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POLITICAL SATIRE DISCUSSION

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CowtownClown View Drop Down
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    Posted: 04 May 2018 at 3:01pm
Here's a political satire series I've been writing since last summer. It's a fresh take on the daily debacle we know as the Trump White House -- as seen through a dinosaur lens. The latest episode (#103) ... Day 470 of The T-Rump Dig ...

https://davidmbelisle.com/2018/05/04/rudy-to-the-rescue/

Enjoy! Wink
Truth to power.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lisafox10800 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Mar 2018 at 5:34pm
Originally posted by cheezopath cheezopath wrote:

the genre sucks

Three perfect words to summarize the whole damn thing! Clap
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My short story collection, Core Truths, is now available wherever books are sold.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cheezopath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 25 Mar 2018 at 9:53am
the genre sucks
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fris501 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Mar 2018 at 6:49pm
You and I are the only two from our heat that I've seen. I ended up pretty happy with my story, but I think it may depend on who reads it and how loosely they define "satire" because mine wasn't funny at all. I'm anxious to see who made it next week! And if I do, I won't be upset to get a different round 2 genre!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SheriLS Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 24 Mar 2018 at 1:32pm
I drew political satire and had NO IDEA where to start. I'd never had the desire to write satire and even less to write political satire. I started with a piece on flat-earthers finding the edge of the world and falling off, therefore disappearing and being unable to prove they were right.
That was not working with the other aspects (yoga and an anesthesiologist), and I didn't know if it was "political" or just satire, so I scrapped it.

Tried several other starters. No go.

Finally I settled on an Asian politician wanting to get secret surgery to look more American. I was trying to satirize the fact that there is no way to look "American" even though the current political climate seems to think it means being white (and preferably male). No one seems to have gotten it, some even thought I was racist and/or sexist...so I guess I failed.
I could have done a better job with satire in general, though it still would be a weak point for me.

I like being challenged (and I was with flash fiction and a crime caper) but this wasn't a challenge, it was a slaughter!

Edited by SheriLS - 24 Mar 2018 at 1:40pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AMOSD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Mar 2018 at 8:08pm

[/QUOTE]
In summary: sure, people may be missing the point, but why inhibit their writing growth by narrowing their writing options. Broaden the genre prompt to satire and allow them to explore without a fear of divisiveness.
[/QUOTE]

Well said - a lot of these categories are just the thing for kicking us out of our comfort zone.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Mar 2018 at 12:44pm
Originally posted by Scarlet Screenwriter Scarlet Screenwriter wrote:


I just think people are missing the point ... Political Satire is not just a comedy about Donald Trump! 


Agreed!  As a genre, I have no issue with political satire. I do have issue with how it is distorted and how it has become a tool used to attack average people.

Shirley Jackson's The Lottery is satire. During an interview, she said that the idea for the story came to her one warm spring morning while, loaded down with groceries, etc., she pushed a baby stroller up a steep hill...no one offered to help. The town was anti-semitic, her college-teacher husband-- + children--were Jewish. I had always hated the story, until I realized Shirley Jackson had something to say about the power dynamics in her life. The power of her satire became evident.

Several days ago, the actor Jim Carrey shared a picture/painting he had done of the White House Press Secretary. He said it was satire. It wasn't. It was mean; it attacked the person, not the power.

The author Terry Pratchett says, "Satire is meant to ridicule power. If you are laughing at people who are hurting, it's not satire, it's bullying."

I believe this NYCM challenge is a learning tool for writers who are trying to build their chops as writers. Their experience levels fill the spectrum. They should be encouraged and excited to try new genres, but inexperience often means an incomplete understanding of the fundamentals of genre writing. (I've been guilty of that.)

Without a doubt, many NYCM challengers / readers and I are of different opinions about the current political environment in the US and the world. I would cringe at the thought of sharing a political satire piece...and I'm a fairly confident, sort-of experienced writer: I don't want my ideas and opinions judged or attacked in a writing challenge, I'll save that for a political forum. Fortunately, I have the experience to tackle political satire from a non-partisan angle. Still I don't know that I would be confident the readers would accept my interpretation of the genre prompt.

In summary: sure, people may be missing the point, but why inhibit their writing growth by narrowing their writing options. Broaden the genre prompt to satire and allow them to explore without a fear of divisiveness.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Scarlet Screenwriter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Mar 2018 at 12:18am

I just think people are missing the point ... Political Satire is not just a comedy about Donald Trump! 


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Mar 2018 at 12:11pm
Originally posted by jennifer.quail jennifer.quail wrote:

So far, none of the "political satire" entries I've read have been...well, any sort of political satire. (Mostly it's better described as 'whining about the American elections in predictable ways', though I guess that's to be expected.)  I think it's a genre where most people don't actually get what satire is, and it's a very specialized market to begin with.  Anyone who can write basic literary fiction can probably manage genres like historical (there's nothing hard about that except research if you pick a period you don't know) or fantasy, but political satire's such a niche market and so partisan--I'd feel like I had to write a particular slant rather than anything I actually believed to appeal to what I suspect the audience bias is, which isn't helpful. Anyone drawing it is at a much bigger disadvantage than someone who normally writes, say, romance, having to write a ghost story.  

I mean, if you're going to ask for something where personal opinion/reader bias is so hard to avoid in rating, you might as well throw in erotica, too....
Well said.
I posted a suggestion to the NYCM leadership asking that they consider opening up the genre to be just satire vs political satire. I believe I said something to the effect that broadening the genre definition might help those who are less confident to stretch the rules. The more open genre might allow them to be more free to create something in the vein of Chuck Palahnuik's satirical look at religion and the after-life in Damned, or take on law enforcement a la Super Troopers & Hot Fuzz. Monty Python is all about satire, as is the Stepford Wives, Huck Finn, Holes, etc. While experienced satire writers might know that political satire isn't first a satirical look a government, less experienced satire writers might feel limited as they try to tackle the genre.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Scarlet Screenwriter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Mar 2018 at 8:13pm
Originally posted by Fris501 Fris501 wrote:

Is political satire just a hated genre? I look through the forums and see lots of reviews and critique, but not a lot of love for the political satire submissions. Just curious. Hope I can make it to the next round and get something different!

Not hated ... just challenging and off time misunderstood.  I love it and have had it a few times as short stories and screenplays.  It's the same with HISTORICAL FICTION ... daunting, but that's why we're here!



 
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