Blasphemous, belittling, boorish. Such are the words some can describe Mike Myers 90’s classic comedy, Austin Powers. Mike Myers is regularly known for his outlandish and insensitive comedic films. So you may ask, how is Myers interpretation of Austin Powers a sophisticated example of satire which is undoubtedly deserving of the coveted Mark Twain Prize for American Humour? Despite the fact that the Austin Powers series serves as a deliberate parody, poking fun at the Bond series, it insightfully examines the role of serious topical issues present in contemporary society. Whilst the comparisons between the Bond and Power series to some are far-reaching and absurd, to many viewers including myself, they are far more sophisticated than the …show more content…
It is disgraceful. What comes to mind when you think of the conception of an all-white male hero? James Bond, Gladiator, Ethan Hunt- heroic, handsome, humble- all abide to the conventional norms. Conveyed in every Bond film, Bond is seen as an overbearing, dominant male figure while in comparison to his female counterparts who are on the other hand, frivolous and submissive. Ironically, Austin Powers is the opposite; there’s no other way to say it. He’s hideous and brainless. Myers effectively spoofs these perceptions through the satirical technique of reversal, flipping the script in an attempt to objectify men for a sense of balance. This provides a refreshing depiction contrary to the influx of stereotypical male movies. Drenched throughout the movie with cat calls, these sexual taunts help expose the un-canniness of sexism; providing a unique and humorous way to acknowledge the absurdity of men’s’ attitudes towards women. The reversal of roles conveys discourse on Bond’s treatment of women, as Powers himself is a lead without a speck of masculinity that is so aptly evident in the Bond films. Myers delves into the spectrum of caricature in the likes of fat bastard- monstrous, morbidly obese, miserable- which is a powerful use of exaggeration to influence the audience to see him as an abominable depiction of a male. In comparison, the diminution of the tiny Mini-me, a one-eight sized clone further illustrates the bizarre and grotesque nature of men that we have become so unaccustomed to see in films. This is important as it further diminishes the role of men in the film, thus placing more attention towards the female characters. The ridiculous colloquialism of, “get in my belly!” is a typical representation of burlesque which aids in depicting men as very un-attractive
“Slim in Hell” by Sterling Brown written in 1932 and “Power” by Audre Lorde written over forty years later, are protest poems looking at, and attacking, the problem of racism through the use of imagery, structure, and tone. Through their different uses of imagery and structure, they create their respective tones and take their respective (and different) approaches towards this problem of racism
Stereotyping is violent. During the film, when Officer Hansen and Officer Ryan are on duty searching for a particular carjacked vehicle. Ryan decides to stop a black SUV. Inside there is an interracial couple. The whole situation changes as he decides to hold their hands up and put them against the car. The couple, Cameron and Christine, are both convinced and have no choice but to follow the officer’s orders. Within moments, Christine is molested and sexually abused by Officer Ryan as he is searching her. Officer Ryan stops the couple for no reason. The couple is discriminated and handled with such pain and abuse. It is a wrong action. The officers here are not doing their job of assisting, protecting, and regulating people. Rather, in this instance, they abuse these innocent individuals and, most importantly, these officers lost their trust and respect. Stereotyping leads to misjudgments and often influences sexual violence over groups of people.
Satire in American literature has evolved in response to the development of the American mind, its increasing use of free will, and the context that surrounds this notion. Satire is the biting wit that authors (labeled satirists) bring to their literature to expose and mock the follies of society. Satirists can be divided, however, into two groups with very different purposes. One type mocks simply for the enjoyment of mocking. These satirists are found almost everywhere in the world, on every street corner, household, and television sitcom. It is the second type of satirist who is a strong force in the world of literature. The satirical author will mock to heighten the reader's awareness of the problems that threaten to destroy the world that they believe has so much potential. They do this with the hope that their satire will encourage others to better society. "I have often hoped that the arts could be wonderfully useful in times of trouble" (32) says the writer who is perhaps the king of this second type of American satire, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Vonnegut uses his literature to help guide a disillusioned America, in which free will has been fundamental since the writing of the Constitution. As a humanist, Vonnegut uses the idea of free will as a constant motif in his writing. He believes that every soul has the freedom to do anything, but that the problem with society is that people lack direction. Free will, used as a theme in Timequake, is an enormous responsibility. Acknowledging the free will that one has also involves accepting the responsibility that is necessary to use this privilege in a way that will benefit humanity. In several essay...
In fact, English speakers in America clearly differ from those in Britain by tone, delivery, and expression. Since the language differs in these ways based on its local use, it is understandable why the two countries’s humor differ as well. America’s obvious slap-stick and Britain’s blunt irony, differ between their own individual standards, just like their versions of the English language, and continue to change with time. In comparison to the humor used by Hollywood’s original actors in the early fifties, the comedies we are currently exposed to on television today has changed drastically.
In Alain de Botton’s book, Status Anxiety, he argues that the aim of humorists is not solely entertainment, but also to convey a message that isn’t always okay to state directly. There are many places where his argument can apply. Even with humor, some topics are still too controversial to joke about; However, in most cases, humor can lighten things up and make it easier to discuss topics that otherwise would not be as easy to talk about without heavy arguments. There are many cases that would make his argument true. There are many examples that support his argument, and that help to show the importance of humor in arguing, including cartoons, comics, works of literature, and also when thinking of hosts of television programs.
Green, Daniel. "A World Worth Laughing At: Catch-22 and the Humor of Black Humor." Studies
Brown, Earl B., Jr. "Kosinski's Modern Proposal: The Problem of Satire in the Mid-Twentieth Century." Ebscohost. N.p., 1980. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2014.
Steve Almond’s “Funny is the New Deep” talks of the role that comedy has in our current society, and most certainly, it plays a huge role here. Namely, through what Almond [Aristotle?] calls the “comic impulse”, we as a people can speak of topics that would otherwise make many of uncomfortable. Almond deems the comic impulse as the most surefire way to keep heavy situations from becoming too foreboding. The comic impulse itself stems from our ability and unconscious need to defend and thus contend with the feeling of tragedy. As such, instead of rather forcing out humor, he implies that humor is something that is not consciously forced out from an author, but instead is more of a subconscious entity, coming out on its own. Almond emphasizes
John Marwood Cleese, an English actor, comedian, writer and film producer said, “If I can get you to laugh with me, you like me better, which makes you more open to my ideas. And if I can persuade you to laugh at the particular point I make, by laughing at it you acknowledge its truth”. The point he brings up is the ideology of satire. Satire, by definition, is a technique utilized by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society. This can be done by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule ("Satire - Definition and Examples", para.1). Often times, the humor used opens the audiences’ minds to the underlying problem that the writer is trying to reveal. By examining the purpose and methods of satire, dissecting literary works, and displaying examples in the media, satire is shown to be a valuable tool.
For example, the comedy shows The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon expresses satirical humor concerning politics. His show also demonstrates political satire by telling jokes and even impersonating political figures for the audience. He creates humor through sarcasm that focuses on real issues. His sarcastic humor causes others to feel more confident in their criticism toward politicians. For example, “Jimmy Fallon expresses his humor about Donald Trump, impersonating his appearance and imitating his voice while talking about politics. He uses his humor by impersonating Donald Trump and his sweeping generalizations with Madea (Rogo).” Jimmy Fallon shows people his views through humor and it creates a sense of community to express their agreeable and disagreeable views. As we discussed some ideas about satirical humor that affects political changes, it was important to reveal their feelings about changes in life and drove them to look upon their society or government more
While the tone may range from playful to angry, satire generally criticizes in order to make a change. Exaggeration, parody, reversal, and incongruity are satirical devices. Author’s use satirical devices to strengthen their central idea.
According to Everything’s an Argument by Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz, “Humor has always played an important role in argument…” (38). Humor itself is something that activates amusement or laughter. Moreover, in popular culture satire is a tool that is used to point out things in our society. Satire opens the minds of people to philosophies they might completely deny, using humor. There are many elements of satire that identify flaws within our society. A couple of satire elements that will be discussed are irony and exaggeration. In addition, a parody is used in popular culture as a way to mock or mimic situation or person.
Even though the power of satire has faded over the centuries it was an essential and effective tool in making an impact on the ways of society. Through the use of humor and in-your-face realism writers, such as Swift, are able to criticize their communities, nations, and friends without the intent to offend but to educate.
Before analyzing the comedic content in question, it is important when drawing on a variety of sentiments from comedians to understand that many performers use a character or parody for their humor. Others choose to voice opinions and views contrary to their own, in the hopes of receiving a certain reaction from a specific audience. In referring to the material of writers and comedians, one must respond to the beliefs they promote (which can be known), rather than those they espouse, which cannot.
The term ‘comedy of menace’ is applied to a group of plays in which comedy is intertwined with elements of tragedy. The term was first used by David Campton as a subtitle of one of his plays, The Lunatic View: A Comedy of Menace. Though both comedy and tragedy are based on incongruities and contradictions, the driving force in comedy is humour and the driving force in tragedy is horror and menace. In comedy the humour is generated through dramatic techniques such as divergences, repetitiveness, surprise, illogical events and statements that often lead to outcomes which are quite contrary to what the audience expect and thereby cause laughter and amusement. In comedy of menace, two contradictory