Response to Mallory’s Blog

In Mallory’s blog this week she analyzed a video from the Limmy’s Show, in which a Scottish man named Limmy poked fun at the fact that people pay for bottled water when we have access to tap water from our faucets at home. This video is the perfect example of satire to me. This video criticizes and pokes fun at people who buy bottled water. Most satirical pieces are based around controversial political views and this video is just taking a stance on bottled waters. I think the purpose of satire is to point out flaws and get people thinking. I agree that people should use less plastic bottles and start using their faucets at home more and use reusable bottles more. Yet, when I was watching this video I almost got defensive over plastic water bottles; sometimes they are necessary; sometimes they are the only source of water you buy; they are easy and not a hassle. However, even with all those pros of bottles water, I still believe that we should use less of them. And I think that is exactly what satire is meant to do. Satire is meant to get you thinking and promote change.

I believe satire is one of the greatest aspects of humor that superiority theory accounts for. The audience feels superior to the people in the video for not knowing that the faucet has water. But this is only to a degree because we know that these characters are just acting and using exaggeration. In satire, the audience feels superior to the people who the satirical piece is making fun of. In this case, the video is poking fun at people who excessively buy bottled water.