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George Gladwell: The Use Of Satire In American History

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Satire holds the opportunity to encourage discussions, including to those who may not necessarily agree with the context. As an author and host, Gladwell has always shown the willingness to share unpopular opinions and upend expectations in numerous occasions. On his 10th podcast episode of The Revisionist History, Gladwell analyzed the elements of satire, which led him to coin the term known as “The Satire Paradox.” This episode examined the connections between laughter and social protest that coincide with satire. Does comedy contain truth? According to Gladwell, satire possesses the ability to convey the underlying truth of alleged crude behavior. But, others suspect that satire becomes toothless when that underlying truth of a message is …show more content…

Consequently, Gladwell further criticizes the use of satire when he directly targets Tina Fey on her Saturday Night Live (SNL) parody on the Republican politician Sarah Palin. Over the years, Fey’s impersonation has been considered an iconic performance, showcasing the epitome of well-constructed political satire. However Gladwell arguably claims that the sketch actually relayed the wrong outputs. Gladwell asks: “Who do you remember now? Sarah Palin or Tina Fey?” Why doesn’t the Palin satire work? Because Tina Fey is too funny being busy.” (Revisionist History). Although Gladwell asserts a plausible claim, he fails to further evaluate the absence of substantial liberal satire, focusing mainly on the pretense of right-wing satire. As a result, this dismisses the intellectual integrity of the entire episode leading to misinterpretations. Ultimately, satire is complex, ambiguous, and esoteric. The pleasure of laughter is deceptive, executing the tangible goal for entertained audiences; which leads satire to open discussions, but require thorough interpretation. Overall, satire works best by those who have the courage to not just go for the

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