Editing Satire (section)

=== Contemporary satire ===

Contemporary popular usage of the term "satire" is often very imprecise. While satire often uses [[caricature]] and [[parody]], by no means are all uses of these or other humorous devices satiric. Refer to the careful definition of satire that heads this article. ''The Cambridge Companion to Roman Satire'' also warns of the ambiguous nature of satire: {{blockquote|[W]hile "satire," or perhaps rather "satiric(al)," are words we run up against constantly in analyses of contemporary culture [...], the search for any defining formal charcteristic (sic) [of satire] that will link past to present may turn out to be more frustrating than enlightening.<ref name=Rome>Freudenburg, Kirk (2001). ''Satires of Rome: Threatening Poses from Lucilius to Juvenal.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 299. {{ISBN|0-521-00621-X}}.</ref>}}
[[File:Spitting Image Puppet of Eric Cantona (2956625432).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Puppet of Manchester United striker [[Eric Cantona]] from the British satirical puppet show ''[[Spitting Image]]'']]
Satire is used on many UK television programmes, particularly popular panel shows and quiz shows such as ''[[Mock the Week]]'' (2005–2022) and ''[[Have I Got News for You]]'' (1990–ongoing). It is found on radio quiz shows such as ''[[The News Quiz]]'' (1977–ongoing) and ''[[The Now Show]]'' (1998–2024). One of the most watched UK television shows of the 1980s and early 1990s, the puppet show ''[[Spitting Image]]'' was a satire of the [[British Royal Family|royal family]], politics, entertainment, sport and [[British culture]] of the era.<ref>Van Norris (2014). British Television Animation 1997–2010: Drawing Comic Tradition". p. 153. Palgrave Macmillan,</ref> [[Spitting Image#Evolution|Court Flunkey]] from ''Spitting Image'' is a caricature of [[James Gillray]], intended as a homage to the father of political cartooning.<ref>{{cite web|title=James Gillray|website=lambiek.net |url-status=live |url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/g/gillray_james.htm|archive-date=November 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161125110250/https://www.lambiek.net/artists/g/gillray_james.htm}}</ref>

Created by [[DMA Design]] in 1997, satire features prominently in the British video game series ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]''.<ref>Embrick DG, Talmadge J. Wright TJ, Lukacs A (2012). ''Social Exclusion, Power, and Video Game Play: New Research in Digital Media and Technology'', Lexington Books, p. 19, {{ISBN|9780739138625}}. Quote: "In-game television programs and advertisements, radio stations, and billboards provide a running satirical commentary on the state of civilization in general, and on the roles of males in particular."</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=GTA 5: a Great British export|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/10316267/GTA-5-a-Great-British-export.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/10316267/GTA-5-a-Great-British-export.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=September 29, 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Another example is the ''[[Fallout (franchise)|Fallout]]'' series, namely [[Interplay Entertainment|Interplay]]-developed ''[[Fallout (video game)|Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game]]'' (1995).<ref>Canavan G, Robinson KS (2014). ''Green Planets: Ecology and Science Fiction'', Wesleyan University Press, p. 278, {{ISBN|9780819574282}}.</ref> Other games utilizing satire include ''[[Postal (video game)|Postal]]'' (1997),<ref name=GothicWorld>Byron G, Townshend D (2013). ''The Gothic World''. Routledge. p. 456. {{ISBN|9781135053062}}. Quote: "[P]resent themselves as deliberately controversial, incorporating hyper-violent gameplay, dark social satire and conspicuous political incorrectness[.]"</ref> ''[[State of Emergency (video game)|State of Emergency]]'' (2002),<ref name=GothicWorld/> ''[[Phone Story]]'' (2011), and ''[[7 Billion Humans]]'' (2018).<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Yi|first=Sherry|title='Is This a Joke?': The Delivery of Serious Content through Satirical Digital Games|url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=875507|journal=Acta Ludologica|year=2020|volume=1|issue=1|pages=18–30|via=CEEOL}}</ref>

[[Trey Parker]] and [[Matt Stone]]'s ''[[South Park]]'' (1997–ongoing) relies almost exclusively on satire to address issues in American culture, with episodes addressing [[With Apologies to Jesse Jackson|racism]], [[The Passion of the Jew|anti-Semitism]], [[Go God Go|militant atheism]], [[Big Gay Al's Big Gay Boat Ride|homophobia]], [[Eat, Pray, Queef|sexism]], [[Rainforest Shmainforest|environmentalism]], [[Gnomes (South Park)|corporate culture]], [[The Death Camp of Tolerance|political correctness]] and [[Red Hot Catholic Love|anti-Catholicism]], among many other issues.

Satirical web series and sites include Emmy-nominated ''[[Honest Trailers]]'' (2012–),<ref>Lavender III, Isiah (2017). ''Dis-Orienting Planets: Racial Representations of Asia in Science Fiction''. Univ. Press of Mississippi, p. 208, {{ISBN|9781496811554}}.</ref> Internet phenomena-themed [[Encyclopedia Dramatica]] (2004–),<ref name=SocioMobile>{{cite book|title=Sociolinguistics and Mobile Communication |last=Deumert |first=Ana |date=2014 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |pages=181 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SPXcCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT181 |access-date=12 June 2017 | isbn=9780748655779}}.</ref> [[Uncyclopedia]] (2005–),<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lund |first1=Arwid|title=Wikipedia, Work, and Capitalism| date=2020|publisher=Springer: Dynamics of Virtual Work|isbn=9783319506890}}, p. 48.</ref> self-proclaimed "America's Finest News Source" ''[[The Onion]]'' (1988–).<ref>Kaye, Sharon M. (2010). ''The Onion and Philosophy: Fake News Story True, Alleges Indignant Area Professor''. Open Court Publishing. p. 243. {{ISBN|9780812696875}}. Quote: "People might be justified in concluding that the ''Onion'' is a legitimate small-town paper when they see headlines like "Local Woman Devotes Life To Doing God's Busy Work" (10/4/08), "God Help Him, Area Man Loves That Crazy Bitch" (11/22/08), or "Area Woman Wouldn't Mind Feeding Your Cats" (12/6/08). Even if they read the full story, they may never figure out it is a satire. Maybe if they scroll to the bottom of the webpage and notice the disclaimer, 'The Onion is not intended for readers under 18 years of age' they would realize that this is not your average news source. Maybe not—especially if they think that there might be such a thing as "adult news.""</ref> and ''The Onion's'' Christian conservative counterpart ''[[The Babylon Bee]]'' (2016–).<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Dickson|first=E. J.|date=2020-10-16|title=What Is the Babylon Bee? Trump Retweeted the Satirical Website|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/babylon-bee-satire-news-trump-tweet-1076701/|access-date=2021-05-20|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:Stephen Colbert by David Shankbone.jpg|thumb|[[Stephen Colbert]] satirically impersonated an [[Stephen Colbert (character)|opinionated and self-righteous television commentator]] on his [[Comedy Central]] program in the U.S.]]
In the United States, [[Stephen Colbert]]'s television program, ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' (2005–14) is instructive in the methods of contemporary American satire; sketch comedy television show ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' is also known for its satirical impressions and parodies of prominent persons and politicians, among some of the most notable, their parodies of U.S. political figures [[Saturday Night Live parodies of Hillary Clinton|Hillary Clinton]]<ref name=TVGuide1>[http://www.tvguide.com/news/snl-hillary-clinton-saturday-night-live-kate-mckinnon-amy-poehler/ Liz Raftery – "Who Did the Best Hillary Clinton Impression on SNL?", ''TV Guide'', April 30, 2015. (Video)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018060944/http://www.tvguide.com/news/snl-hillary-clinton-saturday-night-live-kate-mckinnon-amy-poehler/ |date=October 18, 2017 }} Retrieved August 15, 2015</ref> and of [[Saturday Night Live parodies of Sarah Palin|Sarah Palin]].<ref>{{cite news|title=You betcha—Tina Fey wins Emmy as Sarah Palin on 'SNL'|date=September 13, 2009|work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2009/09/you-betcha-tina-fey-wins-emmy-as-sarah-palin-on-snl-entertainment-news-2468097.html|access-date=September 13, 2009|archive-date=July 9, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709105331/http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2009/09/you-betcha-tina-fey-wins-emmy-as-sarah-palin-on-snl-entertainment-news-2468097.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Stephen Colbert (character)|Colbert's character]] is an opinionated and self-righteous commentator who, in his TV interviews, interrupts people, points and wags his finger at them, and "unwittingly" uses a number of logical fallacies. In doing so, he demonstrates the principle of modern American political satire: the ridicule of the actions of politicians and other public figures by taking all their statements and purported beliefs to their furthest (supposedly) logical conclusion, thus revealing their perceived hypocrisy or absurdity.

In the United Kingdom, a popular modern satirist was the late Sir [[Terry Pratchett]], author of the internationally best-selling ''[[Discworld]]'' book series. One of the most well-known and controversial British satirists is [[Chris Morris (satirist)|Chris Morris]], co-writer and director of ''[[Four Lions]]''.

In Canada, satire has become an important part of the comedy scene. [[Stephen Leacock]] was one of the best known early Canadian satirists, and in the early 20th century, he achieved fame by targeting the attitudes of small-town life. In more recent years, Canada has had several prominent satirical television series and radio shows. Some, including ''[[CODCO]]'', ''[[The Royal Canadian Air Farce]]'', ''[[This Is That]]'', and ''[[This Hour Has 22 Minutes]]'' deal directly with current news stories and political figures, while others, like ''[[History Bites]]'' present contemporary social satire in the context of events and figures in history. [[The Beaverton]] is a Canadian news satire site similar to The Onion. Canadian songwriter [[Nancy White (singer-songwriter)|Nancy White]] uses music as the vehicle for her satire, and her comic folk songs are regularly played on [[CBC Radio One|CBC Radio]].

In Hong Kong, there was a well-known Australian [[Kim Jong-un]] [[impersonator]] [[Howard X]] whom often utilised satire to show his support for Hong Kong city's pro-democracy movements and liberation of North Korea. He believed that humour is a very powerful weapon and he often made it clear that he imitates the dictator to satirize him, not to glorify him. Throughout his career as a professional impersonator, he had also worked with multiple organisations and celebrities to create parodies and to stir up conversations of politics and human rights.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Meet Howard X, the Dictator Doppelgänger From Hong Kong |url=https://time.com/5549634/howard-x-kim-jung-un-impersonator/ |magazine=Time |publisher=Amy Gunia |date=29 March 2019 }}</ref>

Cartoonists often use satire as well as straight humour. [[Al Capp]]'s satirical [[comic strip]] ''[[Li'l Abner]]'' was censored in September 1947. The controversy, as reported in ''Time'', centred on Capp's portrayal of the US Senate. Said Edward Leech of Scripps-Howard, "We don't think it is good editing or sound citizenship to picture the Senate as an assemblage of freaks and crooks... boobs and undesirables."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,804275,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023081224/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,804275,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 23, 2007 |title=Tain't Funny – ''Time'' |publisher=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=September 29, 1947 |access-date=August 29, 2009}}</ref> [[Walt Kelly]]'s ''[[Pogo (comics)|Pogo]]'' was likewise censored in 1952 over his overt satire of [[Joseph McCarthy|Senator Joe McCarthy]], caricatured in his comic strip as "Simple J. Malarky". [[Garry Trudeau]], whose [[comic strip]] ''[[Doonesbury]]'' focuses on satire of the political system, and provides a trademark cynical view on national events. Trudeau exemplifies humour mixed with criticism. For example, the character [[Mark Slackmeyer]] lamented that because he was not legally married to his partner, he was deprived of the "exquisite agony" of experiencing a nasty and painful divorce like heterosexuals. This, of course, satirized the claim that gay unions would denigrate the sanctity of heterosexual marriage.

[[File:2014- 02 - Obama and Putin, by Ranan Lurie.png|thumb|Political satire by [[Ranan Lurie]]]]
Like some literary predecessors, many recent television satires contain strong elements of parody and [[caricature]]; for instance, the popular animated series ''The Simpsons'' and ''South Park'' both parody modern family and social life by taking their assumptions to the extreme; both have led to the creation of similar series. As well as the purely humorous effect of this sort of thing, they often strongly criticise various phenomena in politics, economic life, religion and many other aspects of society, and thus qualify as satirical. Due to their animated nature, these shows can easily use images of public figures and generally have greater freedom to do so than conventional shows using live actors.

[[News satire]] is also a very popular form of contemporary satire, appearing in as wide an array of formats as the news media itself: print (e.g. ''[[The Onion]]'', ''[[Waterford Whispers News]]'', ''[[Private Eye]]''), radio (e.g. ''[[On the Hour]]''), television (e.g. ''[[The Day Today]]'', ''[[The Daily Show]]'', ''[[Brass Eye]]'') and the web (e.g. ''[[Faking News]]'', ''[[El Koshary Today]]'', ''[[Babylon Bee]]'', ''[[The Beaverton]]'', ''[[The Daily Bonnet]]'' and ''[[The Onion]]''). Other satires are on the [[list of satirists and satires]].

In an interview with ''[[Wikinews]]'', Sean Mills, President of ''[[The Onion]]'', said angry letters about their news parody always carried the same message. "It's whatever affects that person", said Mills. "So it's like, 'I love it when you make a joke about murder or rape, but if you talk about cancer, well my brother has cancer and that's not funny to me.' Or someone else can say, 'Cancer's ''hilarious'', but don't talk about rape because my cousin got raped.' Those are rather extreme examples, but if it affects somebody personally, they tend to be more sensitive about it."<ref name=DS>[[n:The Onion: An interview with 'America's Finest News Source'|An interview with The Onion]], David Shankbone, ''[[Wikinews]]'', November 25, 2007.</ref>

Satire is also gaining recognition for its value in social science research, particularly when authors are seeking to unpack complex social issues like gendered racism.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lewellen|first1=Chelesea|last2=Bohonos|first2=Jeremy W. |date=January 2021|title=Excuse me, sir?: A critical race theory (hair) chronicle|journal=Gender, Work & Organization|volume=28|issue=S1|pages=1–5|doi=10.1111/gwao.12522|s2cid=225368135|issn=0968-6673}}</ref>

Satire is regularly used by social movements covering a range of issues to achieve strategic goals.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Democracy Resource Hub |last2=Horizons Project |date=2024-11-10 |title=Defending Democracy with Humor and Dilemma Actions Tactics |url=https://commonslibrary.org/defending-democracy-with-humor-and-dilemma-actions-tactics/ |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref>  US community organizer and author of Rules for Radicals, Saul Alinsky, stated, '''Humour is essential to a successful tactician, for the most potent weapons known to [people] are satire and ridicule''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Maxwell J. |date=2020-02-24 |title=The Case for Laughter in Social Movements |url=https://commonslibrary.org/the-case-for-laughter-in-social-movements/ |access-date=2025-01-29 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref>