Satire is pointless.
Back in the early days of Saturday Night Live, the political satire was pretty good. They said some things about the state of American society, but most of it was relatively pointless. Since satire is, as I previously mentioned, pointless.
What is satire? Satire is a form of comedy that uses irony, sarcasm and ridicule to expose and make fun of people’s idiotic views and vices. It is mostly used to discuss political or social issues in media. Satire has been used in the past to discuss everything, from race, to the power of media, to issues in foreign affairs, to cigarette companies. It starts conversations with people and gets different ideas out.
It is, however, effectively pointless.
Satire does this thing where it says things that are inappropriate and potentially considered offensive for the point of calling out the fact that people actually believe that. However, laughing at idiots who have wrong opinions is simply crude and inappropriate! You can say whatever you want as long as you put satire in the label and suddenly it’s all okay! Right? There’s no message in a smart writer calling out the Nazi’s for being radical idiots or world leaders being power hungry warmongers. What could possibly be learned in that?
Nothing.
Especially now that the internet has come about. Using satire becomes more and more pointless since everyone on the internet takes everything at face value. Why would anyone bother to actually read something and learn a little about the absurdity of the world? How ridiculous. If you have your opinion, stick to them!
Luckily, there are still people who use satire appropriately and without really offending anyone. For example, last week, the whole of YouTube went crazy after a young “comedian” named Nicole Arbour made a video titled “Dear Fat People,” which called out overweight people for their shameful habits. Thank God we have such wise and talented people using satire as it was originally intended! For bullying and crudeness and cruelty! At least she really showed those fat people the err of their ways! Maybe now they’ll learn to just get suddenly skinny. Thank you, Nicole Arbour, you are an American hero.
She sends out the message that needs to be said. That you can bully anyone you want, as long as you call it satire, and everything will be okay. What those yuppie liberals call “satire” is really just a way for them to call out the people who stand strong in their biased opinions. Arbour is a true satirist! She is saving us from the pointless nonsense of left-wing Hollywood bozos.
Satire had a high point in the late 60’s and early 70’s, with such rude garbage as Dr. Strangelove, Network and Blazing Saddles. Each of these films covered controversial issues and said the most offensive things. No one should listen to their fowl nonsense. The likes of Mel Brooks and Stanley Kubrick had nothing to say about culture or society and, therefore, we should ignore the messages they were trying to say. Even in modern times, such foul movies still appear on the silver screen, like Thank You For Smoking and Tropic Thunder. A film about a man lobbying for more smoking where the filmmakers are potentially saying an underlying message about corruption within lobbyists and the government? No, thank you! I like my comedy cut and dry! And as inoffensive as possible. Except for fat people. Offend them all you want!
We live in a time of tremendous change. Our social issues are growing and expanding every single day. Groups of people are put against each and we need empathy now more than ever. We need to discuss the problems in our society and put them out there plain and simply. We need to be honest with our opinions and honest with what we want in the world.
What worse of a way to do that than with actually discussing those things through the realm of comedy, the one art form that actively breaks down walls?
Satire is pointless. And will become more and more so as time goes on. This world we lives in apparently has no need for commentary. With more people like Nicole Arbour, satire as an art form will descend deeper into senseless bullying under the lens of “it was a joke!”. The art form is dead.
So the next time you senselessly insult someone, be sure to make sure they know you’re just kidding. Everything will be okay.
And the next time you’re thinking about discussing a problem in society by using comedy?
Don’t. What’s the point?
