Introduction
Alexander III, son of Philip II, king of Macedon, was,
according to this guy, Gary, who takes your money at
the door of Centerfolds, gay. Meaning, of course, that
Gary, who works at Centerfolds, thought that Alexander
III, son of Philip II, king of Macedon, was gay.
Furthermore, Philip II, king of Macedon, was not gay.
Nor was Gary, who works the door at Centerfolds, gay.
Alexander III, however, who was rumored to be the son
of Philip II, king of Macedon, was, according to Gary,
down at Centerfolds, gay.
(Author's note: Concerned that his repetitive use of the
adjective, gay [in the sense that the one described is a
homosexual who enjoys having sex with members of
the same sex] might lead others to question his own
sexuality - which was not homosexual at all - the writer
decided a new tactic was called for. One involving
clearer syntax and less Magic Marker sniffing.)
Besides being a purely literary genre, satire must also
be looked at as a form of humor. There are many
philosophies about humor, but most of them I disagree
with and they will be, for the purposes of this paper,
ignored.
How do we move satire from the "fun" realm of humor
to the stodgier arena of literary consideration? And why
would I do something so cliché as to start a paragraph
with a question? Let us deal with the first question first:
Modernism, according to the Dictionary of Theories,
"uses self-consciousness and technical innovations to
disrupt the 'common sense' of traditional discourse." In
the realm of theatre we can see this approach in the
work of Bertolt Brecht's use of such devices as the
Alienation Effect and Epic Theatre. The Alienation Effect
is defined as the "use of estranging theatrical devices
- narration, unrealistic dialogue, anachronistic
costume - to unsettle the audiences' reception of a
play, forcing them into an attitude of critique, Epic
Theatre is an "anti-representational style of theatre in
which narration, unfamiliar settings and other
estranging techniques are used in order to prevent the
audience from identifying with the subject, encouraging
a rational critique of contemporary social, economic
and political practices."
Other literary examples include the Russian formalism
of Viktor Shklovsky. Sklovsky believed that "perception
became dulled, or automated, through familiarity. Art
prevents automatization by confronting the reader with
the difficulty of poetic devices, making perception an
active process and restoring clarity of perception and
offering a new unfamiliar perspective."
Modernism seems to be an attempt to create a sense
of separation between the art and the viewer, in order to
make the viewer think and to see life from a unique
perspective. Two literary devices used to create
unfamiliarity include: stream of consciousness, which
imitates the fragmentary, associative nature of thought;
and Interior Monologue, where "a character's thoughts
are represented as direct thought, using first person,
present tense sentences, subjective point of view, and
fragmented syntax framed by third person narration."
This creation of a schism between what is represented
and what is perceived is similar to the way satire takes
a humorous approach to a serious situation. By
mocking something with satire, the satirist makes
acceptance of an idea, or a certain perspective, seem
ridiculous, thereby forcing the reader to re-analyze an
idea from a different approach. Satiric writing from any
period tends to stand up well to "modernist" critical
interpretation, just as it often remains popular with
contemporary audiences and 30-year-old men who live
in their parents' basements. But enough about me.
Continued
