Satire versus Slander, your thoughts?
DirtyLaundryDiva Do you think that satire and slander are the same thing? My guess is your answer will depend on on the issue at hand so lets look at a specific example… Did you feel the New Yorker cover by Barry Blitt titled “The politics of fear” was satire or slander? It probably depends on whether or not you like Obama huh?
I personally like Obama and I thought the cover was simply satire, they were trying to cause a stir and make people think. Yet so many people were in an uproar about it because they don’t distinguish between satire and slander. Do you?
Slander is defined as “the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another’s reputation”.
Satire is trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly”.
The reason I ask is because this very blog and many of the blogs I have grown to love reading are also satire not slander in my eyes but the law is very unclear about it all. Bloggers have been sued for writing stuff and arguments about free speech have been brought up so where do you stand on it all?
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There is definitely a difference. You can be satirical without making false statements.
I thought the cover was neither slanderous nor witty enough to be satire. Although, the same people who believe he doesn’t salute the flag and that his wife hates America are the ones who will believe the cover to be an accurate representation of the Obama’s. Then, is it slanderous? If it further damages their reputation in the eyes of the asshats who get their news from FoxNews. If Newscaster Hottie works for FoxNews, forget I said that last sentence.
I’m with Memarie, and although I like my satire a bit more subtle, I know that the New Yorker was attempting satire.
Of course, I sat with a group of New Yorkers last year about this time, and one of them, knowing my father is Muslim, leaned over and whispered(!) to another, “Y’know, Obama is Muslim”. I nearly came up out of my chair.
“He is not! Believe me, I’d know if he were. And then, what the fuck of it if he is? There’s a world of difference between being Muslim and being an Extremist. Kinda like (I said to this Catholic) being Catholic and being Mel Gibson!”
Oh, sorry. Did I get off track there?
I too believe the New Yorker cover was satire.
The point of difference supposedly lies in whether a statement is based in falsehoods and harm.
Truth can be a defense against charges of slander, however it is often hard to prove what the truth really is.
I agree with Memarie too, that satire makes points with tongue in cheek, as a way of bringing an idea/opinion/thought into a discussion forum. I interpret slander to mean that when the points are faulty, it only serves to harm, not enlighten. When the points are true, crying slander seems to be a way to distract from the truth. JMHO.
Yes there is a difference and it just “depends”..lame answer I know.
Definitely satire, I think.
It’s what gives Saturday Night Live their free license to mock everyone. Some of it can be wrong (and funny at the same time) and hurtful, but I don’t think it meets the definition of “slander”.
Just my thoughts.
There is a fine line between satire and slander - but that fine line exists only for the authors. A satire piece written well will not be seen as slander except by the utterly humorless, whereas the same thing written by an inexperienced author can easily be proven slanderous in court.
In a nutshell, satire is that which comes across as false without explicit mention while slander is that which is explicitly false but disguised as the truth.
I hope I do both - that’s the goal anyway! If you want to SLANDER me or SATIRE me (god that sounds dirty) you have my permission.