ANALYSIS:
Modern day Political Satire VS Ancient Greek Satire: Political Satire originated in the 4th century BCE in Greece, in what was known as the Aristophanic Comedy. Aristophanes was a playwright of ancient Athens who used comedy to mock and explicitly criticize the governmental system at the time. His powers of ridicule were feared and acknowledged by politicians of the time. Aristophanes’ comedy was peculiarly democratic in a period where democracy was in stages of instability in Ancient Greece. Also, his plays and art were addressed to and reflect the life of ordinary citizens, as his humor was addressed to everyone in the Greek society, as oppose to some sorts of arts that only appeal to certain social classes. Similarly, in …show more content…
All three satirists master the simplification of information, which many traditional media outlets fail to accomplish. I believe that audiences lose interest in learning about news and politics because the traditional media outlets do not seem to provide a product that is understandable. The three satirists provide products that not only educate in an easy way, but also engage their audiences to critically think about the tackled issues. Throwing implicit and constructive jokes trigger emotion and reason. All three humorists rely on their teams that are composed of reliable writers, political scientists, media observers, and comedians, which result in a refined and intelligent production. Subsequently, getting people to think critically about serious topics make them sentient citizens; hence they’re more likely to engage in politics and the political …show more content…
For example, Stephen Colbert played a significant role in revealing the weaknesses of a number of lawmakers such as Congressmen Robert Wexler and Lynn Westmorland. Similarly, Jon Stewart played a significant role in addressing controversial laws such Citizens United Vs. Federal Elections’ Commission and the blunt ammendment, allowing the public to learn about issues that it probably would not hear about otherwise. Also, perhaps, one of Stewart’s greatest achievements is when he played a paramount role in the passage of the Zadroga Bill in 2011. Comparably, Bassem Youssef challenged his country’s regime to tackle deficiencies of Egypt’s political system. Through being the devil’s advocate of the Egyptian media, he played a significant role in raising awareness of some of Egypt’s controversial foreign policies. Additionally, Youssef was one of the very few to defy the Army’s institution in Egypt when the latter claimed to have found a cure for HIV and AIDS. However, none of Stewart, Colbert and Youssef was able to lead far-reaching results that we may define as revolutionary in terms of political change. Certainly, political satire is a creative form of education that plays an undeniable role in providing information, but comedy per se is
Modern day Political Satire VS Ancient Greek Satire: Political Satire originated in the 4th century BCE in Greece, in what was known as the Aristophanic Comedy. Aristophanes was a playwright of ancient Athens who used comedy to mock and explicitly criticize the governmental system at the time. His powers of ridicule were feared and acknowledged by politicians of the time. Aristophanes’ comedy was peculiarly democratic in a period where democracy was in stages of instability in Ancient Greece. Also, his plays and art were addressed to and reflect the life of ordinary citizens, as his humor was addressed to everyone in the Greek society, as oppose to some sorts of arts that only appeal to certain social classes. Similarly, in …show more content…
All three satirists master the simplification of information, which many traditional media outlets fail to accomplish. I believe that audiences lose interest in learning about news and politics because the traditional media outlets do not seem to provide a product that is understandable. The three satirists provide products that not only educate in an easy way, but also engage their audiences to critically think about the tackled issues. Throwing implicit and constructive jokes trigger emotion and reason. All three humorists rely on their teams that are composed of reliable writers, political scientists, media observers, and comedians, which result in a refined and intelligent production. Subsequently, getting people to think critically about serious topics make them sentient citizens; hence they’re more likely to engage in politics and the political …show more content…
For example, Stephen Colbert played a significant role in revealing the weaknesses of a number of lawmakers such as Congressmen Robert Wexler and Lynn Westmorland. Similarly, Jon Stewart played a significant role in addressing controversial laws such Citizens United Vs. Federal Elections’ Commission and the blunt ammendment, allowing the public to learn about issues that it probably would not hear about otherwise. Also, perhaps, one of Stewart’s greatest achievements is when he played a paramount role in the passage of the Zadroga Bill in 2011. Comparably, Bassem Youssef challenged his country’s regime to tackle deficiencies of Egypt’s political system. Through being the devil’s advocate of the Egyptian media, he played a significant role in raising awareness of some of Egypt’s controversial foreign policies. Additionally, Youssef was one of the very few to defy the Army’s institution in Egypt when the latter claimed to have found a cure for HIV and AIDS. However, none of Stewart, Colbert and Youssef was able to lead far-reaching results that we may define as revolutionary in terms of political change. Certainly, political satire is a creative form of education that plays an undeniable role in providing information, but comedy per se is