The Joys of Satire

Oftentimes, you can catch me watching a satirical comedy. What is a satirical comedy, you may be asking. “Satire” is defined as the use of “humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule to expose or criticize people’s stupidity.” This form of comedy gained its popularity due to its straightforwardness and basis in truth. Satirical comedy brings together politics, morals, and history, and finds ways to point out mistakes. The fact that it is based in reality and merely points out fallacies that, let’s face it, most of us have probably thought about, makes it “hit the humor spot” all the more. This form of comedy has been around since the Roman Empire, and has been growing in popularity in recent decades. Most notably, South Park and The Simpsons have influenced many shows, especially animated ones, to follow in their wake. These shows poke fun at politics, social norms, trends, and often tread on the border of cancellation. Yet, although there have been a handful of banned or redacted episodes, new episodes and seasons continue dropping each year. South Park is currently at over 25 seasons, and The Simpsons is at over 35! As a South Park fan, I take this as my moment to prattle away about the show. South Park is an animated show about a group of fourth grade boys who have aspects that embody the directors and their friends’ qualities. The main source of humor from this show is how the fourth graders are much more mature than they should be, and are often seen making decisions for their parents and other adults. They are still children at heart however, and are prone to making mistakes, but the adults in their society are absolute deadweights and are usually the ones the show makes fun of. South Park brings out the “dark truth” about everyone and everything in a lighthearted but meaningful way that will stay in your memory long after you watch it. The show shows us how stupid humanity can be at times, all through the perspective of four fourth graders. The fact that these shows have been going on since before the twenty-first century proves a point: The people like satire. They want more of it. And to that, I say, amen.

Credits: Definition of Satire from Google and Oxford Languages.

Image from South Park season 22 episode 3, "The Problem With A Poo"