Biting Social Satire: How to Write a Great Critique

Social satire is a genre of film that relies on irony, exaggeration, ridicule, or humor to critique an unfavorable aspect of society and/or human nature.

The best social satires are entertaining at the surface level – often featuring elements of fantasy or absurdism – and also pack a critical punch. 

In this article, we’ll break down the key aspects of a social satire.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for GET OUT, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU, and FIGHT CLUB.

What Issue Are You Satirizing in Your Social Satire? 

A social satire revolves around whatever aspect of society it’s critiquing. 

Therefore the first step of writing a social satire is determining what societal issue your script is going to satirize. Some possible topics might include:

• Politics – Power struggles, deception, and deceit in the political sphere.
• The Social Hierarchy – How society is structured, and how that structure often disadvantages people of certain races, classes, genders, sexualities, etc.
• Technology – How people communicate, how society is becoming increasingly reliant on technology, etc.
• The Environment – How humans affect the environment and their ignorance regarding their impact. 
• Religion – The psychology of religion, the corrupt aspects of the institution, etc.

When choosing a topic for your social satire, it’s helpful to read the news and stay up to date with current events. You may even want to keep a journal where you take notes about societal trends that you notice (particularly those that you think should change) throughout everyday life. 

The best social satires critique relevant subject matter. So allow the current state of the world to inform your choices as a writer. 

Broad vs. Specific Satire

You may choose to critique a broader issue, like power/corruption (THE FAVOURITE) or classism (PARASITE). Such films primarily rely on other elements like style, setting, or characters to add nuance to the critique. Clearly, this can be effective. 

But more specific or niche topics – when properly executed – will help distinguish your script from other social satires.

For example:

• Each BLACK MIRROR episode focuses on a particular aspect of modern technology and its impact on society. For example, “Nosedive” satirizes people’s over-reliance on social media, criticizing those who constantly seek validation through likes and ratings.
• THE LOBSTER is a satirical commentary on the social pressures that underlie the search for a lifelong romantic partner. 
• LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE critiques society’s impractical standards of beauty, specifically satirizing the toxicity of beauty pageant culture.

Novel topics can add the necessary dose of originality to your social satire script. Of course, originality is an important aspect of any film regardless of its genre. But a social satire requires some degree of novelty to be fully effective. 

A critique should open viewers’ eyes to an issue, or at least highlight some aspect of the issue largely unexplored in popular media. If the topic (or execution of the topic) feels jaded, the critique will fall flat. Your social satire should challenge viewers by presenting a new perspective. 

But what differentiates a satire from a traditional critique? Films like IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK or FRUITVALE STATION, for example, critique racism in America without satirizing it. It’s essential to understand the key features of a social satire before delving into the writing process.