Aristotle defined comedy as a type of drama that pictures someone who is flawed but, throughout the course of the story, ends up better off than where they started. This idea allows us to think of comedy as something other than just funny. An example of comedy that I enjoy watching is the show Abbott Elementary by Quinta Brunson.

At the beginning of the show, a lot of the characters aren’t able to do certain things because of their flaws. Janine is painted as a very naive person who believes positivity and being enthusiastic can fix their broken school system, while the majority of the other teachers feel burnt out. Part of the comedy comes from these imperfections of their characters. What is funny is the difference between Janine’s motivational speeches to everyone at the beginning of most days, and the reality of a broken printer or students ignoring her in class. Humor can also be seen when the mockumentary interviews expose what the characters actually think, especially when their comments contradict their actions. Their awkward teaching moments, humbling comments from kids, and misunderstandings match with Aristolte’s idea that comedy can highlight weakness in a way to make others laugh.

However, what makes the show a real comedy is that the characters grow as well. As episodes of the season come out, Janine starts to balance being optimistic with being real, helping her become a better teacher and colleague. Even characters like Ava eventually show more responsibility and care for the school where they work. By the end of many episodes, connections between people are stronger. This demonstrates how the humor isn’t pointless, and it is how growth happens.

The show deepens our understanding of the human condition by showing that we improve from our mistakes. People typically think change can only happen through a dramatic event. But through Abbott Elementary, we can learn empathy and resilience through small everyday failures to help us improve ourselves.

American Psycho, directed by Mary Harron, is a dark satire about 1980s Wall Street culture. The film follows Patrick Bateman, a wealthy investment banker in New York City who appears to be obsessed with status, physical appearance, and material things. Beneath his polished exterior, he is emotionally empty and becomes increasingly more unstable. The film exaggerates his lifestyle to critique the greed, materialism, and superficiality of that world.

One major satirical technique the film uses is hyperbole. An example is the business card scene, where Bateman and his colleagues compare their cards. This completely normal thing then turns into an intense competition, showing how obsessed these characters are with appearance and their underlying insecurities. The irony throughout the movie is that Bateman can say shocking or disturbing things, yet no one really listens because they’re all too focused on themselves. This is displayed when Bateman casually talks about his violent urges to kill people while sitting at a table with his coworkers, and instead of reacting with concern, they disregard him by either talking over him or being too focused on themselves to care. The film also makes fun of corporate culture by making all the businessmen in the film almost identical, as if they have no real personalities.

Overall, American Psycho isn’t just making fun of rich businessmen; it criticizes a society that values money, brands, and image more than empathy or genuine human connection. By using dark humor and exaggeration, the film makes viewers uncomfortable but also encourages them to question what our culture truly prioritizes.

In recent years few shows have been able to capture a balance between humor and philosophy, except one, The Good Place. On the surface the show seems like a normal afterlife sitcom, but it quickly reveals its sharp satire about morality, self improvement and unrealistic expectations of being “good”. The show begins with Eleanor Shellstrop, an average woman, maybe a little selfish, who dies and wakes up in “the good place”, a heaven inspired neighborhood for those who have good morals. Being scared of getting sent to “the bad Place” Eleanor attempts to learn ethics from the help of Chidi, her neighbor. Overtime she and her friends begin to question the afterlife system and eventually realize that it is nearly impossible to live in modern life without causing unintended harm.

One of the main techniques that the show uses in irony. the biggest part of it is “the good place” has never been good at all. what appears to be perfect has been a physiological experiment designs to torture the people there. It exposes how looks can be deceiving and how these systems can be corrupt after claiming to be so moral.

The good place is not simply making jokes about heaven or religion but instead critiques the idea that morality is simple and individual. Modern society is so connected that people unintentionally harm others even when they didn’t mean to. This challenges the belief that people should purely be judged on their individual actions.

Through irony, the good place uses humor to explore serious questions and challenges the idea that morality one thing and criticizes systems that prioritize pureness over emotional growth. By making jokes, the show encourages deeper reflection on what it truly means to be good in a complicated world.

An article from The Onion titled, “Kash Patel Faces Backlash After Partying With Nancy Guthrie’s Captors,” paints a fake story that our country’s FBI Director Patel is celebrating with the kidnappers of Nancy Guthrie, a popular newswoman’s mother who has recently gone missing. In the article, they even go so far as to have a picture edited to make him look like he’s posing with masked captors, spraying champagne. Instead of sending condolences to the family, which have been popularly seen across social media, or doing his job, he apologizes for “drawing attention away” from their (captors’) accomplishments. It ends with Patel saying he hopes to celebrate with them again if the hostage is still being held captive 4 years later.

The article has a lot of “quotes” from Kash Patel and references to current events to demonstrate irony and hyperbole in order to create a satirical piece of work. The biggest way irony was incorporated was in the idea that the head of the FBI, an organization whose main job is to protect the people in our country, would have the director celebrate with those who have committed such a well-known kidnapping. As the director of the FBI, we expect him to condemn the captors or rescue hostages, yet Patel praises them. This stark difference in how we expect someone in that position to act created irony. The article has him demand that we should “focus on the hard work of these dedicated men who have evaded capture for weeks”. Calling kidnappers dedicated makes criminal behaviors seem like a great achievement, demonstrating how absurd the article is.

Furthermore, the article exaggerated his behavior to extreme levels. Patel is said to drench armed captors in champagne while throwing a “shaka sign” and holding the gun used in the kidnapping. These actions amplify the satire, making his behavior more outrageous than ever.

While the article is something to laugh at when you first look at it, it is criticizing current societal issues. When I first saw the article, I connected it to Patel actually celebrating with the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team instead of working to help everyday Americans be safe in the country, including Nancy Guthrie. But also, by showing an FBI director praising criminals, it ties directly to real-world concerns that officials tend not to hold those they favor accountable for their wrongdoings. The FBI openly siding with criminals exaggerated people’s worries about corruption as well. These doubts together cause readers to question who holds positions of power in our country. It uses exaggeration to entertain and expose how dangerous it can be if officials are just trusted to enforce justice.

This works as a satire because it pushes real societal concerns to an extreme. A fictional scenario was turned into a commentary on power in our politics, media narratives, and responsibility. Instead of making fun of Patel in the locker room celebtrating the win instead of working, it challenges the readers to not only laugh but also consider the consequences of having something to laugh at like this when it comes to politics.

When most people this of The Simpsons, they picture Homer strangling Bart or saying “D’oh!” But beneath the bright yellow animation and ridiculous jokes, the show is actually one of the smartest examples of modern satire on television. Even though it first aired in 1989, it continues to comment on current issues in American society in ways that are both funny and suprisingly thoughtful.

The show follows the Simpson family- Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie who live in the fictional town of Springfield. Most episodes revolve around everyday problems that spiral into chaos. Homer might trust the wrong politician, Bart might rebel at school, or the town may fall for a ridiculous trend.

Springfield is meant to represnt an “average” American town. However, it is filled with corrupt leaders, greedy buisness owners, failing schools, and clueless citizens. Through these exaggerated situations, the show reflects real problems in our society.

What makes The Simpsons more than just a cartoon is the way it uses satire techniques to make a larger point. Springfield looks normal, but everything about it is disfunctional. Leaders are incompentant, systems are broken, and no one seems to learn from their msitakes. This irony highlights how flawed real institutions can be.

The characters are extreme versions of real life sterotypes. Homer represents laziness and lack of critical thinking. Polititians are overly corrupt. Corporations are ridiculously greedy. By exaggerating these traits, the show exposes how these flaws exist in real life, just in less obvious ways. The show often parodies celebrities, political events, movies, and even news media. By copying and twisting real-world situations, it makes audience see how absurd they can be.

Sometimes serious isses, like environmental damage or political corruption are treated casually by the characters. This understatement makes viewers realize how society sometimes ignores big problems.

The show isn’t simply mocking people for entertainment. It critiques systems, government, corporations, education, media and encourages viewers to question them. For example, corporate leaders in the show often care more about money than safety, and politcians manipulate voters for power. These storylines mirror real concerns in society.

Lisa often acts as the moral center of the show. She challenges corruption, fights for the environment, and promotes education. Even when she doesn’t “win,” her voice suggest that awareness and critical thinking matter.

What makes The Simpsons meaningful is that it uses humor to spark reflection. Instead of lecturing the audience, it makes people laugh first, and then think. The satire pushes viewers to notice flaws in society and question whether things should stay the same.

Clueless is a romantic comedy that surrounds the character Cher and her vanity. Though I have seen this movie multiple times, I have never really thought about it as a meaningful art form. I simply thought this movie was just a coming of age film meant for people to laugh at. Clueless fits Artistotle’s definition of a romantic comedy perfectly, as he defines it as “a love plot in which two sympathetic and well-matched lovers are united or reconciled, yet they are kept apart by some complicating circumstance”. So, should this movie be considered a type of art?

To start, if you haven’t seen the movie, it is about this rich and popular high schooler named Cher. She prides herself on being a good matchmaker and giving those around her makeovers. When a new student named Tai arrives at the school, Cher takes the opportunity to try and make her less awkward. However, Tai ends up becoming more popular than Cher, and Cher becomes jealous. She then realizes that her stepbrother Josh was right when he judged her about being misguided and clueless on her actions. By the end of the film, she ends up falling for Josh and becomes a more thoughtful person.

Clueless, like many other comedy movies and shows, was made for making people laugh and being entertaining. Most times, when we watch movies such as these, we don’t look beyond the surface and simply just smile at the scenes and laugh at the jokes. However, oftentimes it is these movies specifically that produce an enhancement of our understanding of the world. Even though Clueless has key messages such as the importance of empathy and self discovery, these messages are hidden and the comedy is what is focused on. Normally, comedy movies are not known for their enhancements of the human condition it is just their humor.

With that being said, I personally believe that comedy can be looked at as a meaningful art form that does enhance human nature. Movies such as Clueless, have central themes about growth, maturity, and self awareness. Though comedy movies are meant for laughs, they can also help us better understand ourselves and the deeper realities that life has. It is essential for people to realize that movies aren’t just meant for making us have a good time; they can also inspire us to make changes in our daily lives. Cher, for instance, transforms from a self absorbed person to someone with empathy, showing others the importance of being genuine and compassionate instead of only caring about appearances and social standings.

Mean Girls (2004) is a satirical movie that is all about the absurdity and chaos of high school. The movie is primarily focused on the main character, Cady Heron, who was homeschooled in Africa and moved to Illinois as a teenager for public high school. This transition for her is not easy, as she has to learn how to navigate the complexity of popularity, cliques, peer pressure, and ultimately the social hiearchies that high school brings. She becomes friends with the characters Janis and Damian who encourage her to try and destroy “The Plastics”, a superior and scheming clique led by Regina George. Cady ends up plotting against them by trying to steal Regina’s boyfriend, Aaron, giving weight gaining bars instead of nutritional ones, and various other things. Cady eventually turns into a “Plastic” herself but then realizes how toxic her actions are, which leads her to apologize in front of the whole school. It is basically a movie surrounding social wars and uses satire to emphasize how ridiculous and cruel people can act in high school.

One technique of satire the film uses is irony. The character Regina George often gives Cady and the other girls fake compliments. One key line is when she says, “Oh my God! I love your skirt. Where did you get it?” to a girl in the hallway and then proceeds to say, “That is the ugliest effing skirt I’ve ever seen”, once the girl leaves. This verbal irony helps to convey that, in order to have social power, you need to make others feel insecure, not be kind, and badly manipulate others. Another example of irony in the film is one of the main plot points which is that Cady, who is an outsider at first, becomes just as toxic and fake as the clique she was meant to ruin. This situational irony helps show that people care more about belonging than they admit and how peer pressure can change our values.

Another technique of satire the film uses is hyperboles. One instance of this is with the character Gretchen who constantly tries to make the word “fetch” a thing. This use of hyperbole serves as an exaggeration of her want to make popular trends and also gain more status. Another key example is the “Burn Book”, which is a scrapbook made by the Plastics to spread rude rumors and insults about people at the school. It is a book where they bully others and humiliate their peers. This is an exaggeration of how ridiculous the clique culture, bullying, and gossip is in high school.

Although many people think this is just a comedic film, it is overall a film that criticizes the culture of teenage girls and their social standings. The film exaggerates behaviors to emphasize the cruelty of high school. Additionally, the film uses many techniques to critique the way that teens treat others in high school and is aiming for more people to not overlook the evil/mean they encounter. The movie does make fun of certain people, but more importantly it wants us to focus on our own identities instead of trying to conform in order to be accepted.