Humor vs Satire
Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:56 am
It would be nice to see satire added to the list of categories. I'm sure you're asking yourself, "Aren't humor and satire the same thing?"
On the outside, you would be correct. There's only one problem. Humor has more rules associated to it than satire does. I learned this when an author for The Onion reviewed one of my pieces and gave his feedback.
With satire, there aren't many rules. Under that blanket you can do or say just about anything. In a standard piece of humor, or in an article, if you had President Bush saying, "Americans are tired those commie tree-huggers. We therefore have created the Department for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation of Trees," you'd wind up in trouble. Under the category of satire, the writer can get away with that quote and so much more.
Basically, humor and satire are technically different categories. Where one can land you in a court room, the other has been protected time and again as an expression of the first amendment of the constitution. Something for you to consider.
Thanks,
Barry
On the outside, you would be correct. There's only one problem. Humor has more rules associated to it than satire does. I learned this when an author for The Onion reviewed one of my pieces and gave his feedback.
With satire, there aren't many rules. Under that blanket you can do or say just about anything. In a standard piece of humor, or in an article, if you had President Bush saying, "Americans are tired those commie tree-huggers. We therefore have created the Department for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation of Trees," you'd wind up in trouble. Under the category of satire, the writer can get away with that quote and so much more.
Basically, humor and satire are technically different categories. Where one can land you in a court room, the other has been protected time and again as an expression of the first amendment of the constitution. Something for you to consider.
Thanks,
Barry