AP Lit and Satire
Welcome to AP Literature!
I'm using this blog address to continue discussion through the spring. Anyone familiar with the content, regardless of enrollment in the class, is welcome to comment.
As we've been discussing, satire mocks in order to bring about a change in society. Usually these paradigm changers are castigated for dragging others out of the cave toward what the satirists view as enlightenment. The current controversy over political cartoons depicting Muhammed is a prime example. Can you find other historical examples or references of satirists who have gone too far? This is an all play, but you must still play by the school rules and not post any inflammatory or obscene content. (For example, note the discretion of the above link indicating the controversy, but not actually posting the potentially offensive material.)
Points awarded!
posted by erdecker @ 10:10 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
A man by the name of Tom Toles recently had a controversial cartoon published. At least the Joint Chiefs of Staff found it insulting. In his cartoon, Toles depicts a "Dr." Rumsfeld standing next to a limb-less soldier saying that he is listing the soldier's condition as "battle hardened." I too found the cartoon to be in bad taste. Like depicting Muhammad in a cartoon of Muhammad, this touches a very sensitive nerve for Americans, especially those with armed service men and women currently stationed overseas. The cartoonist has a right to do what he wants, but he must expect a lot of criticism if he wants to depict highly controversial images.
If anyone wants to see the cartoon for themselves Google Tom Toles Cartoons and/or image search it. I'm sure you can find it.
-Adam Kephart
The movie "Team America World Police" went too far in satirizing the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il. Although the movie's depiction of him was intended to be funny, many people (including me!) were offended. The movie showed the dictator having an evil grin, small physical size, and a lust for weapons of mass destruction. Like the controversial Muhammed cartoon, this makes many Koreans very, very angry!
By portraying Kim Jong-il in such an indecent manner, the movie bascially implies that all Koreans are deceitful, ugly, cynically talkative, and only want to nuke the world. Not True!
Watch the movie or Google "Team America" and go to images to understand how I feel.
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