| Making fun of politicians has been going on for as long as there's been organizedgovernments. Political satire was quite common during the reign of the Roman Empire . Politicians are easy targets for any type of comedian, but the political humor of satiristsjust seem to strike a chord with the general public. In political satire comedians generallypoint out in a humorous way the faults and follies of particular politicians that we allnotice. Most of the time these satires don't take one side or the other they just poke fun
at all sides. A good example of political humor is Jib Jab, a comedy team famous for their political parodies. Jib Jab writers are making a good living off of the Bush Administration. Another example is Capitol Steps a comedy team based in Washington .
They perform a musical type of political satire poking fun at politicians and the goings on generally in the nation's capitol. Some of the current members of Capitol Steps were once employees of the senate themselves.
They say never bite the hand that feeds you. Not only has the Capitol Steps bitten that hand but it appears they will have plenty to chew on for a long time. A Canadian based group the Royal Canadian Air Farce is also an extremely funny comedy troupe, dealing mostly with political humor and political satire.
All satires are not meant to be funny. In some cultures where speaking out publicly about
Political issues are strictly forbidden, satire is sometimes used in newspapers and other media forms to get a particular point across.
There are also many types of satire besides political satire . Television shows such as The Simpson's and South Park depend on satire on a regular basis. TV shows like This Hour Has 22 Minutes and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart satirizes news programs all the time.
An early example of satirical writing is a story by Aristophanes called The Frogs written in the fourth century BC. Another great example is Aesop's Fables written 200 years earlier. If you are looking for more modern examples of political satire , check out Saturday Night Live or The Colbert Report.
There are literally dozens of TV shows and internet sites that use political satire as a particular form of political humor . So you see there is no reason not to laugh every day. Just remember laughter is always the best medicine. |
