What is satire? Satire arouses laughter or contempt as a means of ridicule and derision, with the avowed intention of correcting human faults. Common targets of satire include individuals, types of people, social groups, institutions, and human nature. Like tragedy and comedy, satire is often a mode of writing introduced into various literary forms; it is only a genre when it is the governing principle of a work. It can also be defined as “satire points out the difference between actual practice and an approved standard of living”. An example of a popular satirical piece would be Barry Levinson’s motion picture “Wag the dog”, which uses an exceptional combination of sarcasm, humour and cynicism to satire America’s politics, the Presidential election & conspiracy and the ignorance of the public when it comes to distinguishing fact from fictions that has been over exaggerated by the media and America’s undercover agencies such as the CIA. Other examples of satire can be perceived in Somerville’s rare stamp collection, Matt Groening’s “The Simpson’s” pamphlet on “Springfield’s Nuclear Power Plant” and

Humour has been produced through the use of ridicule and irony in the “Sydney 2000 Olympics” stamp. The severity of performance enhancing drugs being used to give athletes an advantage is being satirised within this piece. The stamp consists of the 5 Olympic rings at the top, and in capitalised letters “SYDNEY 2000”. Bellow and centred, an athlete is depicted with a syringe protruding from his leg. The usual Olympic phrase of “Share the Spirit” has been made into a small parody “Share the Pharmaceuticals”. The difference between actual practice and an approved standard of behaviour is that of how wrong and unsuitable cheating is as ‘cheaters never win’.

The CIA is brought in half way through the movie, after hearing about this conspiracy started by the president’s employees, they had planned to put an end to it by eliminating the people who were controlling the operation. But instead the CIA is convinced to let them go. The spin doctors are left thinking they were left of easy only to find out the CIA had ended their ‘war’. The satirical point here is that the CIA can also do anything they wish, just as the president.

Lastly, “Wag the Dog” uses a large amount of sarcasm, to satirise the public’s inability to distinguish fact from fictions and being so naïve.

Satire points out the difference between actual practice and an approved standard of behaviour. In Barry Levinson’s motion picture “Wag the Dog” satire is expressed though many ways. The main targets which are satirised in the movie are America’s politics, the Presidential election & conspiracy, the ignorance of the public when it comes to distinguishing fact from fiction that has been over exaggerated by the media and America’s undercover agencies such as the CIA.

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