Over at Image, A. G. Harmon argues that satire has all but died. He closes the article with a plea:

The thing is: these times are ripe for satire. So many people have all the answers; so many theories on how utopia can be achieved; so many who deny that there is something deep within the human soul that will sabotage all policies, plans, and white papers. What we need is an artistic renewal of this necessary mode: the use of sustained (throughout) wit (keep it light) to reveal some dominant flaw in the regnant milieu (no straw men) of modern (topical) times. The purpose is laughter, but with fiery eyes and gritted teeth, to make the false god totter on his perch.

You’ll want to read the whole thing here.

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Richard Clark

Richard Clark is the Founding Editor of Christ and Pop Culture. He is also the managing editor of Gamechurch and a freelance writer for Unwinnable, Paste, and other outlets. He lives with his wife in Louisville, KY and has a MA in Theology and the Arts from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
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2 Comments

  1. I could hardly disagree more. Our age is dominated by satire, even if it is the kind that Harmon says doesn’t have a “bite” or isn’t against the zeitgeist. It has really only been since Obama’s campaign where we have seen our cultural discourse move slightly from dismal satire and skepticism towards at least the hope of improving things.

    Perhaps if he wrote this article in five years I might agree with his argument, but as it stands, I would say we need more sincerity and open dialogue and far less satire and parody.

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