Hey, you. Ya you. Did you ever hear of satire, if not then you are lying my friend. Okay so maybe you can't put your finger on the exact definition, but you can find satire everywhere and anywhere there is comedy. That's right satire and comedy go hand in hand, satire is the observational mocking of a certain quirk in human behavior, and therefore could be viewed as a sort of subset of comedy.
You may be wondering "Why write a blog on something like this, something that is so commonly known, even if not by name?" Unfortunately I cannot answer that question and would have to refer you to my English teacher.
But back on track, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain is the novel that we are currently reading in class. I like the novel, I find it interesting, informative, and... dare I say it... satirical. Yes "Huckleberry Finn" is a very satirical piece of literature. The book pokes fun at and criticizes slavery, feuds, and southern mannerisms during the antebellum period of 'Murica, and therefore meeting the requirements of being satire.
Now my English teacher says that I have to relate this to something that I find satirically funny so bear with me. There is a video by the name of "The Confession" by one of my favorite youtubers known as Thomas Ridgewell or Tomska. I have supplied this link for you to watch the video. I find this video hilarious because it seems to me that it is just the stupid type of comedy that I do so enjoy. However, the laws of the English language would beg to differ as it is really more satirical than anything else. The short makes fun of the ways that we human beings, faults and all, try to communicate in the most awkward of ways and I hope you thoroughly enjoy it.
Yet another example extremely well done satire comes from another youtuber whom I follow by the name of Toby Turner with the channel name Tobuscus. I recommend all of his videos but one of the most satirical could be the I-pad mini spoof ad of which I happen to have a link for you right here. This video makes fun of Apple adverts that we consume through our eyes everyday, plus c'mon, with a name like Tobuscus you just know he's hilarious.
"But ASW, how is this possibly relevant or relatable in the slightest to Huck Finn?" I'm sure is the question you are racking around in that big brain of yours right about now, well allow me to clear it up for you. Huck Finn pokes fun at things that we may have lost sight of today, but were major issues back in the nineteenth century, where as Tomska presents us with a very modern and relatable situation in which we can all find humor. Tobuscus also provides us with a satirical view on Apple advertisements that many people could recognize. Therefore the satirical views on a popular topic to both be funny and to get a point across are what we can connect these three very different examples of satire with.
I really hope you enjoyed this heartfelt blog post and also see my points on satire for my English teacher's sake. Also, my teacher wants us to have at least 500 words in this bloggity thingamajig, so why not have a little insurance: bat, rat, that, cat, fat, phat, flat, dat, brat, begat, mat, at, and finally gnat.
