Satire: Reiteration with a Caustic Edge
2010 EGSA Mardi Gras Conference
Panel Topic
Satire: Reiteration with a Caustic Edge
Andrew Banecker (LSU), Chair
Reiteration is never a mere repetition of what was once said. Rather, reiteration is repetition with emphasis; a repetition of theme, repetition of plot, but always adapted from the original in key ways, from a simple update to reflect contemporary issues/changes in the political clime, to the author's use of a familiar story as a backdrop upon which to slip more subversive elements past—or introduce subversive ideas more easily to—the intended audience. Both ploys are main tools of the trade for satirical writers. Consider the satirical films/black comedies of Danish writer/director Anders Thomas Jensen: Adams Apples (Adams æbler, 2005) and The Green Butchers (De grønne slagtere, 2003). Both films invert and use as a backdrop the widely known stories of The Book of Job and Sweeney Todd, respectively, to build darkly humorous narratives.
In literature, satire and parody often employ not only the tactics mentioned above, but also are rife with allusions (from the obvious to the subversively hidden). Think Philip Roth's The Breast, an updated version of Kafka's Metamorphosis with overtly Freudian overtones, or the early short stories and essays of Woody Allen (in which Allen goes as far as to insert his protagonist into Madame Bovary in "The Kugelmass Episode").
This panel is seeking papers which focus on these issues in satirical/humorous works of literature and film.
Consult the Conference's website (mardigras2010.blogspot.com) for more information.
Send abstracts of no more than 300 words to abanec1@tigers.lsu.edu
by Dec. 20, 2009