What do the following all have in common?

• The Daily Show• South Park• Saturday Night

Live• Dave Chapelle• “Epic Movie”,

“Date Movie”

• •

•

Satire!

• Literary Term:– They all ridicule (makes fun of) human

weakness, vice or folly in order to bring about social change!

– How??? By making fun of or criticizing the obvious in rather ironic (and often hilarious) ways

Techniques Used in Satire:

• Generalization: all…

• Reversal: when the opposite of what is expected occurs

• Incongruity: warped logic

• Parody: making fun of what normally occurs

• Exaggeration: understatement and overstatement

“Saturday Night Live”

• http://www.hulu.com/watch/37730/saturday-night-live-vp-debate-open-palin--biden

Examples of Satire in “Saturday Night Live”

• Generalization:

• Reversal:

• Incongruity:

• Parody:

• Exaggeration:

Satire & “Saturday Night Live”: What criticisms were the writers’ making of…

John McCain “Maverick”

Gay Marriage Palin’s Intelligence

Voltaire:Candide:

Understanding “Candide”:

A Closer Look at Voltaire

Who is Voltaire?

• “Voltaire” (1694-1778)• Could be seen as the embodiment of the 18th-

century Enlightenment• Different from other French philosophers• Examines the negative, and as a result mistrusts

people• Criticized government and religion

– Imprisoned twice, writings banned, exiled, denied proper burial

• Studied English philosophers (Locke & Hobbs) to try to change France

Voltaire’s Outlook

• Glass is always half….

Journal #1- Part A

• What is your perspective? Is the cup half full or half empty? What has led you to feel this way? What makes this perspective flawed?

How do will we see satire in “Candide”…

• Works essentially to satirize Leibnitz

• Leibnitz was another philosopher who’s opinions differed greatly from Voltaire.

• Voltaire disliked Leibnitz and all those who were “stupid” enough to follow/agree with him.

Leibnitz vs. Voltaire

• Voltaire thought that:

1. People basically do what makes sense for their situation, and will do what they have to do- regardless of how that might effect others.

2. The world is bad- denying that fact is even worse

EffectCause

Leibnitz vs. Voltaire

Leibnitz thought that:

• People are intrinsically good, and because

of this we are all in the best possible

world. (Theme= Denial of evil)

• Keep in mind that during this time people believed that we could have a perfect world if we only follow all of the rules

Journal #1- Part B

• If it were possible to live in the “best of all possible worlds” (a utopia- seen in writings of Plato & More) right here on earth, what would such a place be like? What kinds of things would you not find there? If someone told you that we already live in the “best of all possible worlds,” how would you respond? Write a paragraph expressing your ideas.

Vocabulary List:

• candor n.: honesty and frankness; fair, unbiased attitude.

• pensive adj.: thinking seriously.

• vivacity n.: liveliness.

• prudent adj.: careful in behavior, cautious.

• discretion n.: prudence; quality of being cautious about one’s behavior.

• disconcert v.: unsettle; confuse.

• ingenious adj.: original; clever.

Overview of Candide

• Major Characters: Candide, Baron/Baroness, Cunegonde, Pangloss

• Plot: Candide is a young man in love with a girl (his cousin actually). He is forced to leave her, and spends his days trying to find her again. Along the way he experiences a series of unfortunate events….

Themes

• The uselessness of philosophy

• The hypocrisy of religion

• The corrupting power of money

• The stupidity of optimism