One–Political Humor English 1C Essay One Nothing’s Serious if Nothing’s Funny For the first essay your task is to think critically about comedic (parodies or satires) and “straight” depictions of the current political situation. You will use a variety of skills covered in class—making inferences, analyzing media imagery, identifying audience and purpose, and understanding and articulating hidden assumptions. Write an essay (1,500 words) that analyzes the intent of one instance of comedic political “coverage.” Describe the differences between a single instance of political comedy (such as a political cartoon or a Saturday Night Live sketch) and its “real life” equivalent moment or situation. Examine the explicit and implicit points the two versions make by determining their audiences and purposes, and by making inferences and judgments based on imagery and language. Requirements: One outside print source of analysis of the real moment/situation (ethos check required—do the basic research on the author’s credentials, his or her apparent or stated biases, etc.) Cite all sources in MLA (and include a Works Cited page). MLA document format: (see handbook) typed, double-spaced, serif-font (Times New Roman or Cambria), 1” or 1.25” margins, name/# on header. Optional ¶/EC: Use one political meme to augment your points/claims about the differences between the so-called reality and cartoon, parody, or satire. Please note: extra credit (up to 15 points) will only be given to those whose papers meet the word count and could stand alone (hence the idea of extra credit). If your paper lacks in either of these ways, I will look at the cartoon/meme paragraph as a necessary piece (i.e. as not extra). Grading: Your grade will be based, in large part, on the clarity of, and reasonable basis for, your claims about intent. It will also be based on how well you meet the requirements, and on grammar and structural integrity (essay, paragraph, sentence). You may do as much research as you want to do. The more context you have the better. Please remember to cite sources, and remember that I want to read your thoughts and analyses—not somebody else’s, so quote sparingly (except in the paragraph where you bring in a print source). Please keep your own political views out of this (as much as you can). Workload note: ~2-3 hours of watching/reading/researching (take notes and save links). Tip: email all important links to yourself by copying and pasting them into the body of the message. Writing time will vary based on experience, skill, personality and blood-caffeine level. comedic political Look Who’s Back
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