I’m not saying you, the reader, is a serial poster, but everybody knows or has seen somebody who posts and/‌or comments on the Internet. And yeah, it can get annoying. But Collier’s spotlight on these people shows how our interest with the Internet can be taken to the extreme. This is not only a satire, but also a warning call.
In Satire we briefly covered Aristotle’s appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos. In addition to satirizing former baseball player Barry Bonds’ battle with the law, this is an example of pathos. How could it not be when the case is titled “USA v. Steroid-Using Liar Barry Bonds.” On another level, though cases are never actually titled with such bias, people are generally slanted on that level towards players who have used performance-enhancing drugs. The article is a satire in that it pronounces so clearly what most of us are thinking about steroid users, but generally do not say so emphatically.
“Dodgeball” is a tremendous comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller. It is the tale of a man (Vaughn) who creates a dodgeball team to compete in a competition, so that he can raise enough money to keep his gym open. Stiller’s character operates a rival gym, one that is the opposite of Vaughn’s “average joe”  establishment. His gym, Globo Gym, centers on transforming the weak and ugly into “perfection” through unhealthy and intense exercise, dieting, and even surgery. Though this may seem appalling, as the linked video demonstrates, many gyms are taking close to that approach now. Globo Gym is certainly satirical, but like much of satire, it is also a warning to gyms like itself that actually exist.
Ernestine is a character created by Lily Tomlin. Tomlin, a famous and great actress in her own right, used Ernestine in many shows and sketches. The character has a great influence on much of character-driven sketch comedy today. This is because Tomlin would act as Ernestine- even at events and interviews! This immersion in character was unique at the time, and has paved the way for modern comedians like Stephen Colbert to successfully wear their persona in public.
Charlie Sheen’s antics have been well-documented lately. Since Sheen’s characters in movies and on TV are often crazy like himself, one could make the case that he is pulling an Ernestine and simply acting out his life through his roles. The satire here, though, is simply that that is not the case. Sheen is clearly going through a strange place in his life, and listening to his interviews is like listening to a top comedy sketch.
A remake of Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels” was released in 2010. This continues the theme of remakes astray from the predecessor’s mark. Though this version is more of a modern retelling, it is almost a satire how hilariously bad it is. Well, then again, I’m not sure they were looking to wow the critics. 