Toronto-based comedy duo ‘Wishful Genies’ is behind spoof superhero trailer ‘Habib,’ which has had over 80,000 YouTube views since its March upload.
(Wishful Genies)
Twenty years after 9/11, in a climate of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racist backlash, two comedians use satire to help change the stories we tell.
Inspiring/Shutterstock
What has happened to political TV satire? It used to be sharp but this election it missed it mark.
The New York Public Library
It was funny at the time — but rereading Ben Elton’s 1989 bestselling satirical novel Stark today is profoundly unsettling.
Enduring comedy: Tom Lehrer (centre) with US singer Julie Felix and David Frost in 1966.
PA/PA Archive/PA Images
The famed US satirist recently released decades of his work for reuse free of copyright.
Amazon Studios, Four by Two Films
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm won’t be the Jeff Bezos-backed David that slays Goliath. But the film does manage to skewer some targets beyond the White House, such as the creepy misogyny on full display.
If he’s laughing, it’s probably not at the Lincoln Project’s satire.
AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
A political action committee of longtime Republican strategists is using satire to attack President Donald Trump and influence American voters.
John Lacy, a Restoration actor and playwright, satirised puritans, including in his role as Mr Scruple in The Cheats by John Wilson (right).
John Michael Wright (died 1694/National Portrait Gallery
Puritans were often depicted as fools until they had a shot at government, and then the humour got darker.
A painting made by French street artist Christian Guemy in tribute to the members of those killed in the attack on Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015.
AP Photo/Michel Euler
The French satirical magazine republished the controversial caricatures of Prophet Muhammad. An expert says satire has often been a subject of condemnation.
Am I laughing?
Al Drago/EPA
Political satire is not dead – but it’s had to adapt since Donald Trump’s election.
Whose side are you on anyway? BBC comedy show Have I Got News for You.
BBC Pictures
What people find funny about politics depends largely on who is in power.
Puppets Woody Peg the pirate and Salty the seagull were created by puppeteer Juanita Dawn.
(Juanita Dawn)
Amid the uncertainty and pain in the world magnified by COVID-19, puppeteers and jesters get away with telling hard truths and inciting cathartic laughter.
Donald Trump’s bizarre interview with journalist Jonathan Swan went viral this week. While some regard the US president as beyond parody, satire may be starting to bite as he slides in the polls.
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
FX
If it’s escapism you’re looking for, watch Schitt’s Creek or The Good Place. But if you want a dirty dive that makes the real world look good by comparison, try It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
Randy Rainbow’s ‘A Spoonful of Clorox’ is a savage attack on U.S. President Trump, with a full spoon of saccharine.
YouTube/Randy Rainbow
We all need reassurance and humour in the coronavirus pandemic. A best-of list of both biting satire and silly parody to beat the quarantine blahs.
Charlie Brooker’s Anti-Viral Wipe brought some much-needed humour to a very dark situation.
BBC/Netflix/Matt Holyoak
Charlie Brooker shouting at the TV is the comic relief needed in the pandemic. The return of The Wipe is as pointed as it is hopeful.
Humour is sometimes used as a coping mechanism in tragic situations.
Getty Images
Jokes and satire can build resilience but also spread misinformation as people don’t always know what is trustworthy and what is just funny.
The female form is often used to depict themes of freedom and justice – and satirists think it’s useful to extend the metaphor to rape. But that’s a problem.
EPA/Joédson Alves
It’s dehumanising when cartoonists use images of sexual violence to make broad-brush comments about society.
Theologians deal with some serious questions. Here is Saint Augustine, a Christian theologian and philosopher.
German Vizulis/Shutterstock
Theologian Franz Bibfeldt may never have lived, but his legacy continues in many important ways – most of all not to take ourselves too seriously.
Headgear of the newest religion.
© I, Pastafari
The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster may seem to be a joke, but it highlights some real contradictions in secular societies.
Mark Harrison/Avalon
Satire can skewer a pompous or corrupt politician. But history shows it can also popularise its targets.