Presidential Debate parody from Saturday Night Live
Readings & Assignments
It's best not to rely on a printed version of this page. Assignments are subject to change at any time. Check this page frequently for updates.
A NOTE ABOUT READINGS: Since there is no textbook for this class, the readings below are a varied collection of relevant information about satire and humor. So are the videos you are asked to watch. Because they come from a myriad of sources, there is bound to be some overlap where topics, events, and arguments used as examples of satire are often covered in more than one reading or video. Don't skip them just because you've read it or listened to it already. Most of these, while repetitious, are nuanced and often present a point of view you haven't considered before. When the moment comes that you begin to feel like you've already seen this too many times, remind yourself that the alternative would have been an expensive textbook—and the repetition might just help on the exams. Also note that many of the readings contain in-text links. It's a good idea to visit those sources as well. (And, as noted before, please read this warning.)
NOTE FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS: You will find additional graduate-level readings on the Resources page.
NOTE FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS: You will find additional graduate-level readings on the Resources page.
Week 1: 9/30-10/2
MONDAY: NO CLASS In celebration of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana
WEDNESDAY: INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE & EXPLORATION OF WEBSITE AND SYLLABUS
Week 2: 10/7-9MONDAY: DEFINITIONS
— The difference between Satire and other forms of humor WATCH THE TWO VIDEOS BELOW WEDNESDAY: SATIRE, POLITICS, AND THE ISSUES THAT DEFINED A NATION TOPICS: — The rise of the satire magazine. — American Imperialism re-imagines democracy, for other countries — Imperialism and racism: two sides of the same coin? — A country of immigrants or something else? Read:
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Brief background on the Chinese Exclusion Act
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Week 3: 10/14-16
MONDAY: SATIRE IN THE MODERN ERA
TOPICS:
— Satire in print as the humor magazine grows up
— Satire and parody take the stage on TV and in the movies
Read:
TOPICS:
— Satire in print as the humor magazine grows up
— Satire and parody take the stage on TV and in the movies
Read:
- 20th Century Humor/Satire Magazines/Art on the IMAGES page of this site.
- Last Laugh: 'MAD' Magazine Will Soon Disappear From Newstands
- The Smothers Brothers: Laughing at Hard Times. We'll talk about it and censorship in class.
- How Bullwinkle taught kids sophisticated political satire
- Area Man Realizes He's Ben Reading Fake News for 25 Years (The story of The Onion)
- A satire venture co-founded by Elon Musk arrives with a Thud.
WEDNESDAY: MOVIE BREAK! National Lampoon's Animal House is a 1978 American comedy film about a misfit group of fraternity members who challenge the authority of the dean of Faber College.
Upon its initial release, Animal House received generally mixed reviews from critics, but Time and Roger Ebert proclaimed it one of the year's best. Filmed for only $2.8 million, it is one of the most profitable movies in history, garnering an estimated gross of more than $141 million in the form of theatrical rentals and home video, not including merchandising.
The film was largely responsible for defining and launching the gross-out film genre, which became one of Hollywood's staples. As of 2017, it was considered by many fans and critics as one of the greatest comedy films ever made. In 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed Animal House "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Before viewing the movie, read the following online articles:
Watch: The Videos below
Upon its initial release, Animal House received generally mixed reviews from critics, but Time and Roger Ebert proclaimed it one of the year's best. Filmed for only $2.8 million, it is one of the most profitable movies in history, garnering an estimated gross of more than $141 million in the form of theatrical rentals and home video, not including merchandising.
The film was largely responsible for defining and launching the gross-out film genre, which became one of Hollywood's staples. As of 2017, it was considered by many fans and critics as one of the greatest comedy films ever made. In 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed Animal House "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Before viewing the movie, read the following online articles:
- Animal House: Still Funny at Age 40? (The UO's take on something they've tried for 40 years to forget).
- Pop Culture's War on Fraternities from the Atlantic
- "Animal House disorder" support group continues to help delusional students." A satirical piece from a college publication.
Watch: The Videos below
FILM ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENTS: Beginning with this film and continuing through all feature and documentary films, following the viewing you will turn in a a roughly two page (about 500-700 words) analysis of the film and what you thought of it. For the feature films, you should focus especially on the satirical components. There will be assignment locations for each film on Canvas where you will turn them in. They will be due before the next class period following the film viewing. See the guidelines for analyzing the feature films here, and the guidelines for documentaries here.
A look at the 1977 commotion caused by the filming of Animal House
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A viewing May 2018 of Animal House on the 40th anniversary of its release
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Week 4: 10/21-23
MONDAY: MOVIE BREAK! We will watch Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon. (It is literally loaded with potentially objectionable content, so be forewarned.) Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Douglas Tirola. The film is about National Lampoon magazine, and how the magazine and its empire of spin-offs changed the course of comedy and humor. The film features new interviews with National Lampoon staff members and other notable figures who were fans of the magazine, as well as much never-before seen archival material and illustrations from the magazine, many of which have been animated. The film was shown at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on 16 April. The premiere was at the IFC Center in Greenwich Village, New York City, on the evening of September 25, 2015. |
WEDNESDAY: EDITORIAL CARTOONING AS SATIRE
Read:
ASSIGNMENT: Turn in on Canvas an editorial cartoon of your choice and analyze it using this direction sheet.
Read:
- Another cartoonist loses his job
- The end of political cartoons at the New York Times
- Big Satire is the Least of Trump's Problems
- Check out this Pinterest page (in case you think all editorial cartoonists are liberals)
ASSIGNMENT: Turn in on Canvas an editorial cartoon of your choice and analyze it using this direction sheet.
Week 5: 10/28-30MONDAY: MOVIE BREAK! Mr. Fish: Cartooning from the Deep End
In this documentary we discover the dangerously funny cartoonist Mr. Fish (Dwayne Booth), struggling to make a living in an industry that is dying out. In a world where consumerism is king, and opportunities are few, will this uncensored artist find a way to sell his art, or be forced to sell himself out? This intimate documentary follows the artist as he struggles to stay true to his creativity in a world where biting satiric humor has an ever-diminishing commercial value. Ultimately this film is about the kinds of compromises a radical artist makes (or refuses to make) while trying to live in a traditional society. WEDNESDAY: THE EXPLOSION OVER SATIRE AND RELIGION, AND THE BOUNDARIES OF FREE SPEECH
First, go online and read this background from The Washington Post
Watch the video on the right |
A short but energetic summary of the Charlie Hebdo explosion
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Week 6: 11/4-6
MONDAY: MOVIE BREAK! The Invention of Lying.
Ricky Gervais writes, directs and stars in this inspired conceptual comedy set in a world in which lying, even the concept of a lie, doesn’t even exist. The film depicts a world identical to our own, minus the ability to deceive or withhold the truth in any shape or form. This results in people being brutally honest and always saying exactly what they're thinking at any given time. But when a down-on-his-luck loser named Mark (Gervais) suddenly develops the ability to lie, he finds that dishonesty has its rewards.
Movie critic Roger Ebert said of this film: “In its amiable, quiet, PG-13 way, The Invention of Lying is a remarkably radical comedy. It opens with a series of funny, relentlessly logical episodes in a world where everyone always tells the truth, and then slips in the implication that religion is possible only in a world that has the ability to lie. Then it wraps all of this into a sweet love story."
Ricky Gervais writes, directs and stars in this inspired conceptual comedy set in a world in which lying, even the concept of a lie, doesn’t even exist. The film depicts a world identical to our own, minus the ability to deceive or withhold the truth in any shape or form. This results in people being brutally honest and always saying exactly what they're thinking at any given time. But when a down-on-his-luck loser named Mark (Gervais) suddenly develops the ability to lie, he finds that dishonesty has its rewards.
Movie critic Roger Ebert said of this film: “In its amiable, quiet, PG-13 way, The Invention of Lying is a remarkably radical comedy. It opens with a series of funny, relentlessly logical episodes in a world where everyone always tells the truth, and then slips in the implication that religion is possible only in a world that has the ability to lie. Then it wraps all of this into a sweet love story."
WEDNESDAY: OTHER VOICES, OTHER ISSUES
TOPICS:
— Who is getting left out and why?
— The touchy subjects of race and gender: what's funny about that?
Read:
TOPICS:
— Who is getting left out and why?
— The touchy subjects of race and gender: what's funny about that?
Read:
- What we talk about when we talk about satire (This is a long, but important article, so please read it.)
- Harvard Lampoon president Alexis Wilkinson on how writers’ rooms should deal with gender
Week 7: 11/11-13
MONDAY:
Read: OTHER VOICES continued
Read: OTHER VOICES continued
- Read:
- Satirized for your consumption (This one is especially important to our conversation.)
- Where has all the great black satire gone? (This one is especially important to our conversation.)
- Daphne Brooks on Satire in African-American culture
WEDNESDAY: MOVIE BREAK! We will watch Dear White People, a social satire that follows the stories of four black students at an Ivy League college where controversy breaks out over a popular but offensive black-face party thrown by white students. With tongue planted firmly in cheek, the film explores racial identity in acutely-not-post-racial America while weaving a universal story of forging one's unique path in the world. Read: Watch the two video below: The first is an ad for the Netflix series based on the movie. The second is the reaction from (guess who) white people. |
Week 8: 11/18-20
MONDAY: SATIRE AND SENSITIVITY (a recently discovered, unpublished novel by Jane Austen)
TOPICS: — Can I really say any crazy thing I want? — Do we have a right not to be offended? — If the extremes are racism/sexism versus political correctness, is there any middle ground for compromise? Read: |
Jerry Seinfeld is tired of political correctness
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WEDNESDAY: FREE SPEECH AND SENSITIVITY
Read:
- The battle against 'hate speech' on college campuses (Newsweek takes on the controversy over free speech on campus.
- If colleges keep killing academic freedom, civilization will die, too (ignore the comment that professors are no more virtuous than anyone else)
- Free speech is flunking out on college campuses (from the Washington Post)
- At the University of Oregon, no more free speech for professors on subjects such as race, religion, sexual orientation
- The 10 Worst Colleges For Free Speech: 2017 (we made the list)
- Freedom of Speech — Why Satire is Protected
- What the librarian who rejected Melania Trump's Dr. Seuss books as 'racist' got wrong
- Reading Racism in Dr. Seuss
Week 9: 11/25-27
MONDAY: SATIRE AND THE LAW
WEDNESDAY: TAKE A BREAK!
There will be no class today so that those of you who are traveling for the holiday may do so safely.
WEDNESDAY: TAKE A BREAK!
There will be no class today so that those of you who are traveling for the holiday may do so safely.
Week 10: 12/2-4
MONDAY: FAKE NEWS OR SATIRE?
Read:
Read:
- This rather long piece on whether satire can be too easily mistaken for reality, or is it intentional "fake news"? From the Washington Post.
- read and watch this piece from the Washington Post on the recent "mocking" of a political candidate, and SNL's apology.
WEDNESDAY: We'll meet to talk about your choice for a final paper or project and get some feedback from the class. Bring in a description of what you are planning to do and any questions you might have.
FINAL PAPERS ARE DUE (TBA) final_options.pdf paper here.