tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post8223924218981164492..comments2023-12-18T07:59:16.525-05:00Comments on Hats and Rabbits: Some Thoughts on Modern SatireChris Matarazzohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17885109959459471509noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-69805337264934022102015-01-14T22:11:24.385-05:002015-01-14T22:11:24.385-05:00Yep. A friend from mine from Russia says we ain...Yep. A friend from mine from Russia says we ain't seen nothin'. I guess it all had to do with the writer's perspective. If you definition is right, then Charlie Hebdot was on the right path. Chris Matarazzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17885109959459471509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-72046751029030557342015-01-13T19:55:50.833-05:002015-01-13T19:55:50.833-05:00I agree that brutal satire might not be the best m...I agree that brutal satire might not be the best means of persuasion or change, but I'm also not convinced that those tend to be the primary goals of satire in the first place—and most satirists would probably claim that moderate satire isn't effective satire. Satire is for mocking, provoking, testing the limits in ways that help a society by seeing how certain people and groups react. That said, I suspect people from far shakier and less fair societies than ours might be able to attest to satire's usefulness in the world far better than I can...Jeffhttp://www.quidplura.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-1280974100427993362015-01-13T16:34:44.194-05:002015-01-13T16:34:44.194-05:00But, still, it's not my discomfort that is my ...But, still, it's not my discomfort that is my problem; I just see over-offensive satire as less effective than the kind that makes us take a critical look at ourselves. (Though you make an excellent argument, above, for more abrasive satire.) I see it the same way I see controlling tone in writing. We can't persuade too many people with a rant; sometimes we need to back off and tone down in order to bring people around to our thinking (as, of course, you know). It just seems to me the most aggressive kind of satire is less helpful to the world -- if, that matters at all and it may well not. But, like you, I defend its right to exist, no matter how offended I might be by it. (I'm not much of a fan of the current paralyzing fear of "offending.") Chris Matarazzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17885109959459471509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-13275116724123729632015-01-13T14:54:19.625-05:002015-01-13T14:54:19.625-05:00Indeed, like you, I'm uncomfortable personally...Indeed, like you, I'm uncomfortable <i>personally</i> with religious satire, except when it's hackneyed, in which case I just find it boring. But if I were to expect the world to conform to my conservative impulses in this matter, what a constricting and dreary world it would be! So I compensate by taking a very liberal attitude toward defending satire (and all art and writing, really), regardless of content. I find it refreshing to put aside my own prejudices and offer a principled defense of things I dislike.Jeffhttp://www.quidplura.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-54415816372824229642015-01-13T08:33:08.982-05:002015-01-13T08:33:08.982-05:00Points all well-taken. I think your last paragraph...Points all well-taken. I think your last paragraph is especially true. I guess a lot rests on how one interprets the delivery of satire. I'm finding my concept of satire for change is not shared by as many as I thought. Interesting. That said, I think religion should certainly be subject to satire. My respedct for belief just puts parameters on it that I can't expect to be followed by satirists at large... After all, who the heck am I?Chris Matarazzohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17885109959459471509noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693471143220681808.post-14392013568506526432015-01-12T13:53:56.609-05:002015-01-12T13:53:56.609-05:00" but...what good is the paper doing by simpl..." but...what good is the paper doing by simply aiming to offend?"<br /><br />I don't believe that's all they're doing. At their most crass, these cartoons are telling a significant segment of society that they're subject to the same laws and rules as everyone else. They reassert a liberal, officially secular society over a craving for theocracy and a reminder that no one is beholden to fellow citizens' definitions of blasphemy.<br /><br />At the same time, the cartoons also provide a way of sussing out who's really got your back in a crisis, a useful thing for us writers, artists, and musicians to know. In the past week, I've seen columnists who never uttered a peep over "The Book of Mormon" or anti-Catholic art suddenly declaring that criticizing religion is unsporting. There are people who genuinely stand on that principle (like yourself), but much of the conversation in the past week feels like people trying to justify not satirizing Islam because it's the one religion that really terrifies them.<br /><br />And it's not just cartoons. In 2008, someone firebombed the New York publisher of a non-satiric and apparently quite sincere romance novel about Muhammad's daughter; this was after a bigger publisher cancelled publication of the book out of fear.) The international writers' group PEN/Faulkner said nothing, and a novelist and journalist writing in the New York Times declared that their silence was "just about right." Having written a nonfiction book with a lengthy, non-satiric chapter on the early Muslim world, I was enlightened to realize that the big-time writing world would not have my back if I were in a similar situation.<br /><br />I know a fair amount about Islam. I think Muslims can prosper and be welcome in Europe and North America, and I think their religion can handle even the harshest satire—but I think the cartoons will have been most effective if they get non-Muslims to admit that more often than not, their attitude toward Islam isn't rooted in respect, but fear.Jeffhttp://www.quidplura.comnoreply@blogger.com