Aristophanes 'Play The Wasps 422 B. C.'
Two of a Kind
Michelle Hamilton
Two of a Kind
“Let each man exercise the art he knows,” The Wasps, 422 B.C. “Comedy is a great vehicle to get into the truth behind politics,” Will Ferrell 2004. Aristophanes and Will Ferrell had strong political opinions and both used political satire in theatre to express their opinions. From the father of Old Comedy to a man who is known for his political impersonations over two-thousand years later; political satire is a form of comedy that has been, and still is, relevant. Aristophanes wrote plays to express his political opinion. Known to be the fifth century BC, “Father of old comedy.” Aristophanes would write comedies targeting political or historical figures of his day. One target Aristophanes would often criticize in his plays was Cleon; an Athenian general and statesman during The Peloponnesian War who had been an opponent of Pericles. Aristophanes used several of his plays to target Cleon, such as; The Babylonians, The Wasps, and, The Knights. Aristophanes may have even had …show more content…
I repeat it, I repeat it constantly,
With good reason since this thief reiterates his villainy!”
Although, Aristophanes was known for being brutal to Cleon, Will Ferrell would hit where he could; intellectually. Will Ferrell made George W. Bush out to be someone completely inept to be President of the United States. In a scene from his play the president discusses one of his experiences of being president:
“George W. Bush: For the next ten years, Secret Service has to do anything I want. For instance, if I 'm at a Reba McEntire concert and I 'm too tired to walk back to the car, Secret Service has to, by law, carry me piggyback back to the parking lot.”
It is not difficult to see that Will Ferrell was known for targeting the former president and his acting was his weapon of choice. However, it is hard to know whether or not it made any impact on the public as to whether they saw the president in the same
Michelle Hamilton
Two of a Kind
“Let each man exercise the art he knows,” The Wasps, 422 B.C. “Comedy is a great vehicle to get into the truth behind politics,” Will Ferrell 2004. Aristophanes and Will Ferrell had strong political opinions and both used political satire in theatre to express their opinions. From the father of Old Comedy to a man who is known for his political impersonations over two-thousand years later; political satire is a form of comedy that has been, and still is, relevant. Aristophanes wrote plays to express his political opinion. Known to be the fifth century BC, “Father of old comedy.” Aristophanes would write comedies targeting political or historical figures of his day. One target Aristophanes would often criticize in his plays was Cleon; an Athenian general and statesman during The Peloponnesian War who had been an opponent of Pericles. Aristophanes used several of his plays to target Cleon, such as; The Babylonians, The Wasps, and, The Knights. Aristophanes may have even had …show more content…
I repeat it, I repeat it constantly,
With good reason since this thief reiterates his villainy!”
Although, Aristophanes was known for being brutal to Cleon, Will Ferrell would hit where he could; intellectually. Will Ferrell made George W. Bush out to be someone completely inept to be President of the United States. In a scene from his play the president discusses one of his experiences of being president:
“George W. Bush: For the next ten years, Secret Service has to do anything I want. For instance, if I 'm at a Reba McEntire concert and I 'm too tired to walk back to the car, Secret Service has to, by law, carry me piggyback back to the parking lot.”
It is not difficult to see that Will Ferrell was known for targeting the former president and his acting was his weapon of choice. However, it is hard to know whether or not it made any impact on the public as to whether they saw the president in the same