Comments on: Satire as a Meme Vaccine

By: PolyLan

PolyLan — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 08:14:02 +0000

HOLY $DIETY! This was EXACTLY the thing I was thinking of! (I even brought it up to Michael Shermer at a local event he did here in Michigan, but he we drinking with colleges and seemed disinterested :\ )
If meme’s are mind viruses then yes, satire is the closest thing i can think of to vaccines. just remember, as with a real vaccine, the effectiveness is greatly diminished by the length of exposure to the initial pathogen. It’s not a cure, just a preventive measure. (The booster shoot reference works here too!)

By: SeanG

SeanG — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:46:03 +0000

I agree with Hover Frog. It’s like a booster. I don’t think people who like Glenn Beck would get the satire at all. It would just make them angry.

By: Pony

Pony — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:22:36 +0000

OMG! Satire causes Autism!?

By: Miko

Miko — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:46:04 +0000

The Beck impersonation was so spot on that I couldn’t stand to watch the whole thing.

By: Lagunatic

Lagunatic — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:48:29 +0000

Satire, schmatire. I’m all for blatant loud infantile mocking. However, if you have an education above the 8th grade level I guess satire could work too.
Know your audience and flog them accordingly I always say.

By: jtradke

jtradke — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:44:51 +0000

Whew, thanks!

By: Jesse Galef

Jesse Galef — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:26:42 +0000

Thanks Angie – I was just looking for a link.

By: Angie

Angie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:25:00 +0000

jtradke — here you go.

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200911060002

By: jtradke

jtradke — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:20:36 +0000

Jon Stewart’s recent parody of Glenn Beck is a prefect example.

Gah! Show, don’t tell! Where’s the link?

Man, I am so behind on my Stewart and Colbert.

By: David

David — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:01:59 +0000

People satirize good ideas as well as bad ones. If satire builds immunity to ideas, it just means another way in which memes battle each other.