I found Krefting's synopsis on "Hannah Gadsby: Nanette" to be rather interesting in how she utilized satire and humor. I think even more now, we can see how satire and humor can have an effect on the topics we're discussing. Gadsby uses satire because she knows that it works to help move a point when speaking to others. Krefting said, "Not to mention that this rhetorical ping-pong of tension relieved by punchlines forces comics to oscillate between two modes of discourse: serious (angry) or humorous (funny) (Krefting 4)." I think this quote does a really good job at showing how satire and humor can combine to make a lasting impression on those who are listening. The line between satire and humor and how people will use it in a rhetorical sense depends on the person and the subject they are discussing; so I'm not going to assume which way people typically lean on or the other. But I think speakers decisions on which way to gravitate towards is also depending on how they were raised. Many will use that line in a negative connotation, but I don't perceive it that way.
I think it can be hard to draw a line between humor and satire because it is easy for people to make a sour topic humorous. People do this because they want to still draw attention to the topic, but to do it in a way that will come off in a lighter light. I know I do this way to often, even when the subject/topic frustrates me. But I use it as a way to still get my point across. Many times, I lean more on the angry side because I don't think adding humor to a sore subject will change people's minds/make it seem okay to what you're discussing. Nonetheless, adding humor to any kind of scenario can be more relatable and comfortable to the listener. People tend to capture more of what is being said when topics are discussed in a lighter sense. Regardless, using satire and humor are ways to help in rhetorical scenarios.
Krefting, Rebecca. “Hannah Gadsby: On the Limits of Satire.” Studies in American Humor, vol. 5, no. 1, [American Humor Studies Association, Penn State University Press], 2019, pp. 4, https://doi.org/10.5325/studamerhumor.5.1.0093.
Hi Kristine,
ReplyDeleteI also thought that Krefting's piece was a very interesting one. It is so common to use satire and humor to talk about things we find difficult, and yet many of us still struggle with how to handle it and where the limits are. I have found that I overuse these mechanisms; when I am upset about things I learn too far into humor and satire in order to bring a subject up, but this sometimes ends up the opposite of where I want to be, because people think I am not serious of what I am saying. Although humor is sometimes a great way to talk about difficult things, we need to make it clear to others that joking about it does not mean that the actual content of what is being said is not serious.