A Filmmaker's Guide to: Horatian Satire

In this chapter of ‘the filmmaker’s guide’ we’re actually going to be learning about literature and film together. I understand that many of you are sitting in university during difficult times and finding it increasingly hard to study and I understand that many of you who are not at university or not planning on it are possibly stuck of what to do, need a break or even need to catch up on learning film before you get to the next level. This guide will be brief but will also contain: new vocabulary, concepts and theories, films to watch and we will be exploring something taboo until now in the ‘filmmaker’s guide’ - academia (abyss opens). Each article will explore a different concept of film, philosophy, literature or bibliography/filmography etc. in order to give you something new to learn each time we see each other. You can use some of the words amongst family and friends to sound clever or you can get back to me (email in bio) and tell me how you’re doing. So, strap in and prepare for the filmmaker’s guide to film studies because it is going to be one wild ride.

Horatian Satire

What is it?

A satire of vices, this type of satire is far less serious than normal. It considers the situation to be a result of follies and silliness rather than major wrong-doings and illegality. It has been suggested by Shamekia Thomas that:

"In a work using Horatian satire, readers often laugh at the characters in the story who are the subject of mockery as well as themselves and society for behaving in those ways."

Not to be taken seriously, a Horatian Satire often refers to the clever mockery that is endured by the protagonist after they seem to 'mess-up'. This is again mockery rather than scorn. Making light of the situation and light-heartedness of the situation is key to this type of satire.

Some examples throughout literature have included the works of Mark Twain such as "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" and his better known magnum opus "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". Another example which, though darker does not actually get serious on the subject of satire as having grave consequences is the unfinished novel by Russian writer Nikolai Gogol entitled "Dead Souls". Anthony Trollope's "The Way We Live Now" and Thomas More's "Utopia" are two other examples that can be found from England.

What about in film?

When it comes to Horatian Satire in film, there are easy answers. The trick is, don't try to get too philosophical with it. It is very easy to spot once you convince yourself to stay simplistic. Films such as "The Simpsons Movie" and practically that entire show, should come to mind. Films like "This is Spinal Tap" are known to be based on the model for a Horatian Satire and often we can find a lot of movies in the romantic comedy genre that are a part of this as well.

Most mockumentaries are a part of this genre seeing as they fail to take themselves seriously at all, and many comedy satires also take this approach. The difference between satire and Horatian satire is that satire itself can be meaningful and very serious such as the film "Andrei Rublev" (1966) by Tarkovsky and "The Seventh Seal" (1957) by Bergman. Whereas, Horatian Satire needs not take itself seriously in order to make a point and Horatian Satire's primary concern is to be able to make the audience laugh because if they are laughing then they will not notice that they are practically laughing at a projection of themselves, their society or their own belief systems that are played out in follies of the human condition and hindering progressiveness in our existence on this planet.

Let's take a look at some further reading then, concerning primary texts that will teach us about Horatian Satire.

Further Reading:

• Freudenburg, K (2005). The Cambridge Companion to Roman Satire. UK: Cambridge University Press.
• Gogol, N (2004). Dead Souls. UK: Penguin Classics
• Horace (2011). Satires and Epistles. UK: Oxford World's Classics
• More, T (2012). Utopia. UK: Penguin Classics
• Trollope, A (1995). The Way We Live Now. UK: Wordsworth Classics.
• Twain, M (2014). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. UK: Penguin Classics