought up by his father, and has become friend of a slave named Jim. In this classic but controversial work, Twain (1835-1910) used a lot of irony and sarcasm to emphasize the consequences of slavery in the United States before the American Civil War.
Besides being classified as a literary genre, satire may often appear in multiple artistic expressions. To illustrate this amazing diversity, we can still find satirical references and/or elements in music, performing arts (dance, theater, etc.), graphic arts, cartoons, comics, charges, sculptures, TV, and radio.
We can say that the systematic act of satirizing someone or something means showing the flaws and weaknesses of a person, group of people, or thing in a ridiculous, ironic, or even humorous way. Thus, when someone satirizes one of these elements, this implies putting a spotlight on certain everyday characters or subjects that have controversial ideas.
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