Satire (film and television)

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Satire is a television and film genre in the fictional or pseudo-fictional category that employs satirical techniques.

Definition and description

Film or television satire may be of the political, religious, or social variety. Works using satire are often seen as controversial or taboo in nature, with topics such as race, class, system, violence, sex, war, and politics, criticizing or commenting on them, typically under the disguise of other genres including, but not limited to, comedies, dramas, parodies, fantasies and/or science fiction.[1]

Satire may or may not[2] use humor or other, non-humorous forms as an artistic vehicle to illuminate, explore, and critique[3] social conditions, systems of power[4] ("social, political, military, medical or academic institutions"[5]), hypocrisy, and other instances of human behavior.

Backlash and censorship

Film director Jonathan Lynn generally advises against marketing one's work as "satire" because according to Lynn it "can substantially reduce viewing figures and box office" due to a presumed negative perception of satire in the [American] industry:

George S. Kaufman, the great Broadway playwright and director, and screenwriter, once said: 'Satire is what closes on Saturday night.' An excellent wisecrack, but it led the way to a general belief in America that satire is not commercial. When you pitch a satirical film idea, don't refer to it as satire. I used to, and I was met with the inevitable response that satirical films don't make money. This view is factually incorrect. Plenty have done so, if budgeted right.[6]

Film, more than television,[7] offers advantages for satire, such as the "possibility of achieving the proper balance" between realism and non-realism, using the latter to communicate about the former.[7] The ideal climate for a satirical film involves "fairly free" political conditions and/or independent producers with "modest" financial backing.[7]

United States United States
In the case of American satire,
Hays Office, there have always been organizations that "watch[ed] closely over media content to ensure it doesn't threaten the commercial climate in general and their products in particular." Typical pressures put on American satire that present topics of (anti-)war, patriotism, sex, religion, ethnicity, and race.[8]
In another view, censorship and content sanitization cannot eliminate satire. Production of political satire between 1929 and 1960 was scarce but uninterrupted. Pro-government comic relief satire devoid of criticism was one strain of satire found on radio and television during the 1940s and 1950s that was "mass audience-oriented, nonradical," and focused on "[safe] plot lines [of] middle-class, suburban, white characters" typified by 1950s sitcoms, such as I Love Lucy, while the so-called edgier strain was rediscovered in the burgeoning stand-up comic scene in the late 1950s and forward. The latter was typified by comedy music albums of Tom Lehrer, standup comedy of Lenny Bruce, MAD magazine, and Chicago improvisational comedy troupe Second City.[11]
Lebanon Lebanon
The 1978 film Alexandria . . . Why? by Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine was banned[12] in Lebanon and other Arab countries for satirical references of the 1952 Egyptian revolution.
Russia Russia
Satirical films about "life in Russia during the
Stalin era" were banned.[7] In the 1990s, Russian television show producers were charged with "tax evasion and illegal currency dealings" after airing an episode showing a critical caricature of Boris Yeltsin but those charges were dropped after television network president condemned this action.[13]
Georgia (country) Georgia
The 1987 art film
Dmitry Likhachov considered the film "significant" for society as a whole: "The past does not die. It is necessary to publish in journals of mass circulation works which were not published in the past. The main theme in literature now is repentance."[15] Other Georgian films that were banned include My Grandmother (revived 1976), an art film with surreal and satirical elements, and Saba, a satirical drama by Mikheil Chiaureli.[17]

Examples

Film

Series

UK

USA

Japan

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f talesofcinema (31 March 2016) "20 Great Satire Movies on American Life in Decline". tasteofcinema.
  2. ^ Jackson II, Hogg (2010, p. 654)
  3. ^ .
  4. .
  5. . Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  6. ^ .
  7. ^ .
  8. .
  9. ^ . Quote: "[T]he economics of cable programming showed that while satirical programming is popular, there are limitations to the types of satirical programs that make economic sense in the post-network era."
  10. .
  11. ^ .
  12. .
  13. U.S. Government Printing Office
    . 1988., p. 75.
  14. ^ .
  15. ^ The New York Times Biographical Service, A compilation of current biographical information of general interest, Volume 25, Arno Press (1994). Quote: "Mr. Abduladze was best known for his 1984 film "Repentance," a fierce satire of Stalinism that won the special jury prize."
  16. .
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i talesofcinema (25 June 2015). "10 High- Concept Political Satire Films That Are Worth Viewing". talesofcinema
  18. ^ The Discreet Charm of the Boureoisie|The Criterion Collection
  19. ^ Network movie review & film summary (1976)|Roger Ebert
  20. ^ "George Romero made horror about the here and now, plus: his five best films". Time Out New York. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  21. ^ In 1982, the hilarious documentary "The Atomic Café" reminded us that the threat of nuclear war was no joke-Night Flight
  22. ^ "Nora Aunor had an affair with a lesbian named Portia Ilagan?". Showbiz Portal. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h talesofcinema (1 May 2014). "The 15 Best Satirical Movies of All Time". tasteofcinema.
  24. ^ talesofcinema (12 November 2016) "The 15 Best Satire Movies of All Time". tasteofcinema.
  25. ^ Man Bites Dog (1992)|The Criterion Collection
  26. ^ 'The Truman Show' (PG) - The Washington Post
  27. ^ Bamboozled (2000)|The Criterion Collection
  28. ^ Why Are People So Mad About 'Don't Look Up?' - The Atlantic
  29. ^ Triangle of Sadness is a Satire That Skillfully Goes Overboard
  30. ^ .
  31. .
  32. .
  33. ^ In the Peanut Gallery with Mystery Science Theater 3000: Essays on Film, Fandom, Technology and the Culture of Riffing by Shelley E. Barba · 2014 - Google Books (pg.180)
  34. ^ MST3K FAQ -- What is this MST3K thing, anyway?
  35. ^ Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Definitive Oral History of a TV Masterpiece|WIRED
  36. .
  37. ^ Tanner '88|The Criterion Collection
  38. OCLC 56457550
    ., p. 24. Quote: "There have been, over the years, two great self-immodaltions on The Simpsons. These are Episode 9F16 ('The Front') and Episode 4F12 ('The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show'). In both episodes, the writers and producers of the 'Itchy & Scratchy' cartoons are depicted as doppelgangers of the staff of The Simpsons"
  39. ^ .
  40. ^ . Retrieved 18 September 2020.. Quote (p. 7): "Parker and Stone's satiric focus is not directed solely toward aspects of religious worship. They have tackled such challenging topics as euthanasia ("Death"), the right to die ("Best Friends Forever"), the war in Iraq ("I'm a Little Bit Country"), the plight of the rainforests ("Rainforest, Schmainforest"), Hurricane Katrina ("Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow"), gay marriage ("Follow that Egg"), anti-tobacco legislation ("Butt Out"), geriatric driving ("Grey Dawn"), and Barbra Streisand ("Mecha Streisand")[.]"
  41. ^ . Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  42. ISBN 9780191024740. Quote: "Stan, Kyle, and Kenny are arrested by the FBI for filesharing and then given an illustration of the consequences of their actions through the 'hardship' endured by musicians who consequently had to 'forego' royalty income. Metallica's drummer, Lars Ulrich, a strident opponent of Napster, is depicted as crying by the edge of his swimming pool. The boys are informed by the agent that Ulrich 'was hoping to have a gold-plated shark tank bar installed right next to the pool, but thanks to people downloading his music for free, he must now wait a few months before he can afford it' (Comedy Central, 2003: 'Christian Hard Rock [sic
    ],' South Park, season 7, episode 9)."
  43. .
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  46. . Retrieved 18 September 2020.
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