Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2006 im Fachbereich Didaktik - Englisch - Sonstiges, Note: 1,3, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen (Englisches Seminar), Veranstaltung: Landeskunde: Britain and Europe, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: The following essay will explore political and social satire in The Simpsons. This essay will prove Homer Simpson wrong saying in the episode "Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington" "...cartoons don't have any deep meaning. They are just stupid drawings that give you a cheap laugh". In this essay it will be argued that The Simpsons provides us with an in-depth satirical reflection on U.S. society and, to a certain degree, on Western societies in general. Furthermore, this essay will examine the view of creator Matt Groening and the other writers of The Simpsons that the programme skilfully incorporates the subtext that "[t]he people in power don't always have your best interest in mind" (Cantor 1999, p. 745). Armstrong (2005a, p. 11) emphasises in his article about "Satire as Critical Pedagogy" that satire is a vehicle through which political literacy will be developed and underlines that it is an important part of political education. Thus, the analysis of satire is a vital part of cultural studies and is accordingly examined in this essay.

This two-volume set surveys the profound impact of political humor and satire on American culture and politics over the years, paying special attention to the explosion of political humor in today's wide-ranging and turbulent media environment. Historically, there has been a tendency to regard political satire and humor as a sideshow to the wider world of American politics—entertaining and sometimes insightful, but ultimately only of modest interest to students and others surveying the trajectory of American politics and culture. This set documents just how mistaken that assumption is. By examining political humor and satire throughout US history, these volumes not only illustrate how expressions of political satire and humor reflect changes in American attitudes about presidents, parties, and issues but also how satirists, comedians, cartoonists, and filmmakers have helped to shape popular attitudes about landmark historical events, major American institutions and movements, and the nation's political leaders and cultural giants. Finally, this work examines how today's brand of political humor may be more influential than ever before in shaping American attitudes about the nation in which we live.

In recent years, the US fake news program The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has become a surprisingly important source of information, conversation, and commentary about public affairs. Perhaps more surprisingly, so-called 'fake news' is now a truly global phenomenon, with various forms of news parody and political satire programming appearing throughout the world. This collection of innovative chapters takes a close and critical look at global news parody from a wide range of countries including the USA and the UK, Italy and France, Hungary and Romania, Israel and Palestine, Iran and India, Australia, Germany, and Denmark. Traversing a range of national cultures, political systems, and programming forms, News Parody and Political Satire Across the Globe offers insight into the central and perhaps controversial role that news parody has come to play in the world, and explores the multiple forces that enable and constrain its performance. It will help readers to better understand the intersections of journalism, politics, and comedy as they take shape across the globe in a variety of political and media systems. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Popular Communication.