...“Now that everyone I love is gone all I have left is everything the river carries me on” — Bart Simpson, Mr. Burns. The Simpsons is an adult cartoon show based on an unorthodox nuclear family with a satirical point of view. The show parodies parts of popular culture in a humorous format to provide societal commentary. In Anne Washburn’s book, Mr. Burns episodes of The Simpsons series, specifically “Cape Feare”, are used as a way for a group of survivors to remember their past lives. This act of remembrance helps them maintain their sanity. In Washburn's’ play, The Simpsons resembles its real attributes as a pop culture artifact by bringing diverse groups of people together in a shared societal experience through the use of nostalgia in recreating...
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...Did you ever have to leave your homeland and all of your friends and family behind? Well, I did! After sixteen years of life surrounded by friends and family, I had to say “Good-Bye” to the life I knew. Before my departure, like all teens I did believe that my friends were everything in my life but, I have now realized that life has greater meaning. It all started with the long formidable journey of 5,000 miles from Korea to Canada. During the flight, I became concerned with my skin color, my poor knowledge of the English language and the differences between the two cultures. For the first time in my life, I experienced a feeling of isolation. My English was literally terrible. The only words I could speak were “Hi”, “Yes” and some easy conversational sentences. I still remember saying “Yes” without hesitation when one of the women who worked on the flight asked me “Would you like chicken or beef?” It became one of my most embarrassing and unforgettable memories. Even though coming to Canada was meant to better my future and my life, I could not stop blaming my father who convinced our family to move. I wanted to go back to Korea which was my real home and where my real friends and family were. I did not stay angry forever. I soon tried hard to change my point of view, to learn English and to accept the new culture. This was a major decision point in my life. Therefore, while continuing to work on my English skills, I made new Canadian friends and I even dared to take on a...
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...Your Name Instructor’s Name Course Name Date of Submission POLITICAL SATIRE Thesis Statement Political satire does in various ways alter the political history as it strengthens and accompanies political accomplishments. Political satire aims to inform individuals about matters pertaining to the general public as well as issues interconnected to government and politics, in a lighter but educational manner. It not only acts as a curative means to entertain citizens but also has a substantial effect on the political scene of a country. Based on this, “Political satire in the 21st century has a higher impact on the public opinion than a revealing newspaper article through creating humor and simplicity." Introduction The use of satire to express thoughts, themes, and opinions has been in existence since the early ages. It was written by an old Irish bard in an effort to put his solemn contempt upon the intended target. Mostly, satire targeted leaders, their styles of leadership, ideas and actions. The satire on the king, especially during the Irish king’s regime, was liable to result in his dethronement or even death. Political satire has been used in the past periods and continues to be used to criticize the political scenes in a humorous way. The use of satire over centuries as a literary tool has made it possible for essential thoughts, themes, and ideas to be passed across and expose the malfunctions and flaws in the society in a humorous manner. Over...
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...and political satire profession. On January 7th two armed men entered the famous political satire newsroom Charlie Hebdo in center of french capital and killed twelve people. Reason was simple drawings of prophet Muhammad A week later come another editorial which was sold in five million copies. The second example happened Ten years earlier in Denmark police avert attack on another newsrooom. At that time target was Jyllands Posten . In both cases, the authors have joked with the extremity of the Muslim faith, joking with the Prophet Muhammad. As is known, they (Muslims) appear his appear not even in the Koran. But what is actually political satire in this topic and why is important? Acording to Oxford dictonary political satire is the use of humor, irony, exaggetion or ridicule to expose and criticitze people stupidaty in the context political. Political satire is usually connected with social commentary. It is has been a spoken or written act of rebellion toward an individual or group; commentary on social issues or society. Political satire is allround us. It can be usually be found in popular culture like books, movies, web pages , cartoons, television shows, caricature, foto montages ect. One of good example of it is famous book Animal Farm by George Orwell, where author critisise political system and moral values begin to fail . On the other hand, in media you can find it in various forms, from Colbert Show or South Park and The Simpsons and in Croatia...
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...Reader Response Journal Entry – Satires In class, we went over the definitions of a satire and began to talk about what elements of a satire are seen in Huck Finn. A satire is described as the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices. As I began to think more about what a satire means, I realized that in modern day TV shows, politics, and other sources of entertainment, elements of a satire are often brought in. For example, Family Guy, Tosh.0, Saturday Night Live, Chelsea Lately, and the Simpsons are all television shows that could be considered satires, since they all mock people, exaggerate, and use comedy to expose people. I’m surprised that it was so easy to find TV shows that are satires; it’s almost bad in a way, since so many popular shows are making fun of people. Satires aren’t only used to make fun of people though. Often, the use of sarcasm and amplification on their own, create a satire. In chapters 17-18 of Huck Finn, it is clear that Mark Twain is satirizing something in particular. I believe that Mr. Twain is mocking the Civil War through the feud between the Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords. This feud has been going on for so long that these two families can’t even remember how it all started. They say that they only way that the feud will end is when everyone has killed everyone else, because there will be no one left to fight; “a feud is this way: a man has a quarrel with another man and kills...
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...devices such as persuasion, sarcasm, and elegant rhetorics, Voltaire successfully composes possibly the most well-known satirical pieces of literature. Mad magazine, The Simpsons, and Saturday Night Live, examples of some of the comical staples that satiate our desire for humor. In our society, satire is among the most prevalent of comedic forms. This was not always true. Before the 18th century, satire was not a fully developed form. Satire, however, rose out of necessity; writers and artists needed a way to ambiguously criticize their governments, their churches, and their aristocrats. By the 18th century, satire was hugely popular. “Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own”. (Swift) Satire as an art form has its roots in the classics, especially in the writings of Voltaire. Satire as it was originally proposed was a form of literature using sarcasm, irony, and wit, to bring about a change in society, but in the eighteenth century Voltaire, Jonathan Swift and William Hogarth expanded satire to include politics, as well as art. The political climate of the time was one of tension. Any criticism of government would bring harsh punishments, sometimes exile or death. In order to voice opinions without fear of punishment, malcontented writers turned to satire. Voltaire’s Candide and Swift’s Modest Proposal are two examples of this new genre. By creating a fictional world modeled after the world he hated, Voltaire was able to...
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...The Writing Team of Post-Modern Productions have been planning a revamped, Taiwanese version of the animated sitcom, The Simpsons. The Taiwanese version will center around a dysfunctional family as The Simpsons did, with the Chous’ and will also be animated. The family will include: Justin Chou, a 41-year old father; his wife Debra, 39; their children David and Angel Chou, 13 and 12. Secondary characters include 80 year-old Grandpa and 76 year-old Grandma Chou, and their dog, Stanley. Each character always finds him/herself in comedic situations despite itself being stuck in the exact opposite type of situation. The show will include elements present in the Simpsons, including stereotyping and it’s humor and satire. While The Simpsons has influenced other adult-orientated animated sitcoms, we want to produce one that would be able to reach a wider audience. What makes it particularly Taiwanese is that it includes well-known Taiwanese foods and traditions and their own phrases, which we think viewers will find amusing. It also parodies political issues and issues that viewers find relevant and it’s Taiwanese from a Western view. It exaggerates on typical Taiwanese day-to-day life, such as fretting about test results, homework, after-school lessons, Taiwanese media and intelligence. Typical Taiwanese are perceived as more intelligent than the average American and therefore sometimes we think of them being extremely smart and wearing glasses, especially for boys. <Show...
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...Hutu, and his wife, Tatiana, who is a Tutsi. Single parent family is a family that can be either a father or a mother who is singly responsible for the raising of a child. They may be a single parent by choice or by life circumstances. An example of this is Chris Gardener from the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, which in the later part of the movie became a single dad. Adoptive family is a family where one or more children have been adopted. An example of an adoptive family is the family of Gru in the movie Despicable Me. Finally there is the “normal” family which contains a mom, a dad and one or several children. Even though this is considered the ideal family they have differences as well. Some are dysfunctional, like the Simpson family from The Simpsons. Even though they fight all the time they are still a family and still love each other. On the other hand there are the “perfect” families, obviously most families are not like this, there are...
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...Family Guy: Often Offensive, but Smart Humor Seth MacFarlane, the creator of the popular comedy show, Family Guy, is well known for his controversial style of humor. His use of offensive jokes makes for a bad reputation with media sources and celebrities. According to Antonia Peacocke, author of “Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious,” Before she was such a devotee, she was, “adamantly opposed to the program for its particular brand of humor” (300). Antonia Peacocke explores the controversy of the jokes, and gives examples of how the show has been publicly criticized in past years. Family Guy is one of the only shows to be cancelled on multiple occasions because of off-color jokes. Peacocke informs readers that, “after its premiere in April 1999, the show ran until August 2000, but was besieged by so many complaints, that Fox was forced to suspend the show until July 2001, but the show didn’t come back the same as it was before. Due to censoring and an irregular air-time, the show’s ratings fell drastically and Family Guy was cancelled [again] in 2002” (300). I agree with her completely that Family Guy attempts to pack in more gags per minute about sex, race, incest, celebrities, etc. than any other cartoon show. I don’t see this as a bad strategy though. Making fun of groups of people is not a good thing to do, but it’s all for comedic purposes. I believe that if people and American society can’t accept humor about ourselves then we will be overly...
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...I have chosen to evaluate a review of the new sitcom ‘Modern Family’. It is established that genres act as shortcuts and are ideological in nature. They serve to organise particular programs by providing artists with an understanding of its rules and conventions, audiences with an interpretative context, and institutions with a means to facilitate the sale of a particular media text to an audience. However, particular genres continually develop in an attempt to invent fresh concepts. Michael Idato’s review of ‘Modern Family’ highlights to a degree the traditional conventions of a sitcom, and examines how this program alters such a traditional framework in order to establish itself as unique. He also highlights the specific techniques used by the program to both capture and maintain an audience which involves a consideration of both program content and celebrity. Michael Idato highlights that ‘Modern Family’ consists of all the elements typical of a sitcom whose comic premise and structure revolves around a dysfunctional family. He recognises that its program content is derived ‘straight from the comedy playbook’ (Idato, 2010) as it explores the challenges of parenting, marriage and teenage romance which are so frequently touched upon. The diversity of the characters portrayed in ‘Modern Family’ inevitably allows for its interpretation as a traditional ‘character com’ (Aaronson, 2000, p.13). Its form therefore allows for the creation of opposing comic perspectives within particular...
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...Devron Edwards TV Analysis Ian Peters 12/8/14 Community Today there are many shows that reflect American culture and issues that occur because of it. One of the shows that does an excellent job doing this is Community. Community is an American TV comedy created in 2009 by Dan Harmon. The show not only addresses social issues with a comedic approach, it also delivers great story telling. The show uses race and ethnicity to deal with serious issues, but in a comical way that makes it less controversial. Its use of the sitcom framework allows it to make light of situations and build upon them in the future. It is because of this use of the sitcom formula, that the show has developed a deep fan base that keeps the show alive. Community reflects American culture through its use of stereotypes, sitcom structure, and its development of a cult following. Community’s main cast is very diverse in race, age, and culture. Though the 7 characters are all diverse, they fit into stereotypes sometimes. Troy the black male, was supposed to play sports for Greendale community college, this follows the stereotype of schools getting black athletes to come to their schools. Troy is also portrayed as unintelligent which touches on the stereotype that athletes are not smart. Though Troy follows these stereotypes, Dan Harmon challenges them by making Troy dorky. Troy becomes best friends with Abed, an Indian character that very weird and is only into movies and television. The two have a very...
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...stereotypes used by propaganda. Propaganda is a force which can influence and affect everyone; bringing changes in behavior, attitudes and ones beliefs. It is also known that media impacts its viewersmodifying their judgments based on the information which they receive. Substantial amounts of stereotypes broadcasted through propaganda have similar effects. This essay will illustrate how stereotypes are generally portrayed and their function in propaganda. Also it will further reveal how successful and well stereotypes can work when used in propaganda tactics. The media often uses and misrepresents stereotypes; however, they are significantly accepted by people among society. TV shows such as the Simpsons are packed with stereotypes within its broadcast of half an hour. The Simpsons contains a large number of...
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...If Olive is the mother, then Alma is most certainly the mysterious chain smoking grandmother that is somehow still alive. No one really knows why Alma, like others, is even there let alone when she got there. The longest guest and most certainly the oldest, Alma is the type of person that is seen most days smoking next to the No Smoking sign; Alma is the exception to every rule. Then there’s Phillip. Phillip likes his routines. He gets up in the morning, gets ready, eats breakfast with the others, does the scheduled routines of the day, gets ready for bed, reads the next chapter in his book that he is currently reading, goes to bed and then starts the routine over again; hating to stray from it. Some people usually find him to be egotistical, impatient, and rude. If you ask someone what’s wrong with him they’ll usually tell you that Phillip has a stick up his ass and unfortunately it is untreatable. But that’s enough about Phillip. Now Leo is an interesting case. Caught one to many times with drugs by his parents, 17 year old Leo was put in HELL to slap him back into reality. Only in the second month of his “rehabilitation” he hasn’t quite gotten the handle on the whole sympathy thing quite yet; though he has discovered that he is surprisingly good at yoga. Usually an outsider, Leo has found that the company of others, though sometimes interesting and somewhat unbearable at times, is a necessity. Esther is on her second stay at HELL. First brought in one late March days,...
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...“Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious” is an article that is very relevant on the topic of pop culture intertwining with television shows. The article was written by Antonia Peacocke, a current college student. Peacocke starts off by introducing how she has felt about the show Family Guy over the years. Then moves onto how the show has been lashed out at and actually cancelled, but still managed to get put back on the air. When looked at closely the show satirizes American Culture but taken at face value Peacocke could see the harm in Family Guy’s comedy. Then Family Guy is compared to The Simpsons by how they both have similar comedy and both have faced heavy criticism. Peacocke explains that Seth McFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, then explains his reasoning for all of the criticism received toward his show. Lastly, Peacocke explains that it’s important to remember what is actually unfunny in life even while we can appreciate in fake comedy. After summarizing the article it is clear that Peacocke demonstrates Clarity, Relevance, and is a reliable source on the issue of pop...
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...Have you ever over came in obstacle? Well you’re in for a treat because I have a very good person for you to learn about today! So sit back and enjoy the ride! Lisa “Left Eye” was a singer and rapper known for her work with the 1990s group TLC. Lisa was born on May 27, 1971 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lopes have 2 children named Jamal Lopes, and Snow Lopes. Lisa’s parent’s names are Ronald Lopes and Wanda Lopes. Lopes brother and sister names are Ronald Lopes and Reigndrop Lopes. Although Left Eye was a singer/rapper, she had trouble with her love life. Lopes was having a terrible time with her boyfriend Andre Rison (football Player). In 1994, Left Eye was arrested for burning down Rison’s home because he cheated on...
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