social critique
Exposing cultural flaws
Social critique is analysis that examines and challenges aspects of society—its institutions, norms, power structures, or cultural practices.
The term appears in academic and artistic contexts: The novel offers a sharp social critique of consumer culture.
A social critique identifies problems and often implies that change is needed, though it may stop short of proposing solutions.
- muckrakingInvestigative reporting on corruption
- satireMockery exposing vice
- PostmodernismMovement questioning objective truth
- ironyMeaning opposite to words
- ExistentialismPhilosophy of radical freedom
exposé · parody · realism · Feminism · culture wars · caricature · political satire · biting satire · human folly · Dickens · Marxism · class struggle · systemic oppression · agitprop · Orwell · sarcasm · Occupy Wall Street · political commentary
- social conceptssociety, community, equality, justice, rights
- artistic intentexpression, self-expression, beauty, commentary, satire
- editorial cartoonseditorial cartoon, political cartoon, political satire, caricature, cartoonist
- French EnlightenmentVoltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu
- protest fictionprotest novel, protest poetry, muckraking, political fiction, dissident literature
- protest writingmanifesto, pamphlet, polemic, protest poetry, protest songs