Satire in Memes

Fox News has been widely infamous for promoting conservative ideologies over liberal one's. The satire is of the Fox Network employees, especially Fox News's cast and crew, along with anything associated with them. Some news anchors tend to be dismissive of liberal matters, such as climate change, instead claiming absurd things to discredit this issue. The ridiculous amount of ignorance almost becomes a joke to people, as we might as well have been watching Comedy Central.

 These two Mitt Romney memes reveal the contradiction in Romney's fiscal affairs: he is coy about disclosing numbers and investments, yet he has found ways to skirt tax laws, having an astonishing $30 billion in Bain Capital Funds. Not only that, but Senate "Minority" Leader Harry Reid accused Mitt Romney of not paying taxes for 10 years. There is also the additional controversy of Mitt Romney having millions in a Swiss Bank account, perhaps not paying tax returns or failure to disclose actual income to the IRS.

Ethical Satire in Politics: Video-games

Torture in GTA V, Grand Theft Auto Five

The satire is not lost at the very fact that the game's real life FBI is known as the FIB. Rockstar North, the British video-game developer, does an excellent job by making the player feel uncomfortable during this scene in GTA, instead of glamorizing torture in American government. It even highlights the fact that the victim is willing to talk, and you still take pleasure in torturing the victim. This soon becomes a controversial scene for players who are forced to beg the question: Are the U.S. government's policies on torture inhumane for its extreme measures? A commentary on water-boarding, military working dogs, and inducing hypothermia becomes evident throughout GTA. The discussion becomes even more imperative with recent tortures, eight detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan, leading to death.

Literary Satire

Animal Farm is an allegorical and dystopian novella by George Orwell. This novel portrays satire of the wrongdoings of the Soviet Union (USSR) and how the rise of Stalin was one of corrupt, absolute power. In the novella, Orwell makes indirect attacks on the Russian Communism, or Stalinism. For instance, certain characters of the novella depict an aspect of a totalitarian regime, such as the pigs and dogs representing the ruling class; they are cruel and unproductive to society, leeching off of society's working class.

Political Satire Through the Advent of Music Video: An SNL Digital Short

 Government Shutdown (2013)

  SNL displayed a complete mockery of the GOP (Grand Old Party), or colloquially known as the Republican Party in the Congress, which was headed by Speaker of the House, John Boehner, who decided to shutdown the government for two reasons: neither the legislation appropriating funds for fiscal year 2014, nor a continuing resolution for the interim authorization of appropriations for fiscal year 2014 was enacted in time. From the shutdown, approximately 800,000 federal employees were indefinitely furloughed, while another 1.3 million were required to report to work, without known payment dates. This video displays how childish the conservative representatives of government acts when they "don't get their way", a very childlike response to resolving adult problems.

Political Satire of Advertising

Clint Eastwood's Superbowl Chrysler Advertisement 

         During the 2012 Superbowl, many Americans, especially conservatives, believed Clint Eastwood's Chrysler's add was very politically geared towards Obama's reelection. Saturday Night Live (SNL)'s Bill Hader debunks this by satirically mocking what many Americans had initially thought.

 The term "half-time" was very controversial, as people believed that meant Obama's first four years are up, and that this advertisement might be about liberals positioning themselves for a second half.

However, these videos show us it doesn't matter who "runs the ball", rather it is satirical of America's anti-progressive attitudes at large, rivaling other foreign competitors, such as China and Mexico.  

Comical Satire

Obama's Political Campaign 

    The state of Florida, home of Disney World, was the swing vote in the 2008 presidential election. Some conservatives and anti-Obama's say that there was a vote scandal, where the popular voting polls allowed for Florida to vote again, and again. This could also be exaggerating the mass numbers of people, Hispanics in general, who would constantly vote for Obama. Finally, this political cartoon illustrates how Obama, during his first term, took a lot of vacations. Disney World is a popular vacation site for many Americans, so seeing Obama with Mickey Mouse is a fitting satirical cartoon.  

21st Century Political Satire in Film

  The Dictator, 2012 is a form of political satire because of the United State's negative reaction towards authorities, predominantly totalitarian regimes in the Middle East. This film exemplifies how the overreaction of Americans led to hostile treatment of people who identify from the Middle East. Yet, the film is also satirical of al-Qaeda and mocks how they are sheltered with wealth, and viciously works on nuclear weapons to attack Israel. The concept of a totalitarian regime is humored throughout the film, ultimately showing how a dictator is destructive to nationalism.