4.0125 Parody (2/38)

Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Thu, 24 May 90 16:21:43 EDT

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 4, No. 0125. Thursday, 24 May 1990.


(1) Date: Thu, 24 May 90 09:20 CDT (28 lines)
From: A10PRR1@NIU
Subject: Satire

(2) Date: Thu, 24 May 90 10:28 EST (10 lines)
From: PRIMER@DRACO.BITNET
Subject: Swift,satire,etc.

(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 24 May 90 09:20 CDT
From: A10PRR1@NIU
Subject: Satire

Tony Bex,

In reply to your request for instances of parody being taken
seriously--

In Sinclair Lewis's "Babbitt" there is a scene in which George
Babbitt delivers a speech to his realtor's association convention.
It is full of the usual Babbitt chauvinism, patriotism, and illogic.

Some years ago (maybe 10?) an American actor (can't remember his
name--recognizable, but not a big star) delivered the same speech
verbatim to a group (Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions?) in Duluth, Minnesota.
Members of the audience were interviewed later and commented that
the speech was stirring, inspirational, etc. None recognized its
source. This was all televised as part of a special on midwest
attitudes or some such thing.

Sorry to be so fuzzy about all of this but it was quite a while ago
and although it was pretty funny I had no reason to remember the
details of it. I'm sending this to both you and HUMANIST; maybe
someone else on the list will have a better recollection of the show.

Phil Rider
Northern Illinois University
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------16----
Date: Thu, 24 May 90 10:28 EST
From: PRIMER@DRACO.BITNET
Subject: Swift,satire,etc.

Tony Bex asks for "other occasions where parody or satire have
been taken at their face value [etc.]." The best example by far is
Defoe's "The Shortest-Way with the Dissenters" (1702), which gained
instant notoriety and did not long remain a work by "anonymous."

Irwin Primer, English Dept., Rutgers University, Newark NJ 07102