Satire HAS worked very well to minimize negative influences

Submitted by Kevin M (United States), Dec 26, 2007 at 11:52

Blazing Saddles: It didn't do anything to negate racism, but no major Hollywood western was produced for almost 20 years after its release. The inherent racism of the western, ridiculed by Mel Brooks, has disappeared from the genre. It's documented in Robert McKee's book "Story."

The psychology is very simple. If a despised manner of thinking is accused of being evil, the ensuing dialectic takes the form of a philosophical argument with imposed values. But if the manner of thinking is ridiculed (portrayed as the product of puny minds) and can be done so to successfully provoke laughter, adherents are made to endure shame for their beliefs. Think of Swift's "A Modest Proposal."

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