Humor/Satire Unit

What makes something humorous?

First things first…

Get into a small group of three to four people. Share the most funny (APPROPRIATE) joke or funny thing you have seen or heard recently. Then chose one to share with the class.

In small groups

• Now let’s take some notes, JK• No really, get out your logs!

One or more of these qualities are usually present:• Contrasts (bathos, juxtaposition)• Context (something out of place or

inappropriate)• The unexpected (irony)• Exaggeration (hyperbole, detail

stacking)• Parenthetical interruptions

• Understatement (litotes, downplaying)

• Exposing human faults or quirks• Altering something we are

familiar with (surprise, parody, shock value)

• Wordplay (puns, malapropisms)• Mistakes or blunders• Out of context detail

Malapropism• A malapropism is the substitution of a

word for a word with a similar sound, in which the resulting phrase makes no sense but often creates a comic effect

Example: It is beyond my apprehension.“ (comprehension)   Danny Ozark, baseball team manager

 “Her plans didn’t jive with his ambitions.”Jive means “to deceive”; the writer meant jibe, “to coincide”: “Her plans didn’t jibe with his ambitions.”

Example: "Well, that was a cliff-dweller."   Wes Westrum, about a close baseball game

Puns• The play of words

which have similar meanings or sounds

• Ex: He made a grave mistake and ended up dead.

Satire• Ridiculing or mocking in

order to expose, discredit, or illuminate human folly

• Purpose = to call attention to something that should be changed

Horatian satire• After the Roman satirist Horace:  Satire

in which the voice is indulgent, tolerant, amused, and witty.  The speaker holds up to gentle ridicule the absurdities and follies of human beings, aiming at producing in the reader not the anger of a Juvenal, but a wry smile.

In history…• Although the First Amendment protects

some defamatory speech about public figures, there's still a legal gray area around whether statements made in "actual malice" can be prosecuted as libel. If you use fictitious names, keep enough resemblance for your readers to understand who your character is supposed to be. As a satirist, you'll walk a thin line between infamy and obscurity, so beware.

Satire Techniques• Lampoon: making fun of or attacking a

person (Political cartoon, but could be “SNL” too)

• Mockery: Mocking something through derision/laughter (“SNL” skit)

• Understatement, overstatement, sarcasm, irony,

Parody• A composition that imitates the serious matter

and characteristic features of a particular work, or the distinctive style of its maker, and applies the imitation to a lowly or comically inappropriate subject.  Often a parody is more powerful in its influence on affairs of current importance--politics for instance--than its original composition.

Example : “SNL” skits and “The Simpsons”

Sarcasm• A criticism disguised as a

compliment• Ex: “Great idea, Bob. Next

time I’ll ask my two year old brother.”

Backhanded Compliment• An insult that is disguised as a

complimentExample: “That dress looks great on you;

it does wonders for your figure.”Example: “You are smarter than you

look.”

Read “If We’re Gonna Have Guns…”• Analyze the logic• Why would the columnist write this

article using satire?• For what purpose?

Satire Cartoons• Choose two cartoons from the packet• In the Personal Reflection section of

your log, answer the questions that accompany each cartoon

• Remember: When reading a comic strip-like cartoon, read from left to right, then go down to the next row of boxes