How-To-Guide to a Political Satire
By: Steven Stull
- Satire is a very common genre that can be seen everywhere in society today. It is a literary genre in which human shortcomings are scrutinized by means of ridicule and irony. The main purpose of the satire is to attack something the author disapproves of using wit. While it can be seen in many different forms, one specific type is political satire. Whether it is on an election or a current issue, political satire can be seen daily and it can be a very useful tool if used correctly. It can be used to try and sway someone’s opinion on an issue, to speak the author’s opinion, or simply just for entertainment and a laugh. Regardless, you must keep in mind certain factors when trying to do a political satire. It has to be subtle and indirect, but still obvious enough for the reader to catch it and understand the target or purpose. You must be careful with writing a political satire and make sure it is done properly; otherwise it will not have the desired effect.
- Good Target: First, you cannot have an effective and successful political satire without a good subject or target. Whether it is a person or an event, the audience needs to have heard of it. Having a great interest on the topic will certainly help in writing the satire, but you must make sure that the people reading it will have the same interest as you do. You should then consider the target’s flaws, which you can highlight in a humorous or witty way. To get the point or opinion across on your target to its full extent, you must be on the same page as your audience.
- Good Overall Knowledge On The Topic: Next, since a political satire is indirectly and sometimes humorously targeting a current issue, it is imperative that you first have a good overall knowledge on the current issue you are doing the satire on. Since the audience will be very broad and possibly naïve on the issue, they need to have the same basic knowledge of the situation as you do or the satire will not have the desired effect.
- Stay On Top Of It: You must keep up to date on the target of your satire and make sure you know every detail on it. If your political satire is written on an issue that has already been resolved, or if you get your facts wrong, people will most likely laugh at you instead of your work. You must make sure that the basis for your satire is 100% accurate and is concrete; otherwise you are risking being embarrassed or criticized, and will not be able to find a publisher.
- Keep It Simple: While writing the satire, you must make sure that it is kept simple and not too abstract or confusing. Choose your text very wisely and make sure that it truly enhances your point or material. Over complicating your satire will risk the audience not fully understanding your desired point on the target. For example, if you are substituting names or characters as Orwell did in Animal Farm, you must make sure that it is absolutely clear to your audience who the intended target actually is or your satire will not be seen as it should be. Orwell’s purpose of his political satire was to mock and criticize the Russian government, not to write a funny story about farm animals.
- Visual Aids: Other things to keep in mind are visual aids to your political satire. While there are people who actually read just for the sake of reading, the majority of our society likes to see catchy titles or enticing pictures. It is critical that you catch your audience’s attention so a good title and picture are a must. Would you rather pick up and read an article with a small plain title or an article with a bold, clever title and a funny picture mocking the target? Both could have the exact same text, but obviously the average person would pick the second. Although the content could be extraordinary, you must make sure that as many people as possible will read it, and a good visual will certainly aid in that.
- Be Careful: One last thing to remember and be careful about is not to be too extreme or out of line with the text. There are many people, some with authority and some without, that will have mixed feelings on the target of your satire. While one person might find the satire hilarious and completely agree with our point, another might find it offensive and complain. The point of a satire is to be subtle and indirect, so be careful that you do not lose the reader or make them believe that you feel very strongly in a negative tone about the target.
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