Okay, so I'll be the first to try this 'blogging' thing, hehe. Someone reprimend me if this blog isn't related to what we should be doing, mkay? :)
So, in the eyes of the analytical and literally-minded, the works of Swift (as I've now read some, haha) certainly held great approach to social problems of his time. Smart, witty, clever; whatever term of endearment you want to use for the work, fine. The majority of us can see the underlying messages of the well-thought-out story.
But what would one do if he were to try and approach today's problems through satire? Now, I'm sure there are plenty who still use such form of writing, or through some means of approaching an audience. But would it be an 'effective' means of trying to criticise a problem with hopes of making a change in this day in age? I can't really save grace from trying to point a finger any way I say this, but I believe the majority of the general public to be too 'unwitty' to understand such works, let alone to try and make a reasonable decision whether or not they would agree with someone's point-of-view through their own work. And it wouldn't matter much if people in "positions of power" were to understand, as most issues that one could addressed these days pertain to the structure of today's societies.
Since I'm just trying to get a feel for this blogging thing, I'm not going to get into massive detail or anything. But I feel as if satire work may not be an effective approach to address a problem today, to try and get results afterward. Perhaps it would make good reading material or an efficient way out outputting one's views and feelings on an issue, but do you believe satire, used as a 'tool', would be capable of impacting a major issue?
And again I say, someone let me know ASAP if this is not what we should be blogging about!
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I agree with your thought that satire would be vitually useless on a large scale level. However, a point I would like to interject is that many people's perceptions about political figures and happenings are coming from newspaper stands rather than conictions or their beliefs. Newspaper cartoonists especially excell at portraying nearly whomever they wish however they wish. I could see how this could be effective on a fairly large scale, yet when you really boil this issue down we find individuals and individual minds at the core. That's satire thrives!
ReplyDeleteLucas - great blog, sounds like you've gotten the idea. :) I certainly agree with your thoughts on the efficacy of satire. I am a regular reader of World magazine (an editorial report on current events from a Christ-centered worldview). My favorite page is always the satirical cartoons because they are both humorous and insightful. However, though I tend to enjoy and ponder these personally, I am aware that most people are not educated enough to "get" the point of satire and miss much of the meaning within. Though satire can delight a few, it confuses most. Think about it - we're still trying to figure out exactly what Swift intended to say ...
ReplyDeleteI agree in that I think satire may have lost its effectiveness in today's world. In Swift's time, I myself would have chosen satire to express my distaste, but in today's world, much more blunt approaches are needed, and unfortunately the pen is becoming less and less effective altogether as society continues to amuse itself to death with glowy rectangles and squares...
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your post, I immediately thought about a Colombian stand-up comedy that is called "La Pelota de Letras" (The Ball of Letters) created, directed and acted by Andres Lopez. It consists in a sociological analysis of Latin-American society since the 1960s to the 1990s, and it is completely based on satire. It just started as a simple presentation in a Hard Rock Cafe in 2004 and due to its increasing popularity became well known throughout the world. So, satire in this case did not solve a major issue, however it was used to characterize a specific society and let the rest of the world understand and know how Latin-Americans are.
ReplyDeleteI don't think satire's effectiveness has really changed. While I don't have any solid proof, I doubt every one in Voltaire's time fully understood the satire he used.
ReplyDeleteAlso the use of ink and paper has become ineffective but words still hold power. The internet houses a maryid of written works, and a can think of at least one website (The Onion) that will use satire to comment on the state of the world.