Honors 220
Writing Assignment #3

As we begin to talk about more recent satires, especially those in film and on TV, we need to reflect on how satire works in these media and how it deals with issues for a more contemporary audience.

We also have a larger final project coming up that you need to begin preparing for.

So, with this in mind, I want you to watch a half hour television show sometime in the next two weeks (over break perhaps) and write a 2-3 page paper analyzing the show's satiric subject matter and techniques.

Due: March 31.

Here are some shows to choose from:

                                The Simpsons                         The Chappelle Show

                                Family Guy                             South Park

                        The Colbert Report                   Mad TV

                               The Daily Show                        Saturday Night Live (several sketches)

As we have been doing with earlier satires, you should identify the target(s) of the satire and then comment on how the satire works -- what format it uses (a narrative, a news broadcast, stand-up, interview, etc.) and what techniques are employed (exaggeration, irony, parody, reversal of point of view, etc.).

It's useful to remember that there can be several targets in a satire. Something like The Daily Show has different targets for each "story" or interview. A sketch show like Chappelle or SNL has multiple targets and a variety of formats within the overall show. And even a narrative like South Park or The Simpsons can work on several levels at the same time within the same episode, although there may be one overriding satiric target.

This project is to get you thinking about some of the shows we will be dealing with in class after spring break. It will also be a warm up for the final project which will be a full analysis of a larger work of satire, either a novel, a play, or a film, a comedy album, or musical parodies.

Use the essays (pp. 172-189) on "Satire in the Age of Political Correctness," "Women Satirists," and "African American Satirists" for ideas that you can apply in your analysis. Be sure to reference one or more of these commentaries on contemporary satire in your paper.