The power of satire Bex Peterson Editor-in-Chief hat makes for good satire? This question is broad and intensely subjective to the point where any answer can and should be automatically classified as a matter of opinion, but it’s one that I think about a lot. I, like the Editor-in-Chief before me, rose up through the Other Press ranks by way of the Humour section. I had the wonderful job of writing several humour articles every week from 2016 to 2017. This meant I had to try to be funny even as the world slipped on its axis and spun us into the current madness that has unfortunately become mundane, everyday reality. Not to be hyperbolic or dramatic. I’m just very tired. What does satire do? It’s slightly beyond—though not above—telling a set of jokes to make you laugh and brighten Room 1020 - 700 Royal Ave. Douglas College New Westminster, BC, V3L 5B2 604-525-3542 Bex Peterson Editor-in-Chief M editor@theotherpress.ca James Moore Layout Manager M layout@theotherpress.ca Katie Czenczek News Editor M news@theotherpress.ca Jessica Berget Opinions Editor M opinions@theotherpress.ca Greg Waldock Web Editor M webeditor@theotherpress.ca Cover design Lauren Kelly your day. Satire has a cutting edge, for better or for worse. I’ve seen (and honestly, have written) a lot of satire that can be easily dismissed with a sarcastic “ooh, edgy’, which is never what you want. There's also the opposite danger with satire: The danger of people not getting the joke. For example, the song “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” from the musical Cabaret was meant to show the horrifyingly addictive and infectious nature of unbridled nationalism. Unfortunately, many alt-right and neo- Nazi organizations have co-opted the piece as a kind of anthem for their ideology. When Stephen Colbert ran The Colbert Report, his character was meant to satirize conservative talk shows; however, there were those who thought the show was a sympathetic nod to these ideals rather than a lampooning of them. These days, Colbert’s political commentary is far more reflective of his personal beliefs. Was he more effective as a caricature than he is @ theotherpress.ca © editor@theotherpress.ca ¥ © /theotherpress f/douglasotherpress Caroline Ho Assistant Editor M assistant@theotherpress.ca Lauren Kelly Graphics Manager © graphics@theotherpress.ca Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor © arts@theotherpress.ca Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor M lifeandstyle@theotherpress.ca [Vacant] Entertainment Editor © humour@theotherpress.ca now? I’m sure there are arguments to be made either way. Moving beyond these thorny questions, here’s what I think good satire can do: It can demystify power structures that seem impossible to overcome. A well-placed joke can take power away from those who abuse it, and irony can prove devastating when employed as a weapon. Good satire also—and I stress, this is just my opinion—creates space. It gives people space to laugh at even the most frightening of oppressive circumstances, and it gives people space to examine their own behaviour to ensure that they aren’t the ones everyone is laughing at. Good satire punches up, never down. It cuts to certain truths. Comedy can be very dangerous if done well. If you like video essays, I’d highly suggest watching Lindsay Ellis’ Mel Brooks, The Producers and the Ethics of Satire about N@zis. It delves into the intricacies of successful versus unsuccessful satire and Angela Ho Business Manager Jacey Gibb Distribution Manager Meghan Lin Production Assistant Cara Seccafien IHustrator Tania Arora Staff Reporter Naomi Ambrose, Roshni Riar Staff Writers Billy Bui Staff Photographer Jerrison Oracion Janis McMath Senior Columnist CJ Sommerfeld Columnist Karen Segal Contributor is an amazing watch on the whole—even if she doesn't observe the Oxford comma. In the meantime, this whole damn ramble was meant to introduce our new Entertainment Editor Isabelle Orr. She'll be taking over from Klara Woldenga, who has written amazing satire for us for just over a year now. Humour is very important to the Other Press, and I’m very excited to see where Isabelle will take the section from here. However you feel about satire, I’m sure you can agree that we all deserve a good laugh these days. Until next issue (which as it turns out was the Lettitor sign-off past-EIC Lauren Kelly used to use, SORRY LAUREN, I’m not changing it now), Bex Peterson Bex Peterson The Other Press has been Douglas College’s student newspaper since 1976. Since 1978 we have been an autonomous publication, independent of the student union. We are a registered society under the Society Act of British Columbia, governed by an eight-person board of directors appointed by our staff. Our head office is located in the New Westminster campus. The Other Press is published weekly during the fall and winter semesters, and monthly during the summer. We receive our funding from a student levy collected through tutition fees every semester at registration, and from local and national advertising revenue. The Other Press is a member of the Canadian University Press (CUP), a syndicate of student newspapers that includes papers from all across Canada. 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