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Political satire is very common nowadays and it is one of the most unique sources of entertainment for the general masses. A political satire is basically a sarcastic critique or examination of the political dynamics of a particular country. The main purpose of such satire is to expose the hypocrisy and irrationality of the political personalities or the parties. There are many kinds of political satires that currently exist in the world (which will be discussed later).

Main Targets

The most common entities which are targeted in a political satire are the political parties, politicians, legislation and the political media as well. Political satire can be done in various ways. Sometimes it may simply mean making fun of a political party’s representative such as making fun of his or her dress up etc. In some cases satires are intended to expose a person’s fault. For example political people preaching respect of women are exposed by showing their own misconduct with women etc.

The Greatest Challenge

The biggest challenge while going for political satire is to create a balance between apt political analysis and humor. If the balance is broken and if the satirist makes too many jokes then that can turn out to be an absolute mockery. Similarly a simple political analysis without any comedy at all can also damage the work of a satirist as that will turn out to be a simple political attack.

Forms of Political Satire

As mentioned earlier political satires can take various forms. Political satires have a long history and most of the forms of political satires have been there for centuries.  The first from of political satire can be termed as Prose satire. This type of political satire is often seen in the newspapers of today. This type of satire often takes the form of a newspaper article.

The second form of political satire is Editorial Cartoons. This kind of satire was developed back in the 20^th and the 19^th century. Most of these satires contain a panel of single cartoon. This kind of satire is commonly seen in the Newspapers of Today.

Another famous form of political satire is through television shows. In these shows fake news is created and the shows are run as if the news is real. These shows gain popularity usually during the election season.

7 Continents, 195 countries, and 7.4 Billion people. This is world summed up in numbers. Each country has its own Government, but none of the government has a 100% satisfied nation. In every country there are always some people, or sometimes many, who find flaws in their politicians. Nobody is completely pleased by the political body running their respective countries.People having the freedom of speech, or having a platform through which they can make sure that their voices are heard, is pretty rare. It is quite controversial to openly say something to a politician, either who raises the voice is killed or his/her voice never reaches the politician’s desk. The safer way to get your message through is the political satire. In this way, you’re still saying what you want to, but you target doesn’t feel offended.

Satire is basically done for corrective purposes, it totally not meant to hurt someone’s ego. A critical approach with humor is what satire is. This thing itself is an art, not everyone can do it, and those who can are super cautious while doing it. Media is the biggest medium for political satire. Every now and then you can see parodies of various politicians on TV, or jokes in newspaper. In short there are various methods of Political Satire, few of them are as follows.

You must have seen a lot of parody shows, where various artists come in get up of different politicians and mimic them. They copy their way, add humor to it and add a touch of sarcasm too. This kind of criticism doesn’t hurt anyone’s feeling, but is effective enough to get the message through. Such parody shows are quite popular and have a quite high TRP as well. Not only the audience finds it funny, but some politicians have alsobeen seen laughing at their imitations.

Moreover Newspapers are no less than a TV in terms of medium. Where TVs don’t reach, papers do. Column Writers (people who write for newspaper) are really good at political satires. Their criticism is much more formal and has a high level of intellect, only people with sound knowledge of politics and current affairs tend to get the writers sarcasm. Though the satire is very subtle, but its impact is quite heavy. Next, you must have seen cartoons of various political heads in newspaper, artist carefully amalgamate a message, humor and sarcasm in a single picture. That is humorous and awakening at the same time.Then articles in magazines, short movies, mimicry done by average people and etc, all these are ways of political satire.

Sarcasm doesn’t go heavy on anyone, but yet it shows him/her the mirror. Political satire is definitely one of the best ways to get your message through. It’s a lesson for the politicians and at the same time hilarious for the people. This method is used all over the world to tease and teach the political leaders.

Political satire is a type of art in which human shortcomings are highlighted through ridicule, irony and other such methodologies. The main purpose of these satires is to bring about an improvement in the overall system of the society. Political satires can also be termed as a positive critique which is done along with humor and comedy.

Mediums: Political Satires

There are many mediums nowadays through which political satires can be done. Among these mediums, the best is drama and literature. Nowadays visual arts, films and political cartoons are also used by political satirists.

History

Historical Records tell us that political satires have been there since the time of Greeks.  Very appealing political satires have been found in the Greek literature. The Roman history is also not short of satires. The satires of popular satirists of Rome like Horace and Juvenal are worth reading even today. Reading the text of these two greats give two different definitions of a satirist. According to Horace, a satirist is a person who sees insanity everywhere in the society. However rather than being Angry, he or she is often seen laughing. According to Juvenal, a satirist has a very dignified personality and he or she is often angry with corrupt behavior of the society.

The Era of Elizabeth

The reign of Queen Elizabeth can be termed as a Golden Age for the satirists. This is the age when the world produced well-Known Satirists like Jonathan Swift, Voltaire and Daniel Defoe. These people wrote some classical stuff and most of their work was very much straight forward. The famous work of Voltaire by the name of Candide gives one the impression that life is very beautiful however it is not short of Tragedies.  Similarly Jonathan Swift tried to highlight the cruelty of the world in which we live in. Lastly Daniel Defoe made some serious critique on the Monarchs.

The Evolution

Each period has produced great satirists of its time. As mentioned earlier, the Elizabethan satire had its own class. The Persian political satire has its own class and the Anglo-American satire gives a different feel to the reader. As a reader one finds lot of differences in the satires of different periods. The main reason behind this fact is that each period had its own different political scenario.

The Modern Political Satire

Though prose and cartoon political satire is also entertained by the masses however the type of political satire which has gained some serious fame among the masses is Television Shows. Many political satirists of television have become well-known celebrities today. The well-known political satirists of today are:

• Trevor Noah
• Lenny Bruce
• Bill Maher
• Jon Stewart
• George Carlin
• Stephen Colbert
• Rick Mercer
• Peter Cook
• Maddox
• Ian Hislop

Famous Shows

Some of the famous shows related to Political Satire are as follows:

• Show
• The Larry Slanders Show
• Bill Hicks
• The Thick of It

What is Political Satire?

A political Satire is a type of Satire whose purpose is to extract entertainment from the political scenario of a particular country. A political satire can also be used with an intent which is subversive nature; however this usage is more applicable to regimes who forbid freedom of speech. A political satire should not be confused with political dissent and alike. The major difference between political satire and political protest is that political satire may not carry a particular agenda, rather in most of the cases it is usually done to educate the audience and to provide them with entertainment.

What are the names of some Popular Political Satirists?

Some of the most popular political satirists are as follows

• Aristophanes
• Plato
• Juvenal
• Chaucer
• Tery Parker
• Mark Stone
• Orwell
• Ambrose Bierce
• Voltaire
• Jonathan Swift
• Erasmus
• Jon Stewart
• Stephen Colbert
• Chris Morris
• Dorothy Parker
• Gaius Lucilius
• Mark Russell
• Peter Cook
• Rick Mercer
• Charlie Brooker
• Ian Hislop
• Martin Sonneborn

What are the popular TV Shows(involving political satire)?

Some of the famous TV shows, which involve political satire, are as follows

• Veep
• The Thick of It
• Yes Minister
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
• extra 3
• Alpha House
• The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore
• Weekend Update of Saturday Night Live
• Simpsons

What are the popular Books involving Political Satire?

Some books that have gained popularity among the masses are as follows

• You Got to Dance with Them What Brung You by Molly Ivins
• The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer
• Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Caligula for President: Better American Living Through Tyranny by Cintra Wilson
• OPUS: 25 Years of His Sunday Best by Berkley Breathed
• Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush’s America by Molly Ivins
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
• Dude, Where’s My Country? By Michael Moore
• Pugad Baboy 6 by Pol Medina Jr.
• Cat’s Cradle By Kurt Vonnegut
• The White House Mess by Christopher Buckley
• Downsize This! By Michael Moore
• Stupid White Men By Michael Moore

What’s this Site About?

The site is a perfect platform for individuals who are enthusiastic about political satires. Through this site one can download some of the best shows, articles and classical works on political satires. The site also has a chat forum where one can share ideas and get useful information with other like-minded individuals.

Political Satire is a well-known art that has been there for quite some time now. In every Era or age you will find people satirizing their political system in one way or another. In the Modern times we see most of the satirizing on TV shows however in the past most of this satirizing was done through writing and literature. The names of people like Plato, Voltaire and Jonathan Smith are well known in this regard. Political satire is healthy for a society and in the democratic governments of today it is encouraged and perhaps this is the reason why you see people openly criticizing the political personalities of today in developed countries like USA, UK and Germany.

There are many forms of political satire, however in the modern era satirists usually use mediums like political cartoons, animated movies, Books and TV shows. Particularly the Television shows are very popular. If you have been the witness of the recent presidential campaign of USA then you must have seen how popular these shows can be and how much following they can create. These shows are still on air today and it is very much predictable that these shows will further increase in the future.

Political Satire is not an easy thing and a balance has to be maintained while doing it. Too much comedy can destroy a political satire and similarly too much analysis can also destroy it. One has to take a moderate approach to make it effective. The rule applies to all kinds of satires weather one is doing a TV show, writing a book or anything else. To become an effective political satirist one has to work hard, yes natural talent is necessary however that talent needs to be nurtured to get positive outcomes.

Through this website, we will be sharing with you some of the works written by some of the best political satirists. We will also share with you some classical works written by people like Plato, Erasmus and Jonathan swift.  You can purchase these books from this website with ease and the books will be delivered to your mentioned addresses.

We will also share with you some of the famous political satire shows. You can find all the videos of these shows through our website. Our website is a hub of antiques and some of the oldest shows can be watched by you from here. As a member of our website you can also use our chat forum and share ideas with like-minded people like you.

Our website is a perfect platform for people who want to learn the art of political satire. Useful articles and guidelines shared by famous authors and hosts of the world can also be accessed by you through our website.