1. An Introduction to Satire featuring Shrek, Will Ferrell, and The Onion
English 10: British Literature Mr. Ambrose
An Introduction to Satire featuring Shrek, Will Ferrell, and The Onion
Elements of this lesson adapted from Exploring Satire with Shrek by Junius Wright

2. Check out this scene from Shrek. (DVD ch. 11)
Write down what you find funny, because satire is social commentary through humor.

3. What is satire?
Satire: A literary work that ridicules its subject in order to make a comment or criticism about it.

4. Satire There are four major techniques employed in satire:
Exaggeration
Incongruity
Reversal
Parody

5. Exaggeration
To enlarge, increase, or represent something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen.

6. Incongruity
To present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to its surroundings.

7. Reversal
To present the opposite of the normal order (i.e. the order of events, hierarchical order).

8. Parody (a.k.a. “spoof”)
To imitate the techniques and/or style of some person, place, or thing.

9. Shrek: Re-watch the scene
Let’s take a look at Shrek one more time.
This time, see if you can find an example of each satirical technique.

10. Satirical Techniques in Shrek
Exaggeration
Princess Fiona fights and successfully defeats Robin Hood and his Merry Men without help.
Incongruity
Princess Fiona uses her ponytail to defeat one of the Merry Men, stopping in mid-air to adjust her hair
Reversal
The role of the hero and the damsel in distress are reversed. The damsel saves the hero.
Parody
The fight scene is an exaggerated imitation of the martial arts style in movies like The Matrix.

11. So what’s the commentary?
The traditional story of the knight rescuing the damsel in distress is not a realistic depiction of the roles filled by men and women in modern society.
Current Hollywood action movies like The Matrix have become ridiculous because they are too focused on special effects.
Any other ideas?

12. Will Ferrell as George W. Bush
What satirical techniques are at work in this clip? Write your ideas down in your notebook.
(We can watch it twice if you like.)

13. Will Ferrell What elements of satire are present? Where?
Exaggeration?
Incongruity?
Reversal?
Parody?
What is the commentary being offered?

14. The Onion
Read and discuss “Stephon Marbury Embroils Celtics Big 3 in Shakespearean Intrigue”

15. Homework (Honors) Honors:
Find an example of a story you like on
Print it out and bring it in tomorrow.
In addition, write an analysis of the article (two paragraphs), explaining (a) what elements of satire are being employed and (b) what commentary is being offered.
Staple the article and your analysis together.

16. Homework (Standard) Standard Explore the website www.theonion.com.
Find articles and videos that you think would be interesting to the class.
Enter class with articles and videos in mind to share with the group.
You might do this by ing yourself links.