What I mean by "good satire" is one that's borh funny, and reveals something about its subject matter that its target audience doesn't want to admit. In other words, it can't pander to anyone.
I've talked about Ciguli Miguli before, and it's the best example of what I'm talking about. It criticizes communism for destroying local culture, but it also criticizes the people for letting it be destroyed by both neglecting it, and by feeling inferior. I wish I had a more well-known example, but there you go.
Dr. Strangelove, Tropic Thunder and The Great Dictator are great comedies, but they don't have that element of "uncomfortable truth". They just take what you already know and use it to make you laugh. Idiocracy came closer, with Joe admitting that it's his fault the world went to hell, but that's not what the movie is about. It's more about the jokes, with that part being put in so Mike Judge can make it clear he's not here to stroke his ego.
I've talked about Ciguli Miguli before, and it's the best example of what I'm talking about. It criticizes communism for destroying local culture, but it also criticizes the people for letting it be destroyed by both neglecting it, and by feeling inferior. I wish I had a more well-known example, but there you go.
Dr. Strangelove, Tropic Thunder and The Great Dictator are great comedies, but they don't have that element of "uncomfortable truth". They just take what you already know and use it to make you laugh. Idiocracy came closer, with Joe admitting that it's his fault the world went to hell, but that's not what the movie is about. It's more about the jokes, with that part being put in so Mike Judge can make it clear he's not here to stroke his ego.