For this last week of November, I will conclude my take on the satire genre by giving my review of the five examples that I have been using.
Before I begin, I have an announcement for my December posts: I would like to try a holiday-themed choose-your-own-story. Each week will be another “chapter,” and I would like your input on the premise for the entire story.
Viewers can vote on the Appspot website and Facebook page via comments, but only one vote will count per identifiable person. For example, the same person voting on both platforms will only count as one vote. At the end of each chapter (barring the finale), there will be a list of possible directions the story can go, which also will be voted on. Whichever suggestion receives the most votes wins. For each week, a viewer can suggest a premise (Week 1) or idea for the next chapter, and if it gains the most votes, it will be the direction taken.
The first chapter, and premise for the entire story, can be one of the following:
- Rudolph’s Revenge: Exiled from the North Pole, a certain red-nosed reindeer is not playing any games about the corrupt operations.
- Foiled Yeti-Gan: A covert squad of elves must team up with surprise allies to defeat the evil Dr. Yeti and save Christmas.
- The Snowman of Coldwood University: A serial killer strikes a college dorm, and a group of students must act before he murders again.
- The Crammed Bus: A young couple vacationing at a ski resort faces trouble when an avalanche traps them there.
Please vote for whichever option you would like to read. Also note that each story will likely be equivalent to “R” rated in terms of language, violence, and adult themes (barring explicit sexual content), as my upcoming novel is. Now, that is enough for next month; let us finish the current one.
Going counter-alphabetically, we have Mel Brooks’s Spaceballs. I can only sit through this movie while intoxicated, which is why I will give two separate scores for it. Some moments are memorable and a handful of jokes age well, but not enough for a sober adult to gain much. Even for a satire, it does not do much with the targeted subject, merely making a mirror of it.
Plot: 1/4 sober, 2/4 drunk
Characters: 1/4 sober, 2/4 drunk
World-building: 1/4 sober, 1/4 drunk
Details: 1/4 sober, 3/4 drunk
Miscellaneous: 1/4 sober, 2/4 drunk
Total: 5/20 sober, 10/20 drunk
Moving on, Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s South Park is a show I have been watching since childhood. With over twenty seasons, it is a powerhouse of social commentary, and there is not a single episode that has not made me laugh nor think harder/more on the subject depicted.
No need for each category. 20/20.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is another favorite. A comedic icon, where if you make one reference in a room full of people, at least one will come back with the next line from the film (or, at least, make another reference). While no viewing will ever be as immediately funny as the first time, a couple of drinks restores that initial charm.
Plot: 3/4 (the disappointing end scene is enough to dock a point, unfortunately)
Characters: 4/4
World-building: 4/4
Details: 4/4
Misc.: 4/4
Total 19/20
Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is next on the list. A fun philosophical journey, the novel did not intend to satirize sci-fi itself, but rather chose to use sci-fi as the tool to satirize humanity and its search for meaning. The book succeeds at taking on serious subjects without taking itself too seriously, a good balance for the genre.
Plot: 3/4
Characters: 3/4
World-building: 4/4
Details: 3/4
Misc.: 4/4
Total: 17/20
To round us all off, Voltaire’s Candide is a brilliantly irreverent, deceptively cutting, and comically tragic lampoon. Particularly bold for its time, it may not have the same impact nowadays, yet it has nevertheless inspired generation after generation of satirists for over two centuries.
Plot: 4/4
Characters: 2/4
World-building: 3/4
Details: 4/4
Misc.: 4/4
Total: 17/20
It has been a pleasure returning to one of my favorite genres. And with the upcoming posts in December, you may see how I bring such stories to life.
Do not forget to vote on your favorite option, or suggest your own.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving; and I hope everyone had a Happy Veterans Day.
Note: all works and characters are the property of their respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, research, commentary, and or parody. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
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