A Rhetorical Analysis Of Menippean Satire

Intro – Issue If society were a promise of equality and justice, you would expect it to promote the development of harmony and tolerance among its people. But in the present day, this is not the case, and the reality of life is far from this picture. Rather than promoting equality and tolerance, society is fed racism’s lethal imagery, destroying the social fabric. Satire, as a type of irony, is a broad genre that has three main types of satire. Horatian Satire is a type of satire that is light and playful in form, and it employs humour and irony to point at the vices of society in a jovial manner. On the other hand, Juvenalian Satire is quite brutal and harsh in its approach, passionately condemning vices and evils in society through ridicule

Each of them provides specific perspectives for criticizing the norms and values of society and proves the versatility of satire. P1 – Visual Choices To elaborate, the satirical video uses video elements to create a story that is intended to make people think about racism. In the setting of a bank robbery, two white gunmen face a black population of bank customers to rob the bank. However, what unfolds subverts expectations: As for the black customers, they don’t get upset and do not obey. This imagery undermines cultural expectations, providing the opposite of the typical power relations. The name of the bank is “Advanced Federal Bank,” which only contributes to the irony and puts into question the authority of the institution as a hurricane begins to form. When the robbers fled the scene empty-handed, the police arrived puffed out. P2 – Sound Choices An important exception occurs when the police arrive and in a different tone, say, “They came as fast as they could”. ”This change in tonal language reveals police indifference and indirectly protests the way police and law enforcement respond to crimes against

P3 – Language Choices Language in satire is a double-edged tool that uses humour in making a social commentary on matters such as racism. Analysing the language used in the video, several important forms of appeals are revealed, all of which contribute to presenting the notion of racial bias as ridiculous. Exaggeration: In this case, the video makes use of exaggeration to highlight the aspect of race and bring into focus prejudice and stereotyping, to portray how illogical racism is. Characters become stereotyped and farcical, making it easier to make the audience laugh at racism, but at the same time showing the grim reality of racism. Irony: Irony is the key element that is revealed during the dialogue and the narrative, where the superficial reality and the depth of the situation are sharply opposed. Figuratively, characters speak opposite, making the audience question their prejudice and face the irony of the world. Parody: Parody is a strong element, that helps to ridicule the cultural ideas and stereotypes concerning race. Through its playful reenactment and amplification of stereotypical images and ideas, the video raises questions about the rationale behind race and racism by parodying media images or historical events. Social Commentary: Ultimately, the primary function of the video is to be a satirical social commentary on the current state