https://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2009/01/08/why-satire-suffers-a-example-from-the-adult-entertainment-industry/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 23:24:41 -0400<![CDATA[I have often had occasion to bemoan the sad lot of the satirist in contemporary society. Satire depends for its bite on a discrepancy between the satire and reality. The satirist presents an exaggerated, over-the-top caricature of some state of affairs in order to highlight a recognizable element of failure, hypocrisy, turpitude, or pomposity. It&#8217;s one thing for a critic to satirize some elements of modern art as pre-packaged excrement. But what&#8217;s the critic to do when faced with Piero Manzoni&#8217;s &#8220;Artist&#8217;s Shit,&#8221; a series of 90 numbered cans each containing 30 grams of the artist&#8217;s own feces? In May 2007, a single can fetched 124,000 euros at Sotheby&#8217;s. Can you beat that?]]>Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:16:32 -0500<![CDATA[Roger Kimball]]>https://pjmedia.com/roger-kimball/2009/01/08/why-satire-suffers-a-example-from-the-adult-entertainment-industry-n115465