Satire is a television and film genre in the fictional, pseudo-fictional, or semi-fictional category that employs satirical techniques.
Definition and description Film or television satire may be of the political, religious, or social variety. Works using satire are often seen as controversial or taboo in nature, with topics such as race, class, system, violence, sex, war, and politics, criticizing or commenting on them, typically under the disguise of other genres including, but not limited to, comedies, dramas, parodies, fantasies and/or science fiction.
Satire may or may notJackson II, Hogg (2010, p. 654) use humor or other, non-humorous forms as an artistic vehicle to illuminate, explore, and critique social conditions, systems of powerNillson J (2013), American Film Satire in the 1990s: Hollywood Subversion, Springer, ("social, political, military, medical or academic institutions"), hypocrisy, and other instances of human behavior.
Backlash and censorship Film director Jonathan Lynn generally advises against marketing one's work as "satire" because according to Lynn it "can substantially reduce viewing figures and box office" due to a presumed negative perception of satire in the [American] industry:
Film, more than television, offers advantages for satire, such as the "possibility of achieving the proper balance" between realism and non-realism, using the latter to communicate about the former. The ideal climate for a satirical film involves "fairly free" political conditions and/or independent producers with "modest" financial backing.Hodgart, Matthew John Caldwell (1969). Satire: Origins and Principles, Transaction Publishers, p. 242, .
United States In the case of American satire, Roger Rosenblatt postulated that post-9/11 political climate "caused irony's death." Satire has been subjected to official and unofficial pressures concluding in self-censorship or outright removal of the material, with the reason given of satire not being economically viable.Gournelos T, Greene V (2011). A Decade of Dark Humor: How Comedy, Irony, and Satire Shaped Post- 9/11 America, Univ. Press of Mississippi, pages xxix, 63, 224, .Gray J., Jones J.P., Thompson E. (2009). Satire TV: Politics and Comedy in the Post-network Era. NYU Press. . Quote: "[T]he economics of cable programming showed that while satirical programming is popular, there are limitations to the types of satirical programs that make economic sense in the post-network era." In the case of television, controversial content creators have been historically constrained by Federal Communications Commission regulations (Gray et al., p. 181), which threatens them with sanctions for airing alleged "indecent material"Freedman, Leonard (2008). The Offensive Art: Political Satire and Its Censorship around the World from Beerbohm to Borat: Political Satire and Its Censorship around the World from Beerbohm to Borat, ABC-CLIO, p. 35, . but also by industry and corporate watchdogs. Since the 1930s, with notable example being the Hays Office, there have always been organizations that "watch[ed] closely over media content to ensure it doesn't threaten the commercial climate in general and their products in particular." Typical pressures put on American satire that present topics of (anti-)war, patriotism, sex, religion, ethnicity, and race.
In another view, censorship and content sanitization cannot eliminate satire. Production of political satire between 1929 and 1960 was scarce but uninterrupted. Pro-government comic relief satire devoid of criticism was one strain of satire found on radio and television during the 1940s and 1950s that was "mass audience-oriented, nonradical," and focused on "[safe] plot lines [of] middle-class, suburban, white characters" typified by 1950s sitcoms, such as I Love Lucy, while the so-called edgier strain was rediscovered in the burgeoning stand-up comic scene in the late 1950s and forward. The latter was typified by comedy music albums of Tom Lehrer, standup comedy of Lenny Bruce, MAD magazine, and Chicago improvisational comedy troupe Second City. Lebanon The 1978 film Alexandria . . . Why? by Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine was banned in Lebanon and other Arab countries for satirical references of the 1952 Egyptian revolution. Russia Satirical films about "life in Russia during the Stalin era" were banned. In the 1990s, Russian television show producers were charged with "tax evasion and illegal currency dealings" after airing an episode showing a critical caricature of Boris Yeltsin but those charges were dropped after television network president condemned this action.Censorship: A World Encyclopedia (edited by Derek Jones, 2001), Routledge, p. 423, . Georgia The 1987 art film Repentance, initially banned, p. 75. in Russia and Russia-controlled Eastern Europe, onlyde Baets, Antoon (2002) Censorship of Historical Thought: A World Guide, 1945–2000, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 529, . shown in Georgia before being internationally released in 1987 with permission of by-then head of state Mikhail Gorbachev,Marsh, R. (1995). History and Literature in Contemporary Russia, Springer, pp. 34–35, . contained satirical allusions to Stalin.The New York Times Biographical Service, A compilation of current biographical information of general interest, Volume 25, Arno Press (1994). Quote: "Mr. Abduladze was best known for his 1984 film "Repentance," a fierce satire of Stalinism that won the special jury prize." Academician Dmitry Likhachov considered the film "significant" for society as a whole: "The past does not die. It is necessary to publish in journals of mass circulation works which were not published in the past. The main theme in literature now is repentance." Other Georgian films that were banned include My Grandmother (revived 1976), an art film with surreal and satirical elements, and Saba, a satirical drama by Mikheil Chiaureli.Inside Soviet Film Satire (edited by Andrew Horton, 2005), Cambridge University Press, p. 111. .
Examples Films
À Nous la Liberté (1931) The Trial (1962) Dr. Strangelove (1964) Wild in the Streets (1968) Mr. Freedom (1969)talesofcinema (25 June 2015). "10 High-Concept Political Satire Films That Are Worth Viewing". talesofcinema Joe (1970)talesofcinema (31 March 2016) "20 Great Satire Movies on American Life in Decline". tasteofcinema. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)The Discreet Charm of the Boureoisie|The Criterion Collection Death Race 2000 (1975) Network (1976)Network movie review & film summary (1976)|Roger Ebert Dawn of the Dead (1978)"George Romero made horror about the here and now, plus: his five best films". Time Out New York. Retrieved 20 August 2020. Destiny (1978) The Atomic Cafe (1982) T-Bird at Ako (1982) Brazil (1985)talesofcinema (1 May 2014). "The 15 Best Satirical Movies of All Time". tasteofcinema. Heathers (1988) They Live (1988) Pump Up the Volume (1990) Barton Fink (1991) Man Bites Dog (1992)talesofcinema (12 November 2016) "The 15 Best Satire Movies of All Time". tasteofcinema.Man Bites Dog (1992)|The Criterion Collection Bullets Over Broadway (1994) Starship Troopers (1997)Cogan B, Kelso T (2009). Encyclopedia of Politics, the Media, and Popular Culture. ABC-CLIO, p. 119, The Truman Show (1998)'The Truman Show' (PG) – The Washington Post American Beauty (1999) Fight Club (1999) South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999) Bamboozled (2000)Bamboozled (2000)|The Criterion Collection Chicago (2002) Thank You for Smoking (2005) Idiocracy (2006) The Dictator (2012) The Interview (2014) Don't Look Up (2021)Why Are People So Mad About 'Don't Look Up?' – The Atlantic Ron's Gone Wrong (2021) Alice, Through the Looking (2021) Triangle of Sadness (2022)Triangle of Sadness is a Satire That Skillfully Goes Overboard Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea (2023)
Television shows UK
Yes Minister (1980–1984) Yes, Prime Minister (1986–1988)Davis, Jessica Milner (2017). Satire and Politics: The Interplay of Heritage and Practice, Springer, . The Day Today (1994) Brass Eye (1997, 2001) The Thick of It (2005–2012) Black Mirror (2011–), such asMcSweeney T, Joy S (2019). Through the Black Mirror: Deconstructing the Side Effects of the Digital Age. Springer. p. 4. "Fifteen Million Merits" "The Waldo Moment" "Nosedive"
USA
The Richard Pryor Show (1977)Bogle, Donald (2001). Primetime Blues: African Americans on Network Television. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, p. 117, . Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1978)Williams, Carol T. (1992). It's Time for My Story: Soap Opera Sources, Structure, and Response], Praeger, p. 32, . Married . . . with Children (1987–1997)Mittell, Jason (2010). Television and American Culture, Oxford University Press, p. 294-295, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988–1999)In the Peanut Gallery with Mystery Science Theater 3000: Essays on Film, Fandom, Technology and the Culture of Riffing by Shelley E. Barba · 2014 – Google Books (pg.180)MST3K FAQ -- What is this MST3K thing, anyway?Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Definitive Oral History of a TV Masterpiece|WIRED Tanner '88 (1988, mini-series)Tanner '88|The Criterion Collection The Simpsons (1989–), such as, p. 24. Quote: "There have been, over the years, two great self-immodaltions on The Simpsons. These are Episode 9F16 ('The Front') and Episode 4F12 ('The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show'). In both episodes, the writers and producers of the 'Itchy & Scratchy' cartoons are depicted as doppelgangers of the staff of The Simpsons" "The Front" "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" South Park (1997–), such as "Jewbilee" "Red Hot Catholic Love" . Quote (p. 7): "Parker and Stone's satiric focus is not directed solely toward aspects of religious worship. They have tackled such challenging topics as euthanasia ("Death"), the right to die ("Best Friends Forever"), the war in Iraq ("I'm a Little Bit Country"), the plight of the rainforests ("Rainforest, Schmainforest"), Hurricane Katrina ("Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow"), gay marriage ("Follow that Egg"), anti-tobacco legislation ("Butt Out"), geriatric driving ("Grey Dawn"), and Barbra Streisand ("Mecha Streisand")[.]" "The Death Camp of Tolerance" "I'm a Little Bit Country," "Christian Rock Hard" Leyshon, Andrew (2014). Reformatted: Code, Networks, and the Transformation of the Music Industry, OUP Oxford, p. 69, . Quote: "Stan, Kyle, and Kenny are arrested by the FBI for filesharing and then given an illustration of the consequences of their actions through the 'hardship' endured by musicians who consequently had to 'forego' royalty income. Metallica's drummer, Lars Ulrich, a strident opponent of Napster, is depicted as crying by the edge of his swimming pool. The boys are informed by the agent that Ulrich 'was hoping to have a gold-plated shark tank bar installed right next to the pool, but thanks to people downloading his music for free, he must now wait a few months before he can afford it' (Comedy Central, 2003: ',' South Park, season 7, episode 9)." "Goobacks" "Stupid Spoiled Whore Video Playset" Boy Culture: An Encyclopedia (2010) (ed. Shirley R. Steinberg, Michael Kehler, Lindsay Cornish). Greenwood, p. 279, . "Best Friends Forever" "Trapped in the Closet" "Smug Alert!" "Go God Go XII" Hanley, Richard (2011). South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating, Open Court, p. 301 (38–39), . "With Apologies to Jesse Jackson" "Britney's New Look" Music in Television: Channels of Listening (2011), edited by James Deaville, p. 163, . "The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs" "Taming Strange" Family Guy (1999–) Reno 911! (2003–)Encyclopedia of Identity (edited by Ronald L. Jackson II and Michael A. Hogg, 2010), SAGE, . Masters of Horror, episode "Homecoming" The Sarah Silverman Program, episode "Face Wars" The Boondocks (2005–2014)