Why Satire Matters

2 min read

What’s the Point of Satire and why should it matter?

Satire can be defined as the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

From Wikipedia, satire is defined as a genre of literature and performing arts, usually fiction and less frequently in non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government, or society itself into improvement.

Not Just a Laughing Matter

From the definition above, satire’s primary goal is not just to entertain. It should cause a society to reflect on its follies and even make a positive adjustment. It provides a way to speak about societal ills in a funny but serious way.

This is the reason why every word must be well thought out and every exaggeration must have an objective. In a world where common sense is not very common, satire can help people wake up from the slumber of folly and think.

The Downside of Satire

However, satire may not always produce the desired results. This could be the case when people believe that whatever is written is true. For this reason, satire needs to be utterly absurd or ridiculous (preposterous).

The other argument against satire is that it can numb people to the ills in the society. This is especially the case when when so much evil is happening until nothing is absurd anymore.

Whatever the case, satire is here for life.

What do you think?

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