{"id":173,"date":"2025-03-15T15:35:11","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T15:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/chapter\/irony-and-sarcasm\/"},"modified":"2025-05-09T15:11:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T15:11:08","slug":"irony-and-sarcasm","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/chapter\/irony-and-sarcasm\/","title":{"raw":"Irony and Sarcasm","rendered":"Irony and Sarcasm"},"content":{"raw":"Start by asking students to think of examples of TV shows or movies where [pb_glossary id=\"210\"]sarcasm[\/pb_glossary] or insults are used for humor.\r\n\r\nHow can you tell when someone is being sarcastic?\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Sometimes by their tone of voice. Other times you can tell by the context or by how other people react.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nWhat is the difference between [pb_glossary id=\"210\"]sarcasm[\/pb_glossary], [pb_glossary id=\"211\"]irony [\/pb_glossary]or [pb_glossary id=\"208\"]satire[\/pb_glossary]?\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Basically, sarcasm is when irony is used to insult or make fun of someone, and satire is when irony is used to poke fun at an idea or a group of people.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">For the following questions, have students share their opinions rather than seeking definite answers:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\nIs it funny when characters say mean things to their friends?\r\n\r\nWhen characters are insulted, does it seem like it hurts their feelings?\r\n\r\nWould it hurt your feelings if your friends said mean things to you?\r\n\r\nWhat message do we get from a movie or TV show if insults and sarcasm don\u2019t seem to hurt people\u2019s feelings?\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nPoint out to students that in real life (online or offline) words can hurt.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>A study of one school found that more than half of the\u00a0 students there used the word \u2018gay\u2019 as a general negative word \u2013 to describe something they don\u2019t like \u2013 at least once a day.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Three quarters of those students agreed that hearing that word used in a negative way could be hurtful, even if it had nothing to do with a person\u2019s sexual orientation.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--key-takeaways\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Now ask:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\nIs it harder to tell if someone is joking or being sarcastic when you\u2019re online?\r\n\r\nCan that make it harder to push back when people are being mean, hurtful or prejudiced online?\r\n\r\nDo the same things make it harder to tell if you\u2019ve hurt someone\u2019s feelings when you\u2019re online?\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<p>Start by asking students to think of examples of TV shows or movies where <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_173_210\">sarcasm<\/a> or insults are used for humor.<\/p>\n<p>How can you tell when someone is being sarcastic?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Sometimes by their tone of voice. Other times you can tell by the context or by how other people react.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What is the difference between <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_173_210\">sarcasm<\/a>, <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_173_211\">irony <\/a>or <a class=\"glossary-term\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-describedby=\"definition\" href=\"#term_173_208\">satire<\/a>?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Basically, sarcasm is when irony is used to insult or make fun of someone, and satire is when irony is used to poke fun at an idea or a group of people.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--examples\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">For the following questions, have students share their opinions rather than seeking definite answers:<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p>Is it funny when characters say mean things to their friends?<\/p>\n<p>When characters are insulted, does it seem like it hurts their feelings?<\/p>\n<p>Would it hurt your feelings if your friends said mean things to you?<\/p>\n<p>What message do we get from a movie or TV show if insults and sarcasm don\u2019t seem to hurt people\u2019s feelings?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Point out to students that in real life (online or offline) words can hurt.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A study of one school found that more than half of the\u00a0 students there used the word \u2018gay\u2019 as a general negative word \u2013 to describe something they don\u2019t like \u2013 at least once a day.\n<ul>\n<li>Three quarters of those students agreed that hearing that word used in a negative way could be hurtful, even if it had nothing to do with a person\u2019s sexual orientation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--key-takeaways\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<p class=\"textbox__title\">Now ask:<\/p>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p>Is it harder to tell if someone is joking or being sarcastic when you\u2019re online?<\/p>\n<p>Can that make it harder to push back when people are being mean, hurtful or prejudiced online?<\/p>\n<p>Do the same things make it harder to tell if you\u2019ve hurt someone\u2019s feelings when you\u2019re online?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"glossary\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\" id=\"definition\">definition<\/span><template id=\"term_173_210\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_173_210\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>Sarcasm is when you insult or criticize someone by saying something where the apparent meaning is different from its real meaning.<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><template id=\"term_173_211\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_173_211\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>A technique using contrast or contradiction for the purposes of humour or emphasis; for example, a statement that has an underlying meaning different from its literal or surface meaning.<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><template id=\"term_173_208\"><div class=\"glossary__definition\" role=\"dialog\" data-id=\"term_173_208\"><div tabindex=\"-1\"><p>The use of irony, sarcasm, or other forms of humour to expose or criticize human folly or vice.<\/p>\n<\/div><button><span aria-hidden=\"true\">&times;<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Close definition<\/span><\/button><\/div><\/template><\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-173","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":172,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":463,"href":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/173\/revisions\/463"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/172"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/173\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=173"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=173"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/textbook.mediasmarts.ca\/exploring\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}