A Not-So-Modest Proposal, Among Other Things

Is satire effective in exposing social ills? Most definitely. In actually affecting society and making things change, however, it is likely that most people feel fairly apathetic towards satire. They think it's funny, they feel offended. But does it actually make them change? No. Not really. In A Modest Proposal, nothing is more clear than the fact that Jonathan Swift has a problem with the suppression of the Irish, the elitism of the British, and Americans in general. He does a very good job of telling everyone in a very roundabout way what is wrong with society, who the targets are, and how he feels about all of it. Other people in our society today do this as well. People like John Stewart, John Oliver, and Stephen Colbert all have television shows where they do exactly the same thing as Jonathan Swift. They expose social ills in an attempt to jar us into action and do something about what is wrong with out society.

One of the things both modern satirists and ye olde satirists prove is how separate the social classes are. Jonathan Swift literally suggest that the aristocratic Brits wear clothing made of the lower classes in Ireland. "...the skin of [the infants] which artificially dressed will make admirable gloves for ladies and summer boots for fine gentlemen" (Swift 4). The idea in of itself is atrocious, but it shows how the upper class regards the lower class as animals in a way, such that they will skin the children and use their skin the way they use cow and pig hides. Many modern satirists use this idea as well, though they are not so graphic about it. In the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, the snobby, stereotypical main character is constantly trying to climb the social ladder and become one of the upper class despite being working class. Something she repeats is "It's my sister Daisy. She's not the one with the Mercedes, sauna, and room for a pony" (Keeping Up Appearances). This woman is constantly trying to prove that she is one of the upper class, revealing how most think of the working class people; not good enough. It exposes an ill that many are ill-prepared to deal with, because they see social classes as simply a part of their society. It isn't something they can do much about, as classes depend on jobs, and if everyone is in one class there will still be levels of that class. All this to say that society may recognize the problem here, but they will not do anything about it because they don't feel they can.

Now, even the best of satirists slips out of character sometimes, whether it be because of something they feel strongly about or the people they are targeting are just so blind to what is wrong with them. Jonathan Swift slips for just one paragraph, saying "I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children" (Swift 4). He uses scathing wit here to say that the landlords have already "devoured" the parents, or that they are being used up as much as they can be before being thrown out like so many chicken bones. The entire passage up until this point has been in the character of favoring the upper class while revealing that they care very little about the lower class, and this passage was incredibly opposite of that original point of view. In a piece that aired on The Daily Show, one of the people being interviewed is just so uncomprehending of how he is doing exactly what he is ridiculing. (Daily Show). He is blaming them and pointing at the camera, literally pointing the finger of blame in their direction for...pointing fingers. Sometimes, even when people are being satirized, they cannot see it. The audience might, but the fact that slipping out of character to point something out that the target doesn't even see just proves that though the audience may recognize the social problem the targets certainly will not, and as the targets are in the best position to do something about their own problem nothing will be solved.

Satirists are supposed to be apolitical. They need to be able to show the problems with society in a way that exposes everything, not just what they support. Jonathan Swift does an excellent job of this, and he shows that there is something seriously wrong with the British upper class for eating babies, the Irish for being willing to give up their babies for money, and the Americans for suggesting the whole thing in the first place. "I have been assured by a very knowing American...that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food..."(Swift 3). Then there's "...the maintenance of a hundred thousand children, from two years old and upward, cannot be computed at less than ten shillings a-piece per annum, the nation's stock will thereby be increased fifty thousand pounds per annum, besides the profit  of a new dish introduced to the tables of all gentlemen of fortune in the kingdom who have any refinement in taste" (Swift 6). These quotes both just show that not only are Americans well informed in the eating of infants (or having a very large gap in the social classes like the United Kingdom) but also that the Irish being willing to sell their children will increase their stock and that that gentlemen with refined taste will have more food (note the verbal irony). John Oliver discusses gun control with the Australian government, who were successful in passing a gun control law, and the American government, who stubbornly believe that if we can't fully solve the problem then we should do nothing at all. "People are the problem...you know, after spending this amount of time with you, Philip, I'm starting to believe that" (Daily Show). He spent much of the video telling the Australians that their law got people's political careers killed, and then agrees with the government official that didn't like the gun control law that people are most definitely the problem, meaning that both sides of the issue have problems from the opposite side's perspective. The Americans cared more about their political careers than the good of the country, therefore not successfully passing a law, and the Australians lost several good politicians because they did pass that law that didn't stop all gun violence in the entire country. Everyone has problems, and satire exposes those. But does anyone use satire to better themselves? The fact that America still has no gun control despite this clip airing says otherwise.

In short, satire can expose ills in society, be it through verbal irony, scathing wit, or just seeing Americans being total idiots in ways that everyone can recognize as having done at one point or another in their lives. But do people really take satire that seriously? Evidence points to know. Even though many people see the videos, read A Modest Proposal, all of the ills in society that are either not pointed out or have been pointed out many times remain. They recognize that there is a problem, yes, but they do not do much about it. Despite being told blatantly what is wrong with them, people either don't take it seriously or choose to be apathetic. Yes, it's funny. But satire is so layered, so deep in so many ways that the people being satirized cannot see, that it is up to those who can see what is wrong with them to do something. And, unfortunately, nobody does.

Jonathan Swiffer Sweeper

This is the title because this is the first thing that came to mind not only when I saw his name but also when I saw his hair. Like holy moly. That is some hair.

Anyway, Jonathan Swift was born on November 30th, 1667 (the best month, seeing as it also contains my birthday and Ender's Game) and very sadly grew up without a father. He was a very sickly child, and when he was young he was handed off to his uncle (late father's brother). Swift went to one of the top schools in Ireland at the time and grew up to be a clergyman and satirist, which to me seems like an unlikely combination. He wrote many books, perhaps the most famous being Gulliver's Travels. Oh, who am I kidding. I hadn't ever even heard of the other ones. That't pretty much his whole life right there.

Next up - a quote about Swift from someone else. Okay. This was really hard because although this guy had a lot of quotes there are not many that I could find that were about him. This is pretty much all I could find, though I quite like it nonetheless.

“Jonathan Swift made a soul for the gentlemen of this city by hating his neighbor as himself.” ~W.B. Yeats

This is very nice and I think it definitely describes a satirist quite well, thought it also makes me feel like it's something out of the Bible, which is fitting considering Swift was also a clergyman. Hating his neighbor as himself is the mark of a true satirist; being able to see something in himself and his neighbor and remarking upon it in the hope of bringing change that he perhaps has already implemented.

Finally, a quote from Jonathan Swift. Ah, yes. Much better. I chose the one that is not the most popular, but rather one that I enjoyed a bit more.

"One enemy can do more hurt than ten friends can do good." ~Jonathan Swift

This is not a very satirical quote, but this one speaks to me on a personal level. For me, the enemy is school. I am struggling this year for one of the first times ever and no matter what my friends tell me I still feel like I'm sinking. I know, I know, not the time for a personal rant, but oh well. I just never have time to do anything I want to anymore and I am always swamped with homework and I am falling behind and my grades are slipping...
Anyway.
Jonathan Swift. Fabulous hair. Incredibly sarcastic.
The end.

Hitsong to Save the World

This is the video I picked for satire. It is about two people in a futuristic society where making hit songs is banned. On a shallow level, this is about saving a music-impoverished country by making a new hit song. One that appeals to everyone, with a "chorus that's just woa-oa-oa so everyone can sing along" and "a dance that anyone can do". They use every trick in the book that makes a formulaic, catchy hit song featuring a powerful female vocalist, and that's all they're out to do. They succeed and they save the country, even taking out the stereotypical dictator while they're at it. It is really quite ridiculous that they take everything, even say that they need a dubstep break, and they still make a song that would be considered good on the radio. They poke fun at how every song nowadays sounds the same, but we enjoy them nonetheless. "So throw your mainstream hands in the air", 'cause you'll be singing it whether you mean to or not.

Now, this whole thing may seem a little strange. Okay, it's a lot strange. But it is very interesting and although it is hard to find a deeper meaning, I do have one. The deeper meaning behind this strange video is that we, as a society, are too reliant on music to take our mind off of things. To us, music saves the world and music should run a country. Now, I am a big fan of music, but I do not think that we should put Katy Perry or Eminem in charge of the government. This video also shows how we tend to put music first and ignore the real issues. That may not always be exactly true with everyone, but if you ask a teenager whether they would rather listen to new music, even if it is mainstream and isn't something they typically listen to or talk about politics, most would pick the music. Speaking as a teen, I think that more of us should start paying attention to things in the news rather than whose new music video just came out, which is what this video is saying on a deeper level is what we don't do but maybe should. This video is a witty way of asking us that, yes, it will be stuck in your head all day, but what were you doing listening to it in the first place? Wasn't there a better way you could have been spending your time? It's ironic, retribution that you will be humming the song for the rest of the day.

Hero's Journey Posters

So, my group's Hero's Journey poster was about Will Turner. And dang, he looks good in that absolutely fantastic hat. But fangirling aside, we thought that aside from looking nice on a wall, his story fit the Hero's Journey template quite nicely. Will Turner follows all the archetypal steps, albeit a little out of order (i.e. receiving the call to adventure after meeting his mentor, and refusing the call almost before it even happened). He was a very good hero, and despite the fact that Captain Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swan could also be argued as the main heroes of the Pirates of the Caribbean saga, Will Turner just seemed to fit everything better. And did I mention the hat? Our theme was directly derived from the movie, including a quote, and the treasure map idea came from one used later in the series. The kraken is also featured on our map, and he has a role in the second movie of the franchise. Basically, we drew on everything the series had to offer, even though our poster only spanned the course of events of one movie (the best one, in my opinion).

Being a bit biased, I liked our poster the best. But there are many more that were very good. The Life of Pi poster was very good. I liked the tiger stripes in particular, and despite having analyzed the book in depth in 8th grade, I never quite realized just how well Pi followed the hero's journey. The Nightmare Before Christmas poster was also excellent. It was clear that a lot of thought went into the design, and the paintings were absolutely amazing. I had watched the movie the night before seeing the poster, and the poster helped me grasp the concepts much better than when I had just watched it on its own. But my second favorite poster was the one for The Hobbit. This may have been in part because, again, apart from our own, this was my favorite of the movies that were used as posters. But I really liked that they put Sting on there, and I absolutely loved how they used the ring as the "o" in Bilbo's name. I wish there had been more about Smaug, since he is pretty fabulous himself, but there isn't much of him in the first movie, which was the one chosen seeing as the next installment hasn't come out yet. 

But anyway. He's a dragon. And dragons are cool.

My iPod is Psychic

So when I'm bored, or having a lot of feelings, or just trying to avoid my responsibilities (*cough* homework *cough*) I listen to music. And my music choice is incredibly diverse. Mainly because my mom has this tendency to hear something on the radio and then buy it because she really likes it. Which is fantastic, but on occasion something pops up that I have never heard before but fits my situation perfectly.
In conclusion, my iPod is psychic.
But actually. Just last week when we were writing about the beginning of that Joseph Campbell packet, it started playing "Round and Round" by Imagine Dragons. The lyrics of that song helped inspire my post about the phoenix and how everything is a cycle, like the hero's journey or a phoenix.
And then there are times like today when I'm trying to think of something to write, my music is on, and a scream sound effect that I downloaded for a thing I made with my friends plays. Which, although it sort of sums up how I feel about trying to come up with something random to write about, was extremely startling.
I give up. I have nothing more to say. I wish I could be deeper and write about what I actually think rather than trying to make my everyday happenstances funny. It is most definitely not working.
So, have a picture of a "psychic". Maybe next week there will be something worthwhile up here.

Heroes and Monsters

“Whether you call someone a hero or a monster is all relative to where the focus of your consciousness may be.”

Joseph Campbell goes on to compare this with a German soldier and an American sent to kill him. Depending on which you view as the “good guys”, they are the ones in the right. Being American, I see the American as the one in the right for killing a German soldier. But, if you think about it, as Joseph Campbell and his interviewer did, this German soldier is as much of a hero as the American. He is fighting for what he believes as a worthy cause, and even if he was forced into his position he still fought and died a hero’s death. The same goes for the American. He may have been forced into his line as well, and he may not have wanted to kill someone, and to him that is a despicable deed, painting him as the “bad guy”.

Good and bad are incredibly subjective. I have found, oftentimes, that in reading a book I am drawn more to the antagonists and their reasoning than the protagonist, with their often over-told and just plain boring, formulaic storyline. The antagonist undergoes incredible character development, forced into their way of thinking by some earth-shattering catalyst for them that flips the universe upside-down and makes them either hold on or slip and float into the abyss, going insane. As they go further and further into what the protagonist considers insanity, the antagonist is usually doing as much as they can to retain any semblance of humanity, and they are a tortured soul fleeing the remains of their life in search of something that may help them become, in their mind, better.

Well, at least that’s what happens if the book is any good.

But the point of good and evil fighting remains, and in many stories you wind up cheering for the serial killer, or the pirates, because you know their side and you agree with them, you think they’re correct in what they’re doing, and even if what they do is morally wrong, well, you understand that they had to. And then the navy, or the government, or the saviors are the ones persecuting you for doing what you must in order to survive, to not let the voices in your head, your past, come to the forefront of everything and swallow you whole.

In reality, you are both just doing your jobs.

Reborn from the Ashes

Furthermore, we have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The labyrinth is thoroughly known. We only have to follow the thread of the hero path, and where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god. And where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves. Where we had thought to travel inwards, we will come to the center of our own existence. And where we had thought to be alone, we will be with all the world. ~Joseph Campbell ~

This quote reminds me of a phoenix. Phoenixes grow old, burst into flames, and die. Then they come out of the ashes reborn. What Joseph Campbell is saying here is similar to the idea of a phoenix. In the thought of killing another, we slay ourselves. By traveling outward, we travel in. And in death, there is rebirth. The phoenix is also used as a symbol of hope, of being able to make it through your hardest struggle, the fire, and becoming reborn, a better, stronger person. In that hardest moment, when we feel that we are alone in our misery, the whole world understands. Everyone has a misery they need to overcome. The labyrinth is well known because everyone has been through it, come in touch with themselves, and the heroes' stories are simply the best known. Even the best of us, the heroes of the real life story, had to make it through the labyrinth, find themselves, slay themselves, and make it back out better than they were before.

We may think we are alone but we are all going in the same circles. Life and death, strife and success, in and out. When we think we are going crazy, there is always someone else out there who understands, who can help us out of the maze.