Satire with Pharmaceuticals

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             Satire is defined as " the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing,denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc." according to dictionary.reference.com. Which, in other words, is the use of pictures, videos or words to make fun of a certain thing or idea. In today's economy a lot of money is being spent on over the counter pharmaceutical drugs from your local drug store. And in most cases these drugs are essential to keep you healthy. But are these drugs always necessary? This picture shows two pills next to each other. The blue pill is telling the red pill that he sees healthy people and the red pill replies by saying "We have a drug for that!". Then the caption says "Pharma loves you... and your money." In this "Pharma" means pharmacy or drug store. The whole idea behind this satire photo is that although you may be perfectly healthy there will always be something new and unnecessary that you need. So much money is being spent on drugs and prescriptions. And in most cases these drugs are essential to keep you healthy. According to recent reports from consulting firm IMS Health, Americans spent  307.4 billion dollars on prescription drugs in 2010. But many of these drugs are ineffective and even some dangerous. This photo is a way to say that buying pharmaceuticals can be a waste of money. And despite the amount of money being spent on these pharmaceuticals, Americans are not getting any healthier. This is one of the many examples and forms of satire. Other forms occur in TV shows, like the Daily Show, or in works of literature such as The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn written by Mark Twain. Twain used different techniques or forms of satire in his writing. Some of these forms include exaggeration, incongruity, parody and reversal. The form of satire that is used in the is photo is parody. It takes a serious matter and imitate it to make fun of it and also point out a very serious problem in our economy and with pharmaceutical drugs. Mark Twain also used parody in his writing. Parody is exhibited in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in many different cases. One case is when the Duke is rehearsing his performance for the show on the raft. While the Duke is very serious while he is doing this rehearsal, the motions he is performing are considered to be comical. He is dancing and leaping about the raft and even shedding a tear. Another example of where Twain uses Parody is during the family feud. The feud itself was very serious but there were details about it that made it comical. Every time two members from opposite families would see each other, they would shoot and try and kill the member of the opposite family. Both families lost many family members but the humerus part of the whole feud is that no one from either family could remember what the feud was actually about. Both families were killing each other for no apparent reason. Satire can come in all different shapes, sizes and forms. It is a sarcastic way to get a serious point across and is a very effective technique.