"Sneering Satire"

Lucy O’Brien describes sneering as a pleasurable social act that expresses contempt or scorn aimed at diminishing the target’s social standing. Sneering acts are social in that they require recognition from others in order to be successful. O’Brien thinks satire is especially equipped as a tool for those without social power due to its sneering capacity. In this talk, I will look at how satire works and whether we ought put much stock in it as an effective tool for disrupting social structures.