I've always been a fan of good satire. Jonathan Swift 's
A Modest Proposal
has always been a favorite read of mine. I've been watching satire in the context of US culture and politics over the last couple of years. The Onion
used to be a favorite, but I think that The Babylon Bee has surpassed it in many ways.
At any rate, I'm realizing that satire passes through phases as a culture's socio-political orientation changes
First, satire is funny; while it exposes extremes and excesses, it makes us look at ourselves through a more honest lens and gives us a chuckle
in the process as we get a clearer picture of how silly we are. At this stage, it's funny though it is also meant to be biting and to challenge the
status quo.
Second, satire becomes confusing in that it becomes difficult to distinguish between the reality and satirical commentary. It begins to mirror
reality in a way that makes us realize how twisted the reality has become. At this point, it begins to bother some people as it aggressively mocks and
exposes excesses and stupidity.
Third, satire becomes disconcerting. It loses its humourous edge and acts more as biting social and political commentary. Here is where it
begins to elicit reactions of anger, opposition and censorship.
Fourth, satire becomes downright scary as it denudes the reality, stripping the lie from the hidden truth. Here, it is ignored or hated and
censored by the vast majority of people as what it exposes is just too painful to acknowledge. This is where we are now.
a couple of example of this stage from The Babylon Bee are:
Civil Liberties Declared Nonessential
Constitution Dies Of Coronavirus
I said five stages, didn't I? What's the fifth stage?
Satire is outlawed.
:
edit on 2020 4 07 by incoserv because: no matter how carefully I try to proof my copy, I always miss something.