Title Satire in Donald Glover’s series “Atlanta” Title (croatian) Satira u seriji "Atlanta" Donalda Glovera Author Hana Reçica Mentor Marko Lukić (mentor)Mentor Zlatko Bukač (komentor)Committee member Tomislav Kuzmanović (predsjednik povjerenstva)Committee member Marko Lukić (član povjerenstva)Committee member Zlatko Bukač (član povjerenstva)Granter University of Zadar Defense date and country 2022-03-31, Croatia Scientific / art field, HUMANISTIC SCIENCES Abstract Satire exists as a subgenre of comedy and has, from its beginnings in ancient literary traditions of Rome and Greece, served as a voice of the populace to express its dissatisfaction with dominant ideologies, norms, public hypocrisy, faulty human behavior, etc. Some satires aim to provide a corrective point for society and are more direct, while others tend to provide food for thought which may inspire change. While the Roman tradition produced Juvenalian and Horatian satire, the Greek
... More tradition produced Menippean satire. Juvenalian is an authoritarian, corrective form of satire, often dark and pessimistic. On the other hand, Horatian satire is more subtle in its manner, using irony to deliver its satirical purpose. The Greek tradition of Menippean satire produced a wide scope of satirical characters still used today: fools, braggers, imposters, etc. The exposing rather than corrective style of Menippean satire is one which is most relevant for contemporary satire. Satire is a complex art form, which transferred itself from literary traditions to new media outlets such as television. However, it demands a shared discourse between the satirist and its audience, otherwise it fails to inspire societal change. In this paper, the focus of analysis is American satire, with a special attention paid to African American satire. The development of American satire was inspired by its colonial and post-colonial settings. In the postmodern period, it is characterized by TV productions which tackle dominant societal issues relating to class, gender, race, etc. What is most prominent in contemporary production of satire is the fact that popular TV satires tend to become forms of public pedagogy, that is, they teach their viewers to question what they consume and contribute to shaping and reforming societal values. While both American and African American satire share certain stylistic characteristics, as all satire does, they nevertheless differ according to specific cultural discourses they arise from. The relationship between African American identity and American power structures has always been that of violence and oppression. As such, it pushed African American identity narratives out of the mainstream and to the cultural margins from which their satirical expression emerged. Such satire arises within a culture which boasts with its democratic philosophy, while simultaneously failing to recognize the validity and humanism of African American identity. This greatly influenced African American satire, which, in the exact sense of the word, emerged in the African American satirical novel of the 20th century. It is characterized by the extensive use of irony, forcing ideas and concepts to the extreme to reveal their absurdity, and the practice of signifying. In his book African American Satire - The Sacredly Profane Novel, Darryl Dickson-Carr states that, while analyzing African American satire, it is better not to focus on the corrective points of it, but to ask in what way it challenges us to think. He continues by saying that the objects of such satire are specific forms of American racism and the trends of Afro-American social, political, and cultural status (16-17). These characteristics are present in literature as well as new media production, one of which is Donald Glover’s series Atlanta. It first aired in 2016, and tackles questions of race, class, and gender as it is experienced in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Through the story about three young men trying to make it in the hip-hop industry, it depicts a city in which racism, cultural appropriation and self-deprecation emerge in a setting which is far from the stereotypical portrayal of Black experience connected with poverty and crime. This is not to say that class struggles are not represented in the series, but that they are just a part of a thought provoking, multi-dimensional lived experience. The satire presented in the series relies on ironic debunking, with a range of absurd characters which help to maintain the comedy aspect of this comedy/drama series. Less Abstract (croatian) Satira je potkategorija komedije koja je, od svojih početaka, služila širem stanovništvu kako bi izrazilo svoje nezadovoljstvo dominantnim ideologijama i normama, društvenim licemjerjem i određenim ljudskim nedostatcima. Satira može biti izravna u svom pokušaju ispravljanja određene nepravde, međutim, postoje i one koje teže ka poticanju razmišljanja koje bi, posljedično, dovele do društvene promjene. Rimska tradicija stvorila je Juvenalijansku i Horacijsku satiru, dok je Grčka
... More tradicija proizvela menipsku satiru. Juvenalijanska satira je stroga i kontroverzna, često mračna i pesimistična. Horacijska je satira puno blaža i suptilnija, te često koristi ironiju kako bi ostvarila svoj cilj. S druge strane, menipska je satira proizvela mnoge satirične likove koji se pojavljuju i danas: luda, naivac, hvalisavac, prevarant, itd. Njena je svrha otkriti, radije nego ispraviti ono što kritizira. Takav je stil prisutan i u suvremenoj satiri, koja se iz književne tradicije proširila i na suvremene medije kao što je televizijski pogram. Kako bi satira bila shvaćena i potaknula promjenu, i satirist i njegova publika moraju dijeliti određeno znanje o svijetu, te dijeliti neke moralne vrijednosti. Analiza ovoga rada nalazi svoje težište u američkoj satiri, s posebnim naglaskom na afro-američku satiru. Inspiracija rane američke satire bio je njen kolonijalni i post-kolonijalni kulturni kontekst. U postmodernizmu, američka se satira pojavljuje najviše u obliku televizijskih produkcija, gdje se bavi društvenim pitanjima kao što su klasa, rod, rasa, itd. Ono što je najvažnije reći za popularnu televizijsku satiru jest to kako služi kao neka vrsta javne pedagogije zato što pridonosi stvaranju i preoblikovanju društvenoga mnijenja. Iako, kao i sva satira, američka i afro-američka satira dijele određene stilske značajke, razlikuju se s obzirom na diskurs iz kojega proizlaze. Odnos između afro-američkoga identiteta i američke strukture moći karakteriziran je sustavnom opresijom i nasiljem, što je potisnulo afro-američke narative na same margine društva. Sa tih je margina počeo razvoj afro-američke satire, odražavajući američku kuluturu koja, iako se ponosi svojom demokracijom, ne prepoznaje vrijednost i ravnopravnost afro-američkog identiteta. Afro-američka satira u pravom smislu te riječi pojavljuje se u dvadesetom stoljeću u obliku satiričnoga romana. Odlikuje se čestom upotrebom ironije, dovođenjem koncepata i ideja do ekstrema kako bi razotkrila njihovu apsurdnost, te korištenjem specifičnog simboličkog izražavanja. U svojoj knjizi African American Satire - The Sacredly Profane Novel, Darry Dickson-Carr navodi kako je za analizu afro-američke satire, umjesto traženja onih elemenata koji pokušavaju ispraviti satiriziranu pojavu, potrebno sagledati one aspekte koji potiču na razmišljanje. Također navodi i neke od motiva koji se pojavljuju, a to su: specifični oblici američkog rasizma, te status afro-američke društvene, političke i kulturne stvarnosti. (16-17) Navedene karakteristike mogu se pronaći i u primjeru serije Atlanta, producenta Donalda Glovera. Prvi put je emitirana 2016. godine, te se bavi pitanjima rase, roda i društvene klase u gradu Atlanti. Serija prikazuje kulturne pojave kao što su rasizam i kulturno prisvajanje kroz priču o tri mlada muškarca koji pokušavaju uspjeti u hip-hop insutriji. Također, prikaz ovih motiva ne oslanja se na stereotipni prikaz crnačkoga iskustva koji se često veže za siromaštvo i kriminal. To ne znači kako klasni problemi nisu prikazani, već kako čine samo jedan dio višedimenzionalne stvarnosti. Satirični sadržaj serije oslanja se na ironično razotkrivanje, kroz cijeli niz apsurdnih likova, uspješno spajajući komediju i dramu. Less Keywords
Satire
American satire
TV satire
public pedagogy
African American satire
Black satire
identity narrative
race
racial discourse
Atlanta
Keywords (croatian)
satira
američka satira
TV satira
javna pedagogija
afro-američka satira
osobni narativ
identitet
rasa
rasni diskurs
Atlanta
Language english URN:NBN urn:nbn:hr:162:035518 Study programme Title: English Language and Literature (double major) Type of resource Text File origin Born digital Access conditions Access restricted to students and staff of home institution Terms of use Created on 2022-05-10 09:11:25
