Satire is people as they are; romanticism, people as they would like to be; realism, people as they seem with their insides left out. – Dawn Powell
‘Charlie Hebdo’ had been nondenominational in its satire, sticking its finger into the sensitivities of Jews and Christians, too – but only Muslims responded with threats and acts of terrorism. – George Packer
Conventional show-biz savvy held that Americans hated to be the objects of satire. – Carroll O’Connor
The most brilliant satire of all time was ‘A Modest Proposal’ by Jonathan Swift. You’ll notice how everything got straightened out in Ireland within days of that coming out. – P. J. O’Rourke
I don’t want to sound disingenuous here – controversy is obviously good for business, especially if your business is satire. And it does amplify the discussion – in my view, a good thing. – Garry Trudeau
‘As Long As I Know I’m Getting Paid’ is a satire. Lyrically, I want to be direct. With my history in Fall Out Boy, there’s some expectation that I’m going to be lyrically obtuse. But that song is a straight-faced satire of consumerism. – Patrick Stump
For me, my party views don’t advance my narrative. Until I can find a way to write political satire like my idols Christopher Buckley or P.J. O’Rourke, I’ll simply say what team I play for and leave it at that. – Jen Lancaster
When you have satire, it has to be real. No matter how outrageous the comedy becomes, you have to believe in the characters. – Kevin Kline
Occasionally, the horrors of life in North Korea do show up in our American satire. – Jennifer Armintrout
Satire is, by definition, offensive. It is meant to make us feel uncomfortable. It is meant to make us scratch our heads, think, do a double-take, and then think again. – Maajid Nawaz
In the old days of literature, only the very thick-skinned – or the very brilliant – dared enter the arena of literary criticism. To criticise a person’s work required equal measures of erudition and wit, and inferior critics were often the butt of satire and ridicule. – Joanne Harris
The modern form of things had begun to appeal to me, also (as material for satire) politics, and the lives of the great and little, high up in the social scale. – Laurence Housman
Satire is tragedy plus time. You give it enough time, the public, the reviewers will allow you to satirize it. Which is rather ridiculous, when you think about it. – Lenny Bruce
I only aim at the powerful. When satire is aimed at the powerless, it is not only cruel – it’s vulgar. – Molly Ivins
But in terms of satire and comedy, our biggest and earliest influence was Mad magazine. – Jerry Zucker
Satire has been a sanctuary historically monopolized by progressives, originally used as a discreet tool against Western religious fundamentalism. – Maajid Nawaz
Rush Limbaugh’s pathetic abuse of logic, his absurd pomposity, his relentless self-promotion, his ridiculous ego – now those, friends, are appropriate targets for satire. – Molly Ivins
Some readers took ‘Heaven’s My Destination’ as a satire on Christianity and the Midwest, but today it reads like a loving comedy. – Robert Gottlieb
‘Post 9/11 Blues’ is an observational satire about the surreal circus of fear at that time. It’s a generational thing. – Riz Ahmed
