Religious Satire

“Satire is defined as an indirect form of critique that pokes fun at or attacks an individual or idea by proxy. Satirical speech and literature are generally used to comment on the "evils" or morally questionable ideals held by individuals, groups and even entire societies” (sarcasmsociety). The earliest forms of written satire can be traced back to ancient Egypt where the Papyrus Anastasi was written to mock the lack of understanding, knowledge and accomplishments of Egyptian culture. Today satire is alive and well in the form of television shows like The Simpsons and South Park. The award winning writers of these programs know that mocking the issues and political correctness that dominate our current society will produce ratings. Mark Twain

" If one takes the trouble to examine my comedy in good faith, he will surely see that my intentions are innocent throughout, and tend in no way to make fun of what men revere; that I have presented the subject with all the precautions that its delicacy imposes; and that I have used all the art and skill that I could to distinguish clearly the character of the hypocrite from that of the truly devout man." (Meyer 1509)

Humorists are often seen as insignificant contributors of society. People consider humorists no more than just “entertainers”, willing to make fun of anything in order to make a crowd laugh, however, has the audience ever contemplated why humorists are the some of the only people who are allowed to critique anything that crosses their mind without consequences? Alain de Botton, claims the vital role of humorist is, “to convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” I agree with Alain de Botton’s claims, that humorists do hold an important role in society, which is far more than to entertain. They break the ice on delicate topics, communicating the messages to society. Political cartoons and the Colbert

Modern society allows humorists to touch upon offensive topics without receiving much criticism. As Alain de Botton claimed in his 2004 book, Status Anxiety, humorists’ role is not merely to entertain but “to convey with impunity messages that might be dangerous or impossible to state directly.” De Botton’s argument proves legitimate. Many humorists, such as cartoonists and television hosts, decide to use their humor as a tool to prove an idea or express a belief that cannot be voiced candidly in public.

It is very important to be aware that the media is capable of controlling the flow of information that citizens receive. Furthermore, much of the content suppressed in this country is for fear of retribution from others. When governments and other institutions suppress information, citizens are not able to address matters concerning their country, as well as around the globe. In ‘The Decline of American Press Freedom’ by Anne Applebaum, Applebaum explains a recent controversy with Yale University and the publishing of a contentious comic in a scholarly report on the global consequences of political comics. The comics in question were satirical in nature and displayed the Islamic prophet Muhammad in an offensive manner. In an aniconic religion where visual depiction of the prophet is inherently blasphemous, the Islamic response to these comics were violent. When an analysis of the comics and the cultural backlash was written, instead of publishing it, Yale University swept it under the rug for fear of offending Islamic extremists. Applebaum argues that if “Yale University Press refuses to publish [the comics], then that makes it much harder for anybody else to treat the cartoon controversy as a legitimate matter for scholarly and political debate” (Applebaum 640). By not allowing the publishing of this analysis, Yale University is censoring what the American populace have access to in terms of global controversy. The issue becomes trivialized because institutions fear retribution from extremist groups. Without these scholarly points of reference of this issue and others, it is difficult to have a serious conversations about the ramifications of political and religious satire. This leads to people remaining uneducated and ignorant of these serious issues, and liable to repeat these same actions that so sorely offended an extremist

Contrary to that fact of radical atheism, however, the satire of religion is generally mild. For example, God does exist, but His final message to the Universe is “We apologize for the Inconvenience” (Adams, Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, IV 665). However, other “minor gods” also exist, with Thor being a recurrent character. Another particularly memorable moment is when Zarquon, a Jesus-surrogate character, returns to the Universe… a few seconds before the Universe ends (Galaxy, II 272), demonstrating how Adams believes that even if religions are correct, that would not change much. Finally, Adams satirizes religion very effectively with the in-book device, the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Mk. II, which is a device which appears to be a bird, but has immense power.

There are many prevalent issues, including abortion, race, religion, and pedophilia, that exist not only in America, but across the world, that many people have a difficult time discussing. These topics have a tendency to make people uncomfortable, and when brought up in discussion it can be easy to offend someone who has an opposing opinion. Even though conversation about these issues is difficult to engage in, the conversations are important to have. Satire has a way of making light of uncomfortable topics, and it allows for the conversation about these topics to be started. Since satire approaches these topics in a joking manner, people might be less inclined to be offended. In Bojack Horseman and South Park, the characters are able to talk about an incredibly controversial topic, abortion, in a way that should not be taken offensively. These examples demonstrate that if done in an effective way, satire can touch upon any topic. Since these two episodes are fictional and presented as an animation, there is a separation from reality that makes it easier to tackle more controversial topics effectively. Being a cartoon, audiences automatically view these shows as as fictional, so discussion about controversial topics can be brought up and audiences are less likely to be offended. When topics that are difficult or uncomfortable to talk about are covered in different mediums, like articles, novels, and non-animated shows, it is easier for

“The Christian Coalition’s letter exemplifies a contradiction that recurs throughout the modern history of censorship: attempts to restrict or regulate sexually explicit images produce their own theater of sexual acts and imagery, their own fantasies of erotic exchange and transgression” (pg. 5, Meyer). According to Meyer the idea of have and sharing the “homosexual image” is a way of art, however people like Pat Robertson who highly disagree with such acts, due to their personal beliefs or usually the big reason, religion; condemns this act and not only shares his beliefs with others by writing a letter, he also lies about what he has seen in order to “regulate and suppress actual works of art.” Robertson’s way of trying to shut out or stop

Satire is also used for White Establishment. He uses it when he talked about slave trade. Tom told the devil not even him would be apart of it. He also used it when he was talking about “White Savages”. This

They are attempting to appeal to Logos, the logical side in the readers, and Pathos, the emotional side or more specifically ability to empathize, respectively. Many cartoonists make satires and ironic cartoons that are meant to bring something important to the artists into public knowledge, and some just want to poke fun at some habits or traditions of other cultures and religion. However there are those who take it too far, which is where Logos comes in. Most readers, at least the ones the cartoons are not ridiculing, find it very easy to just laugh off an offensive joke, but as demonstrated by Sacco, it’s very easy to cross the line between a harmless, informative joke and a borderline cruel mockery of something that is important or sacred to others. Pathos, on the other hand, is used to appeal to the emotional side of readers by asking them to empathize with the Jews that have been persecuted, as some believe, for simply been more successful during a time of high rates of unemployment. Sacco obviously wants us to see that in the right context almost anything can be hurtful. The statement "When we draw a line, we are often crossing one too" reinforces that

My Opinion in on how we can end modern day is to fight to end it by making a statement and not just by yourself but by having a voice that can be heard in your community but also around the country as modern day slavery should stop no matter what type of circumstances that we may be going through as many of today's america problems involve race,sex trafficking,sexuality as many of america's circumstances exists around police brutality against blacks are the more talk about in america today but when so much police brutality going on not only are we killing ourselves but we are killing our society and how next generation will be formed,we are killing our next generation over sexually,race and how we dress and present ourselves in society in my opinion it needs to come to a stop and our voice should be heard not only when a situation happens but making a statement everyday not only just for a week and stop talking about the issue that is present at hand but many ways to bring a stop to the racism and judgment based on race is to make sure your voice get heard by making a statement by joining a local social justice group. One of the many social groups in charlotte that exists are the southern coalition for social justice,freedom

Vonnegut as an author made his name by criticizing and satirizing the aspects of society he thought were harmful. Part of the reason Vonnegut is so effectively able to make points is because his humor makes them very engaging to read. In addition, his satire makes points much more clearly than a simple diatribe against society would be able to accomplish. Kurt Vonnegut uses satire, humor, and irony to discuss society and philosophy as can be seen in Cat’s Cradle and in Slaughterhouse-Five, especially when delving into topics such as religion, war, and society. Vonnegut attacks much of what he finds harmful about religion through satire.

People question more hateful satire and ask “if we must use satire, can we not be gentler and more subtle?” (Ward). Religious hate does more than hurt the feelings of those it is directed towards; it also contributes to discrimination. Perhaps satire that is especially vindictive toward religions, particularly minority groups, should face consequences. Imprisonment for producing satire would be unreasonable, but small fines would be appropriate. Discrimination and hate deserve punishment, because free speech has its limits. Charlie Hebdo faced criticism from politicians who attacked what they believed were reckless and irresponsible drawings, although the magazine’s editor, Charbonnier, claimed that he is “not putting lives at risk” (Greenhouse). However, there is irony behind his statement. Just years after Charbonnier defended his illustration, the office of Charlie Hebdo was attacked by terrorists and eight people were murdered, including Charb himself. They say that hindsight is 20/20, but once lives outside of the satirist are put in danger, it is the duty of this artist to do what is safe for

The use of satire in literary works has always been a part of our culture, as well as other cultures of the world. Satire isn’t focused on how the author satirizes, but rather, what is being satirized. The goal is for the audience to think more about a topic, and as previously stated, can be done in many forms.

Satire is a literary technique that uses humor to emphasize a certain point, usually by over exaggerating its flaws. It is extremely effective because it approaches the topic in a seemingly light hearted manner, but portrays a deeper, more powerful message when thoroughly understood. In today’s culture, the media is flooded with various types of satire, irony, and sarcasm that efficiently conveys their ideas. For example, there are many political cartoons today of President Donald Trump. Pictures may over exaggerate certain features such as his bright yellow hair and orange-ish facial color in order to criticize him and express their disapproval.