Pretty Little Revenge Seekers

   

      One of my closest family members is my little brother, Colin. His birthday is actually this Wednesday the 16th and he'll be turning 13! So first off, Happy Early Birthday! Second, I'd like to take the time to share an experience Colin and I went through. A few years back I must have done something to make my brother angry. And when I say angry, I mean ANGRY,  he must have thought of this prank for quite some time. Basically the evil genius he used to be came up with a plan to get me into trouble as part of his revenge. Again I don't remember what I could have possibly done to trigger any of this! Colin put pushpins in his own bed and when my mother went to go tuck him in for bed, he laid down on his bed acting like he had no idea how they could have gotten there. Of course, since my brother and I are the only kids of the house, I was immediately blamed. Imagine my confusion when I was grounded for something I probably wouldn't have the brain to come up with myself. I thought this was a perfect example of revenge, although not something that worked in my favor. In more recent years, I'm sure I have sought revenge back for this.  

      What are you doing with your life on Tuesday Nights at 8 o' clock? If you happen to be a teenage girl, (or sometimes boy) chances are pretty high that you are watching ABC Family's hit show Pretty Little Liars, I know I do. For the past two and a half years this show has been continuing it's seasons. The show is loosely based on the series by Sara Shepard. In a basic sense, a group of five friends are torn apart when one of them, Allison goes missing. The other four lose connection and distant away from each other until Allison's body is found three years later. An anonymous source, called "A" is stalking and torturing the girls by sending them vicious texts making them feel guilty for their friends disappearance as well as her death. One of the many "A's" in the show is revealed and unexpectedly a close friend named Mona. In the seventh grade when Allison was still alive, the group of five girls used to pick on Mona and call her fat. She comes back for revenge on the girls. Although off topic to the blog, I highly recommend watching Pretty Little Liars,  as it is my favorite late night television show!

How can a show that is popular now have anything to do with a Shakespearean play from centuries ago? The answer is not as bizarre as you may think. Mona has her way of getting revenge on the girls. Similarly in Hamlet, revenge is a major theme. Hamlet is informed that his Uncle Claudius murdered his father, the former King. As if it was not enough to commit murder, Claudius also married Hamlet's mother or the former King's wife. Hamlet is outraged and plots to revenge Claudius. The entire play consists of efforts of revenge. Unfortunately, I am not sure what type of revenge Hamlet gets credited for because I have yet to complete the book! I'm hoping for something big and unexpected! 

Huck Finn and Spongebob Similar?

   Huckleberry Finn is a classic novel that was first published in 1884. Almost everyone has read or at least heard of Mark Twain's intellectual masterpiece. Spongebob Squarepants is a television program that first aired on Nickelodeon in 1999. The difference? Huck Finn was aimed at an older audience while Spongebob was broadcasted on a children's network. Also seperating the two is more than one hundred years. How could two such works be related in any way shape or form you might ask? Satire, a word many people seem to be unfamiliar with in these modern times can relate the two works together in a slightly surprising way. Not convinced yet? Keep reading!

     Pictured is one of my favorite television characters. I admit, I am sixteen years old and still thoroughly enjoy the comedy of Spongebob and his friends immature humor. As I continue to watch the show as I grow older I notice more in depth humor. In a general sense, the show is a different type of funny to me than it was when I was five.  

     One particular episode of Spongebob that demonstrates satire well is Rock-A-Bye Bivalve. In this episode, Spongebob and his best friend Patrick the starfish find a baby scallop in a tree. They name it "Junior" and decide to care for it. Spongebob becomes the mother figure, doing household chores, caring for Junior, and certainly nagging Patrick who represents the father. Patrick goes to work everyday and expects to be pampered when he is at home just like the average married couple. What's so humorous about this episode is how they depict gender roles. Generally the wife complains about how little help she receives  from the husband as he returns from work and she wants a break but so does he and meanwhile the baby lacks attention and so on and so forth. A child watching this show may not note the almost obvious link but someone such as me and many others will. This is an example of satire!

     Huck Finn also contains its fair share of satire use. Unfortunately, I do not have a clever photo to go along with Huck Finn and satire but stay tuned anyways. Before the book even begins officially Mark Twain sets off on the train of satire. He writes, "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished." I find this quote to be funny because I see him mocking the people who over analyze everything. What's so funny is that these people will over analyze the quote mocking the people who over analyze! Brilliant, really.  

     Now there are many other sources of satire in the real world. Parody, ridicule, sarcasm etc. are all traced back to the general title of satire. Even if you haven't read Huckleberry Finn or seen an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, you have most definitely seen satire. Family Guy, South Park, both also great examples of satire in almost every episode.

     Carly Rae Jepsen and her song, Call Me Maybe was a huge hit that almost every huge group did a dance to for Youtube. My cousin, Hannah who is seven now, showed me a clever video mocking the song. It's called Share it Maybe and Cookie Monster from Sesame Street sings about cookies. 

     Well, that's about all the satire one post can handle! If you're still interested, Google search satire. There are literally millions of examples!