Since the evolutionary arrival of homo sapiens about 200,000 years ago, the species has participated in many lapses of judgement that have faced ample criticism. One method through which people have condemned and criticized these mistakes is through the use of Satire. This literary element has taken residence in a myriad of genres and has been used to poke fun at everything from the practice of slavery to the results of the presidential election. Satire has endured the test of time maintaining a persistent presence in media for generations. In the case of the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the author Mark Twain used the novel as an element of satire placing ridicule on topics of human behavior ranging from the topic of slavery to the naiveness of religious followers of the time. These vices included in the work of Mark Twain were major characteristics pertaining to human behavior in the period in which it was written. In contemporary media, satire has been used by authors to parody or exaggerate various topics ranging from technological devices to politics.
One topic that has faced extensive satirization in media over the past few weeks due to it’s imminent proximity is the idea of reaching the “Fiscal Cliff” at the end of the year 2012. This concept has perplexed the American population with a great amount of discrepancies and uncertainty to what the actual implications that the Fiscal Cliff” entail. To communicate these implications in a method that generates fear in the American public, elements of popular contemporary media have turned to satire to describe the predicament that is faced by the United States of America.The “Fiscal Cliff” can be accurately described as the term used to define the ends to the tax cuts that were set in place by the Bush administration and the beginning of the Budget Control Acts that were set in place by the Obama administration. This transition to the policies of the Budget Control Acts was first intended to be a method of lowering the countries vast deficit at the expense of slight tax increases and spending cuts. But, this prospected transition has struck fear in the eyes of economists who predict that if the transition was to occur it would pose a major detriment to the American economy causing a great rise in unemployment. Although, economic predictions are also bleak if the current system was to continue due to the continual increase of national deficit. Thus, people are perplexed on what decision to make, especially with the further complication due to party affiliation and the gridlock among the Senate and the House of Representatives because of this.(for further exploration of this topic, additional information can be obtained here)
This upcoming event has been satirized in a variety of media expositions, exploiting the uncertainty of the American public and exaggerating the negative effects that the will be endured by America if it was to occur. One example of a piece of media that satirizes this upcoming issue is a skit that was performed on the popular late night comedy show Saturday Night Live. This skit is a humorous parody of an interview between a news castor and someone impersonating President Obama that consists of a variety of typical questions that place inquiry into the plan and feelings of the newly reelected President. The actor who is playing President Obama in this parody when discussing the “Fiscal Cliff” uses the satirical technique of exaggeration to describe the bargaining techniques that he, representing the Democrats, results to when attempting to form a compromise with the persistent Republican opposition in congress. The Republicans in congress have been stubborn in accepting terms of compromise. In the skit the person portraying the President utilizes exaggeration when he states that he would dissipate the United States Army if the Republicans will not act rationally when forming a compromise with the Democratic party. Although this would not happen in reality, it shows how unreasonable the Republicans, who are in majority in the House, are being when working to form a compromise between the two economic plans.
This satirical use of a parody is not just limited to contemporary digital forms of media. This is shown by the satirical method’s residence in the pages of the classic literary work The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. In this novel Huckleberry Finn, while traveling down the Mississippi River, comes in contact with the Grangerford family, who are in a relentless feud with the neighboring Sheperdson family. These families partake in a feud that has been in existence for decades, spanning such a vast expansion of time that the rudimentary cause of the feud is unknown to the participants. Although the cause of the feud is unknown, the bloodshed is persistent and is greatly increased through the agitation caused by Sophia and Harney, members of both families running off together. This feud incorporated into the novel functions as a parody to the feud between the Hatfield and McCoy families of the South. This is a situation similar to that of the book that was endured by two Southern families. Mark Twain incorporates this into his novel to poke fun at this folly in human behavior of participating in a altercation with no understanding of why it was formed and why they are participating.
Another element of contemporary literature that utilizes satirical methods to poke humor at the “Fiscal Cliff” is a news article in the form of a list published on the humorous news site The Onion. This article is composed of a list of actions that will subsequently be endured if an agreement is not reached by the end of the year. This list of prospected problems that will occur utilizes the satirical technique of exaggeration to place humor on the extremely detrimental problems that would follow the supposed falling off of the cliff. Some of the exaggerations that are utilized in the article include, “National Park Service forced to cut Old Faithful eruptions down to once per week”, “Historic bridges such as the Brooklyn and Golden Gate will be folded up and put away for safekeeping”, and “At the stroke of midnight, every government office, place of work, center of commerce, and piece of infrastructure will simultaneously explode”. Although events following an inability to form an agreement will not incorporate problems of this magnitude, these exaggerations incorporate the basic predicted complications like that of a vast increase to the percentage of unemployed Americans. The author utilizes this form of satire in this literary work to place humor against both congress and the governments inability to visualize the many detrimental outcomes that would damage the well being of the American population and reach an agreement to avoid this situation. As well as to grasp the attention of the American population, who are mostly ignorant, to place interest and comprehend the imminent danger that the actual “Fiscal Cliff” will instill.
All in all, satire has become an ingrained literary element that has been used by authors both in contemporary and classical literature to place humor on human behavior. And, as the “Fiscal Cliff” approaches and Congress sustains it’s inability to formulate a solution to the problem, the accumulation of satirical media pertaining to the “Fiscal Cliff” will continue, intruding into the lives of both you and me. Attached below are just two of the countless other works of media the utilize satire in regards to the "Fiscal Cliff".
