Satire is parody meant as criticism.

A simple cultural example is the Darwin fish magnetic car decoration (built from the Christian fish symbol) and the car decoration of the Darwin fish being eaten by the Christian fish (built from the Darwin fish). Characteristics of the original are duplicated and exaggerated as in parody, but in such a way as to implicate the original as some kind of ridiculous nonsense.

Satire has a large range. In 1729, Jonathan Swift modestly proposed to solve the Irish hunger problem by cannibalizing Irish children. His essay counts as sarcasm because he doesn’t mean it, but it’s more completely described with the broader term satire, as his essay duplicates and exaggerates contemporary arguments that in his opinion trivialized the plight of the poor.

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Return to the first Humor Culture category Parody

Continue to the third Humor Culture category Cultural Comparison Humor