One
of my favorite types of rhetoric is satire. More specifically, I love how it
means using clever humor to get a point across to the audience. JibJab, a
digital entertainment studio, is known for its witty uses of satire. The studio
creates satiric videos criticizing politicians or past events. My personal
favorite JibJab video is “Big Box Mart.”
This
video is drenched with satire. From the smog-filled Beijing to the house
bursting with stuff, JibJab makes use of burlesque, parody and exaggeration.
For
each character, the heads of photographed people have been cut off and pasted
onto disproportional bodies. All of them are the same height and have stiff
movements, making them more comical.
The
characters’ stiff gestures move in tempo to the parody of “Oh Susanna!”, a
classic 19th century American song. This folk ballad, recognizable
to most Americans, reinforces that the clip’s content is criticizing what’s
going on in America.
Rather
than using a tone as serious as the topic, the song has an upbeat tempo that
contrasts to the troubling phenomena being described in the clip. By doing
this, JibJab is using irony. It puts the context of the message in a humorous
light but continues to highlight the dismal truth reflected through the
parodied lyrics.
Along
with the comical-looking people and parodied American classic, JibJab makes use
of exaggeration. Beijing in a smog-filled city of factories, America’s
countryside is filled with billboards, the main character’s shopping cart is
overloaded with stuff, and Big Box Mart has over 90 isles.
The
visual exaggerations play off of stereotypes of American consumerism. The man
claims he has “lots of needs” and proceeds to place a yard gnome in his bright
red cart. He pulls out 7 credit cards while pushing his overloaded cart. His
wife is pressed against a window of their house because there’s simply not
enough room inside because of all of the things they bought from Big Box Mart.
The
exaggeration continues as “American Industries Est. 1776” is shut down as it can’t
compete with cheap foreign labor. The man can now no longer afford retirement
and now must “scrub toilets until they put [him] in the grave.” Not all of
American industries have been shut down and not all those who have lost their
jobs will be forced to scrub toilets for the rest of their lives. To say the
least, these are major exaggerations. Yet, despite the humor found in the
amplifications, JibJab is emphasizing a sad truth—cheap foreign labor is
hurting some Americans, leaving them in sad situations. This man’s however, it
overly pathetic.
To
me, JibJab’s over exaggeration is humorous while still being effective at
delivering its message. I for one
would prefer to not like to work for a place like Big Box Mart, thus:
‘Oh
Big Box Mart, no don’t you cry for me. I come from Happy Valley where I will
get my degree!’
Your final line clinches this post. Excellent.
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