In contemporary society many forms of satirical wordplay and images exist in the media, reading, schools and everyday events. This play on words and "tongue-in-cheek" humor allows for one to be enlightened on any issue that they may have been previously not aware of. Satire, although meant to be humorous, can be a very informative way of helping support or retire a certain cause.By using satire a writer can communicate a point and how false or true it happens to be. Satire is the ultimate form of spoof, either making a valid point or arguing for a position which can be read as a joke but is meant to be internalized for a deeper meaning.
One such event of satire is on the comedic show Saturday Night Live. SNL provides satire with a “news” report which spoofs political and actual news that is usually very controversial or having to do with the entire nation rather than a select group of people. SNL’s use of satire involves issues that reflect the country as a whole rather than a selective group of people. Saturday Night Live is broadcast on basic cable with many viewers who are educated in modern politics and culture so many of the jokes on SNL correlate with the insight of the general public. While meant to be humorous, some who are very involved in politics and have major opinions towards political issues do not find the jokes to be hysterical. The effect that the jokes of Saturday Night Live has on people is usually comical and leaves one feeling relieved that someone, or more a group of people, can spoof current events that otherwise would be in too serious a nature to joke about (i.e. presidential candidates, elections, laws, etc.). In other case, some may be offended by the jokes on contemporary issues feeling that they may be too serious or too judgmental and harsh on a certain person or event. Everyone's opinion varies on how they interpret a certain joke and although Saturday Night Live gets its' praise it also receives critical feedback from viewers as well.
Another example of satire in modern media is Tosh.0, Tosh.0 is another comedic show which involves playing clips that may be controversial and providing commentary that reveals true feelings behind the videos. Tosh.0 uses satire to display videos current to today’s events and provides commentary that may be useful or cause more to be aware. Unlike Saturday Night Live, Tosh.0 plays videos about current issues and videos posted by viewers that include things such as people getting injured, disturbing images and people embarrassing themselves for the world to see. Most of the shows' satire is involved with the commentary that Daniel Tosh, the host, gives for each video, providing humor and sarcasm in most of his comments which allows the viewer to understand that what someone did in the video was not actually a "smart" thing to do. The satire displayed in Tosh.0, although not usually political, displays what most people are really thinking about something they have seen or heard and gives strong humorous feedback that can relate, or just make sense of, to most audiences over fifteen.
Satire is found in many instances of modern media on television, radio, videogames, etc. however many forget the origin of most satire, which stems from literature. The Onion, a publication that is dedicated to making a mockery of current events and pop culture, is credited with making the public aware of how silly and attentive the public is to celebrities and their lives. The Onion now has its' own website with videos and online radio discussing contemporary political issues and providing people with comedic relief in their usually stressful lives. In modern society the satire in a newsletter such as The Onion serves primarily as a break from the run down of every day life allowing people to laugh at issues that would other wise be serious in nature. The Onion and other such publications may have a negative effect on the people, or group, that is being spoofed but the majority can benefit from the humor.
A radio show, which uses satire to mock modern events which would fall under the category just as The Onion, SNL and Tosh.0, called This Sporting Life displays two men who resemble many sports casters today, either being a retiree turned expert newscaster or the classic enthusiastic. The men's act was once summarized by Greig Pickhaver, who happens to be one of the newscasters, as "making the serious trivial and the trivial serious." The radio show's objective is to spoof the severity and influence that modern sports has on the contemporary individual. Although meant to be taken as a joke, similar to all other forms of satire, some serious, "die-hard" sports fans become offended and label the program as not entertaining.
Another form of satire that is not heard of very often is in songs rather than commentary. Songs are universal in making people aware of an issue, songs like Peter Gabriel's "Big Time" provides a satirical approach to celebrity consumerism and selfishness of the 1980's. People of the lower class interpreted the song as a display of something very true while celebrities rejected the criticism. The Crash Test Dummies provide their audiences with an approach to life with the theory that 'you're life may be bad, but it could be worse' with their song "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". This song proves that life goes on in its' own weird and surrealistic way. The song "Hook" takes a satirical approach to music itself saying that it doesn't make a difference what a song is about. Many would argue that this statement is false and criticize the song for its meaning. Queen and Paul Rodgers also made a song that criticizes the celebrity image in contemporary society and is relate able to many new young stars who are becoming famous without have real talent, one may argue Disney channel stars are this way, and the satire allows for peoples eyes to be opened about the people that are influencing their lives.
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