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Information about Political Satire

Political satire is a subgenre of general satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics, politicians, and public affairs. It has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly forbidden.

Distinctions

Political satire is usually distinguished from political protest or political dissent, as it does not necessarily carry an agenda nor seek to influence the political process. While occasionally it can, it more commonly aims simply to provide entertainment. By its very nature, it rarely offers a constructive view in itself; when it is used as part of protest or dissent, it tends to simply establish the error of matters rather than provide solutions.

Origins and genres

Satire can be traced back throughout history; wherever organized government has existed, so has satire. The oldest example that has survived till today is Aristophanes. The Roman period, for example, gives us the satirical poems and epigrams of Martial while some social satire exists in the writings of Paul of Tarsus in the New Testament of the Bible. During the 20th century, satire moved from print media (in cartoons as political cartoons with heavy caricature and exaggeration, and in political magazines) and the parallel exposure of political scandals to performances (including television shows). Examples include musicians such as Tom Lehrer, live performance groups like the Capitol Steps, and public television and live performer Mark Russell. Additional subgenres include such literary classics as Gulliver's Travels and Animal Farm, and more recently, internet Ezine and website sources such as The Onion, ArnoldSpeaks.com, and the Happening Happy Hippy Party. Some websites exist solely to poke fun at politicians, per the examples below.

19th Century

One example is Maurice Joly's 1864 pamphlet entitled The Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu (Dialogue aux enfers entre Machiavel et Montesquieu), which attacks the political ambitions of Napoleon III. It was first published in Brussels in 1864. The piece used the literary device of a dialogue between two diabolical plotters in Hell, the historical characters of Machiavelli and Montesquieu, to cover up a direct, and illegal, attack on Napoleon's rule. The noble baron Montesquieu made the case for liberalism; the Florentine wizard Machiavelli presented the case for cynical despotism. In this manner, Joly communicated the secret ways in which liberalism might spawn a despot like Napoleon III.

See also

External links

Satire (from Latin satura, not from the Greek mythological figure satyr[1]) is a literary genre, chiefly literary and dramatic, in which human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision,
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Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. Although the term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, politics is observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious
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A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics.
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Public Administration can be broadly described as the development, implementation and study of government policy. Public Administration is linked to pursuing the public good by enhancing civil society and social justice.
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For the version control system, see Subversion (software).
Subversion refers to an attempt to overthrow structures of authority, including the state. It is an overturning or uprooting.
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Dissent is a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to an idea (eg. a government's policies) or an entity (eg. an individual or political party which supports such policies).
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Political dissent refers to any expression designed to convey dissatisfaction with or opposition to the policies of a governing body. Such expression may take forms from vocal disagreement to civil disobedience to the use of violence.
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government is a body that has the power to make and the authority to enforce rules and laws within a civil, corporate, religious, academic, or other organization or group.[1]
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Aristophanes, son of Philippus (Greek: Ἀριστοφάνης, IPA: [æ:ɹɪs:tɒf:æ:niːz], ca. 456 BC – ca.
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Martial

Born: March 1 40(40--) AD
Augusta Bilbilis (now Calatayud, Spain)
Died: ca. 102 AD
Rome
Occupation: Author
Nationality: Roman
Genres: satire
Influences: Catullus, Pedo, and Marsus
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St. Paul the Apostle (Hebrew: שאול התרסי‎ Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning "Saul of Tarsus"), the "Apostle to the Gentiles"[1]
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New Testament (Greek: Καινή Διαθήκη, Kainē Diathēkē) is the name given to the final portion of the Christian Bible, written after the Old Testament.
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The Bible is
  • Part of
(see The Hebrew Bible below)
  • Part of a series on Christianity
(see The New Testament below)


Bible
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twentieth century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31, 2000, according to the Gregorian calendar. Some historians consider the era from about 1914 to 1991 to be the Short Twentieth Century.
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For the band, see .
A cartoon is any of several forms of illustrations with varied meanings that evolved from its original meaning. A cartoon (from the Italian cartone
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worldwide view of the subject.
Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page.
An editorial cartoon, also known as a political cartoon
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caricature is either a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness, or in literature, a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.
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Political magazines include:
  • The American Interest
  • The American Prospect
  • The Cato Journal
  • Commentary
  • The Economist
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Foreign Policy
  • Harvard Political Review

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A political scandal is a scandal in which politicians or government officials engage in various illegal, corrupt, or unethical practices. A political scandal can involve the breaking of the nation's laws or plotting to do so.
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Television (often abbreviated to TV, T.V., or more recently, tv; sometimes called telly, the tube, boob tube, or idiot box in British English) is a widely used telecommunication system for broadcasting and receiving moving pictures
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Thomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer (born April 9, 1928) is an American singer-songwriter, satirist, pianist, and mathematician. He also lectured on mathematics and musical theater.
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The Capitol Steps are an American political satire group. They have been performing since 1981, and have released approximately thirty albums consisting primarily of song parodies. The group marked its twenty-fifth anniversary during 2006.
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Mark Russell (born August 23 1932 in Buffalo, New York) is an American political satirist/comedian. He also sings and plays the piano. Russell is a graduate of Canisius High School in Buffalo, New York.
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Gulliver's Travels (1726, amended 1735), officially Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of several Ships
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Animal Farm

1st US edition cover
Author George Orwell
Cover artist Christopher Corr
Country United Kingdom
Language English
Genre(s) Satire
Publisher Secker and Warburg (London)
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An ezine is a periodic publication distributed by email or posted on a website. Ezines are typically tightly focused on a subject area.

Ezine Pronunciation and Derivation


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The Happening Happy Hippy Party, or HHHP, was a British political satire website and ezine that ran between 1997 and 2002, emerging during the dotcom boom in British satire.
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Maurice Joly (1829—1878) was a Jewish[1] French satirist and lawyer.

He was born in Lons-le-Saunier to a French father and an Italian mother. He studied law, but stopped in 1849 in order to go to Paris where he worked at the Ministry of State for ten years.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1830s  1840s  1850s  - 1860s -  1870s  1880s  1890s
1861 1862 1863 - 1864 - 1865 1866 1867

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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The Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu (in the original French Dialogue aux enfers entre Machiavel et Montesquieu) is a satirical book by Maurice Joly which was first published in Geneva, Switzerland in 1864.
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