It seems more and more there is a premium on comedy in American society! Satire has played a huge role in almost every aspect of culture. You see satire in stand up, politics, relationships, and especially in the media. I mean it is proven that satire is a prime bonding point between males to lighten up the mood. We more and more look for someone romantically that makes us smile and laugh. According to Bill Carter, and his Comedy Central Report about men, ” 58 percent said they sent out funny videos to make what might be called a special impression on someone else.”
Then there is smarm, which according to Tom Socca is,“Smarm is a kind of performance—an assumption of the forms of seriousness, of virtue, of constructiveness, without the substance. Smarm is concerned with appropriateness and with tone. Smarm disapproves.” Pretty much smarm is the nice way of criticizing things. You are being the nice guy if you use smarm. In a way it is a fakeness. Satire on the other hand is probably the opposite.
The use of satire makes life easier! It makes it easy for anyone to do relationships and talk about serious topics. A prime example in todays society is South Park. South Park uses satire to criticize and make fun of serious topics. Satire is a tool to lessen the effect of critique by defusing it with laughter.. South Park is sitcom that is for the viewing audience for teenagers and young adults. It is famous for its use of Satire to make fun of serious issues. In one episode they critique safe sex and sexual education in todays society. This video highlights one of the episodes use of Satire to lessen a serious issue like sex into humor.
This video highlights how sex education is not that comprehensive in todays society. It pokes fun of how in sexual education we scare kids out of having sex without really explaining what sex is. It also uses humor in that we are teaching little kids that have not even gone through puberty about sex. It also is humorous that the adults are the ones not practicing safe sex while the kids are freaking out over nothing. There are so many examples of Satire breaking down serious sexual issues in todays society. South Parks use of Satire is a prime example of how humor makes serious issues into humor. It makes serious things easier to talk about. It is almost a defense mechanism against the real feelings. Satire is entertainment but also works as a protection. In the end what other device is capable of making fun of something serious like genocide!!
This a very serious issue which satire makes humorous! So the nice soft, smarm doesn’t apply to satire in todays society. In the end our society is one of Satire it dominates our culture and I think it is just the beginning!
The Friendly Giant 