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Anthony Grant
Mrs. Olivia Rines
UWRIT 1101
04 February 2015
Satirical Websites
Satirical websites bring a newer genre into the digital age. Due to their satirical websites
nature of being so new, not much many formal research or papersresearch papers or formal
studies have been written completed about the subject breaking it down to the genre that is
fallsit falls into. This is not to say satire has not been analyzed, however the this newer digital
version is still being felt out by academics about what it typically entails and the rules it
typically would follow. If one you takes the broad satire genre as the basis for analyzing website
satire, you will define it the same as a literature offline satire piece. Satire literature is defined as
forms of humorous expression that, by definition, deploy irony to criticize vice and raise
awareness. (qtd in Lehman). In laymans terms, satire informs the general public of an issue
quickly and ironically drawing attention to points over looked but do bring questions to the
subject at hand and typically are trying to start a movement towards an end goal. The more
official definition of online satire is a form of art as well as a critique which exposes, ridicules,
and criticizes human and social vices, follies, and shortcomings by use of parody, irony, travesty,
and grotesquery (qtd in Tang, Bhattacharya).
To understand the genre of website satire. most things will be understood without much
explanation. The location of the genre is online and will most always focus on a current event,
be it political or cultural issues. Almost every satire will start with a bold, captivating, and often

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witty title followed by a picture that has been taken far from context. Often times the picture
used for the article would show someone or something that actually had has very little to do with
the issue at hand.

An example would beFor instance, if an article is poking fun at the

Democratic Party they will typically use a picture of any of the Democratic Partys
representatives that are in a compromising situation or with an odd expression on their face
regardless if the representative was directly involved in the said issue they are talking about..
Traditionally Typically any good satirical websites article will not exceed three to four
paragraphs. This is due to the need to hold the audiences attention and not lose them that
attention before the punch line is delivered. The most important part to consider with the
audience is that they (the audience) must be more for the writers view and not sympathize with
the person or idea being ridiculed or the writing itself will have the opposite effect that is wanted.
For instance, if a writer is against the Democratic Party, he needs to target a conservative group
or at least someone who is not a diehard Democratic supporter, or they will not accept the
message. Typically the audience will also be part of the public that a social change is being
directed toward.
Lets begin to dissect a particular article found on The Onion. The Onion is a well-known
and quite possibly the best known satire site. The Onion that had has very few topics that it will
not raise into question so concern about a current problem facing the world. The article Biden
Arrives Early to Set up State of The Union Fog Machine is a prime example of political satire.
The article says that Joe Biden is setting up a fog machine that will also use with lights and
strobes for the upcoming State of the Union address by President Obama making it a spectacle
with all the fanfare of a rock concert. It says that he is going to make the event fun so it get the
crowd going. (qtd in Biden Arrives Early To Set Up State Of The Union Fog Machine)

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In this particular article, the main audience is the voting age public not specific to party
affiliation. The article primarily poked fun at the amount of fanfare that politics of late have
incorporated into the most mundane political happenings, specifically the recent attempts to
bring in the younger voting generation, Democrats have begun to try to make everything more
hip so they can show they can relate to the younger generation. Also brought inmentioned into
the article is the brief mention of money, this primarily shows that most of the extra fan-fare
involved in these sessions costs more money than it would have if the State of the Union went on
as it normally should have. This reference though vague, is in response to how the political
game as of the past few years has actually set many records for money spent and money raised
that would not have been thought of a few decades ago. This article, hHowever, does have one
piece of framework that is missing compared to most other articles considered satirical, it does
not bring into play any major movements to be changed, however it is still showing the
movement that is going on at this time in politics.
TThe movement the article is speaking about is the issue that most politics are
being lost in the pursuit of having a greater audience rather than their original purpose of
informing the nation as to the happenings of the country at the time. Another subtle point it
makes is that Joe Biden is portrayed to talk less formally in order to fit in with the younger
generation as well.
The final piece of the framework that is shown in this article is of what appears to be Joe
Biden setting up a fog machine on the floor of the Senate. Obviously, this is a photo shopped
picture of Biden doing something obviously unrelated, however, its shows how pictures that are
used for such articles can be completely unrelated to the subject at hand. It is almost a certainty
that Joe Biden would never set up the whole laser rig and shit (qtd in Biden Arrives Early To

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Set Up State Of The Union Fog Machine) or any fog machine in such a place as the Senate, but
by depicting him as doing so adds to the humor one could imagine in someone going to that level
to create such a mood.
The second example I will use is from the site Spoof News. Spoof News is a satire site
that is lesser known, but growing in popularity over time. In this particular article, Republican
Party to Take over the Name "Democrats" the Republican and Democratic Parties tensions are
played on. It discusses how the Republicans are wanting the name Democrats, just because they
always have. Again, as the last article did, it stays with the relatively short article not wasting
time with any background information. Also note that the picture used for the piece, again, is
only a generic photo of the Senate ,showing an empty Senate, not relating to any actual part of
the article.
The articles humor is vague, but points out the fact that with the bickering between the
parties that has been going on for the past several years as well as the historical context that it
does hint at. The interesting thing about the parties is that they usein the past, the two parties
used to be completely opposite from what they are now, as in the Democrats now are considered
left liberal, however 100 years ago they were the right conservative group. The audience for this
article is the older generation due to its references to the climate changes of the parties. When
asked if the change might cause voter confusion, another prominent Republican/Fox
Commentator said that voting should be allowed to any American who can pass the poll test and
pay the proper poll tax. (N, Al)

This statement reinforces the reference to the older

Republican/Democratic Partys views prior to the changing of party stance (progressive and
conservative respectively) that only recently changed in the 1960smid-1900.

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To find the movement aspect of this piece can be rather hard, however it is stabbing at the
needless fighting the two parties have done over the last decade and the stalemate of policy
making that it has caused. It suggests there is no appeasing either side. It does not suggest any
solution to this issue only points it out for the reader to notice.
The third article to be discussed is from The Duffle Blog. The Duffle Blog is a lesser
known satire site but is very famous well known among the military community across all
branches. In this particular article it isthe subject is speaking about the lesser known topic of
award abuse going on in the military now, specifically soldier members being awarded medals
for things that a few years ago were unheard of. An example is that soldiers are now awarded
medals for conduct and reporting bad conduct that use to be only awarded for valor in combat. It
is a lot harder to understand unless you understand the background of the situation, which is why
I think it makes a perfect satire article. It chooses the audience of the older military generation
and pokes fun at the new softer military.
The framework is again the same, a few quick paragraphs with no real background
assuming the reader is aware of the current feel news in the military. The picture used isnt far
from the background of the subject, however, and is used in context, which is a very seldom
occurrence with this type of genre. The article uses a picture of a Sergeant that is being awarded
the Army Commendation Medal from a Major General for reporting bad attitudes and
commentary that she found on Facebook. The picture is the only background information that
the article is referencing so that you can follow the argument.
The movement the article is hinting at is the militarys move to enforcing cyber political
correctness and awarding soldiers for reporting any unwanted acts online. It does refer to this as
a new development and suggests going back to the way the military was years ago. This

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particular statement: most combat-experienced soldiers expressed outrage that she did not
receive a higher award, such as the Distinguished Service Cross (Updated Army Evaluation
Now Includes Mandatory Facebook Presence Requirement) expresses that intent great wit
andwith great sarcasm known in the satire genre.
As you can see, the website satire genre is not easily defined but does stay relatively on
line with expectations of the framework. With these three examples you can see that some of the
satire will stay right on par and deliver the genre to a definition, but even with some variance it
can still fall in line as seen with The Duffle Blog. With this information you should be able to
analyze the satire better and be able to see the subtle humor found within every article published
and have more appreciation for the genre itself.

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Works Cited
Biden Arrives Early To Set Up State Of The Union Fog Machine. The Onion. 20 Jan 2015.
Web. 24 Jan 2015.
Lehman, Molly. Is Nothing Sacred? A Study of Recent American Satirical Forms. College of
Wooster, March 23, 2009.
Tang, Lijun and Bhattacharya, Syamantak. Power and Resistance: A Case Study of Satire on the
Internet. Cardiff University, University of Plymouth, 26 Jan 2011, Web. 11 May 2011.
Biden Arrives Early To Set Up State Of The Union Fog Machine. The Onion. 20 Jan 2015.
Web. 24 Jan 2015.
N, Al. Republican Party to Take Over the Name "Democrats". The Spoof. 16 Jan 2015. Web.
24 Jan 2015.
Tang, Lijun and Bhattacharya, Syamantak. Power and Resistance: A Case Study of Satire on the
Internet. Cardiff University, University of Plymouth, 26 Jan 2011, Web. 11 May 2011.
Updated Army Evaluation Now Includes Mandatory Facebook Presence Requirement. The
Duffle Blog. 18 Jan 2015. Web. 24 Jan 2015.