Satire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

This article is about the genre. For the mythological character, see satyr.

"Satires" redirects here. For other uses, see Satires (disambiguation).

Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement.^[1] Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon.
A common feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm—"in satire, irony is militant"^[2]—but parody, burlesque, exaggeration, juxtaposition, comparison, analogy, and double entendre are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often professes to approve (or at least accept as natural) the very things the satirist wishes to attack.
Satire is nowadays found in many artistic forms of expression, including literature, plays, commentary, and media such as lyrics.

Purpose of Satire 

from virtualsalt.com

satire need have no moral lesson or didactic purpose, for the essence of satire is aggression or criticism, and criticism (previous to the era of existentialistic nihilism) has always implied a systematic measure of good and bad. An object is criticized because it falls short of some standard which the critic desires that it should reach. Inseparable from any definition of satire is its corrective purpose, expressed through a critical mode which ridicules or otherwise attacks those conditions needing reformation in the opinion of the satirist.

The best satire does not seek to do harm or damage by its ridicule, unless we speak of damage to the structure of vice, but rather it seeks to create a shock of recognition and to make vice repulsive so that the vice will be expunged from the person or society under attack or from the person or society intended to benefit by the attack (regardless of who is the immediate object of attack); whenever possible this shock of recognition is to be conveyed through laughter or wit: the formula for satire is one of honey and medicine.



I was just searching through the Onion and found some really silly funny video clips. Maybe I could use one of these as my essay topic.

http://www.theonion.com/video/in-the-know-are-tests-biased-against-students-who,17966/

http://www.theonion.com/video/poll-happy-healthy-obamas-out-of-touch-with-misera,14372/

http://www.theonion.com/video/apple-introduces-revolutionary-new-laptop-with-no,14299/

http://www.theonion.com/video/today-now-how-to-thrust-your-fat-into-a-more-appea,18030/

The first one and the last one did strike me. Both were closely related to my life; about today's education system and diet.

I would like to write about:

1. Korean Education System is...

     goal oriented - The purpose of education is to get into good college; once accepted to a good college, people do not study anymore. Also, school teachers only teach something that is directly related to the "test". In school, students need to learn how to make relationship with others and how to adopt in the society; they should be learning moral values. However, thesedays it is hard to expect teachers to teach something that is unrelated to the entrance examination.

     academical sectarianism - Going to good college should not be one's final goals; it should just be a stage to reach one's dream. Whether one goes to a good college or not, it should not be a serious factor that determines their life. Even without going to a good college one can have a happy life. However, the sectarianism makes teenagers to only focus on studying for college. Plus, people do not accept diversity. There are tons of occupations that does not require a high level of education. There are many people who are good at something else than solving KSAT problems. However, parents and teachers do not accept students who do not study. They can succeed as a singer but adults are against it.
+ the stress that students get is also something to criticize. Their probelm is not something disastrous, but they think it as too serious one and even commit suicide.


OR

2. Diet

     People are too obsessed about their appearance. They get stressed out, and sometimes it is shown as a form of mental illness. The mass media is establishing a social status about one's appearance. The "Miss something something Contest" held annually through out the world, celebrities with nicely shaped body, and all the advertisements for diet forces people to get on a diet. Also, people nowadays consider woman who is chubby, as a person who can't control herself and give a pitty look. People always prefer who is slimmer and prettier. Even the chance of getting a job is higher for people who look good. Of course obesity is bad for individuals' health; however, we do not have to be so obsessed with diet. Not all women need to be someone like Jessica Alba or other celebrities. Each person has their own beauty even though they are not slim enough.