On Satire
September 3rd, 2007The astute observer may realize that it’s been a while since I posted. I can only say, in my defense, that you’ll have an opportunity to read quite enough of my writing in Fall ‘08.
Bioshock
But I was glad to take the opportunity of the long weekend to dive into a pair of fascinating satirical works: Bioshock - the lush, terrifying rejection of Objectivism that’s been the talk of the gaming community - and The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil - the tiny, surreal exploration of man’s search for validation that’s been the talk of five or six really observant literature geeks.
Having literally been late to the game with Bioshock, there’s very little I can comment on that hasn’t already been covered in more detail and with more interesting insight by others, from Lorenzo Wang’s exceptionally thorough (and spoiler-riffic!) artistic critique of its story and themes to Leigh Alexander’s examination of creepy little girls in video games.
For my part, I share the love of the game that permeates the internet. But I was most fascinated by the quality of its narrative. While the general story arc was no surprise to those who enjoyed its spiritual predecessor, it was presented quite well, and I feel I was even more engrossed in it because it was a satire of elements with which I was already familiar. The touch of familiarity allowed it to be more engaging, but even moreso, it meant the work engaged me on multiple levels - as a shooter game, as a story of survival and free will, and as a critical refutation of a philosophy.
It shares this multi-level enjoyment with Candide, another grand story written as a refutation of a philosophy, although I’d say Candide’s life was harder than Jack’s in Bioshock. They’d certainly have some tales to share of the fabulous cities they visited and how badly their lives were ruined. But I digress.
The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil
I also had the chance to begin and almost immediately finish George Saunders’ excellent and quite tiny book, “The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil,” a book so short and engrossing that it reads faster than Margaret Luongo’s critical review of it. It’s a surreal satire highlighting the human condition in general, and our nationalism, demagoguery, and desperate reaches for validation in particular. All through the use of defective alien robots and a country whose boundaries are marked with colored string.
As a satire working with man’s dearch for validation, Reign of Phil deals with issues that are more relevant to today’s world than Bioshock does - although exploring the nature of free will is one of those things that never goes out of style, like an excellent pair of shoes. But Reign of Phil can easily be misinterpreted as a shallow refutation of the current administration, rather than an examination of a larger issue, and I worry that this will cause it to be dismissed too quickly by nearly half of the US audience.
Or, at least, by half of the US audience that isn’t already turned off by a world where sarcastic cow heads grow from the ground and the titular character’s brain is only barely attached by a wobbly bolt. Which is a shame, because even if you ignore the underlying message of the satire, it’s a fun little read.
On Satire
In the past, I used to love works of pure fantasy, from the broad, mythic strokes of Tolkien (who insisted that his works were never allegorical) to the more lighthearted works of Brian Jacques. I read Candide for the ridiculous story. The same is true for any number of games of my youth, the vast majority of which bore no connection to the world around me at all - neither Mario nor Sonic ever highlighted follies of the human condition, unless they were in relation to man’s pursuit of more coins or rings.
More and more, I find myself most satisfied by good satire in my stories. This holds across all narrative forms, from literature (with the playful fantastic satires of George Saunders or Terry Pratchett), to the screen (with rapier and main-gauche wits of The Daily Show and the Colbert Report), to games (with the darkest of satires in Bioshock and, of course, Fallout). I even recently re-read Candide along with a research guide so I could appreciate the philosophical points it was disputing.
And while I enjoy a good satire’s effect of seeing my world clearly through carnival mirrors, I wonder at the reasons for this trend. Is it a personal shift in tastes, or is it more common in others? Or is a larger shift in the way more stories are presented?
Is this a strictly personal development in taste - a desire for more and deeper levels of meaning in my stories, or an interest in stories that relate
As genres blend, is it becoming possible to view nearly everything as a satire on some level? Are satirical elements becoming more and more common in our collective works?
Is it simply that, in our rather ridiculous world, some of the best narrative works are satirical in nature? As our cultures increasingly feed off themselves, is it only a natural progression that those that do so with humor are bound to be described as satire?
Or am I just being too influenced by two excellent pieces of work I just experienced?
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