Satire

"Satire" is any work of art that uses ridicule, humor, and wit in order to criticize and provoke change in human nature or social institutions; satire can be found anywhere from Shakespeare (Measure for Measure) to an editorial newspaper cartoon. Vidal is widely known as a satirical writer, and Visit to a Small Planet is a work that strengthens such a reputation: when Kreton, an alien visitor, invades a middle-class Virginia home, the characters react to him in ways that showcase their fears and frustrations with their own lives. The play examines (and pokes fun at) contemporary ideas about war, the fear of "foreign" invasion, and attitudes toward sex. Vidal ridicules military bureaucracy and paranoia through General Powers, the influence of television on American life with Roger Spelding, and, in general, the irrational, "primitive" impulses that often govern our lives. Through the eyes of Kreton, an alien with...