Satire Essay

Yearly Satire Essay:

Satire is typically intended to be comical although its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon and as a tool to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society. In particular it aims to expose its audience to the nature of the political atmosphere by exploring the trivial and self-serving nature of governmental objectives. Rob Sitch’s television programme The Hollowmen ironically depicts the shallow values of contemporary Australian politics that appear to altruistically appease the stipulations of individuals and society. While The Ambassador reveals the skewed, self-serving nature of politics, Rear Vision conveys the duplicitous, impressionable practicality that overwhelms the proper political process. Similarly Reitman’s movie Thank You For Smoking controversial issues are brought to light, the way smoking is perceived in and by society as well as the inner workings of the government and how their authority and decisions can be swayed or negated by large corporations with smooth talking lobbyists. Stich and Reitman through there works both incite an awareness about issues crippling society by satirising governments and politicians, as well the impressionable, unthinking general public.

Sitch’s episode The Ambassador provides a hyperbolic representation of the skewed values of an Australian political landscape that manipulates diplomatic postings for their own self-serving ends. Central to the episode is the concept of juxtaposition that ultimately undermines pragmatic governmental objectives and exposes the inverted values of politics. Ron Eggles is a caricature of raw, rural politics, as emphasised through his use of frequent invective and his perception by others as a “former Toowoomba Shire Councillor with a Bachelor’s Degree in pig shooting”. This is inherently juxtaposed with the refined nature of “cushy” diplomatic postings, as represented through officious and measured PowerPoint motif and their diplomatic “tier system” based on merit that the fastidious Philip and Warren espouse. Ultimately, this symbolises, if hyperbolically, the gradual devaluing of modern politics by ostensibly rewarding the antithesis of such diplomatic requirements with “plum overseas postings”. The justification for allowing this to occur is not only to appease Eggles’ stipulation that he is “gonna get what’s coming”, but also to maintain the malleable expediency that drives the political process. The notion that removing “clapped-out party hacks” from politics is not for the benefit of society, but merely so “the PM [can] nominate his replacement” further confirms the self-serving agenda that satire aims to expose. Thus, this satire emphasises to society the way in which politics are merely meeting their own desire to maintain political expediency, and not the altruism that is purported.
Furthermore, Rear Vision displays these shallow governmental objectives as appealing to the naïve Australian public, through methodologies of maintaining artifice and nomenclature rather than real public need. This gap between form and content that satire highlights is seen through the pragmatic Tony and Murph’s aim to formulate a budget centrepiece of “long-term vision” that, at its core, aims to impresses the public with a “big-spending announcement with a grand-sounding name”. While Philip and Warren revel in an “almost boring” budget, the use of verisimilitudinous montage editing of respected ABC journalists adds authenticity to the notion that exorbitant surplus expenditure is the desire of the public. Tony’s claim that a “fiscally responsible” budget is “a complete disaster” is ironic in the sense that being perceived as being “responsible” is detrimental to perceptions of being “visionary”. This ultimately portrays the political process of the Central Policy Unit as innately irresponsible and shallow. Furthermore, Sitch exploits the way that governments’ priorities are inverted, as they preference artifice and nomenclature over substantiation. Tony’s obsession with Murph’s elastic and deceptive title of “future proofing” extends to the point where Tony is merely interested in the fact that the Unit have a form to present an ideal in. His claim “we’ve got a date now, we’ve got a name…now we’re future-proving” expresses his clear and inverted desire for expedient and shallow gain that has now overwhelmed Philip and Warren’s officious and substantive brand of politics, as represented through their pristine costumes and pride in an “economically measured” budget. Ultimately, Tony and Murph’s realistic but superficial political agenda is juxtaposed with Philip and Warren’s fastidiousness to imply that Philip and Warren are characters detached from the reality of modern politics. Tony and Murph know that a trivial advertisement filled with mise-en-scene of stereotypical Australian tokens will appeal to the public, and thus they are fulfilling their self-serving aim of re-election. Ultimately, this episode reveals to society the prioritisation of artifice that politics beholds in their aim to become more appealing and pragmatic in the perceptions of society, and thus the inverted values of governmental objectives are conferred.