ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


Essay Videos 4 videos

A Modest Proposal...in 21st Century Media
74728 Views

We were so moved by Angelina Jolie's overseas adoptions that we created a proposal to bring foreign-born children over by the thousands! Think abou...

Letter from Birmingham Jail
6181 Views

Martin Luther King, Jr. was way more than a speech man.

Ralph Waldo Emerson: Self-Reliance
8669 Views

It's called "Self-Reliance." What could it possibly be about?

See All

A Modest Proposal...in 21st Century Media 74728 Views


Share It!


Description:

We were so moved by Angelina Jolie's overseas adoptions that we created a proposal to bring foreign-born children over by the thousands! Think about the possibilities. We're being totally serious... or are we?

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:04

A Modest Proposal… in 21st Century Media, a la Shmoop.

00:08

A Modest Proposal drew up a fool-proof plan for ending the famine in Ireland: eating babies.

00:15

Hey, anything is good with Sriracha, right?

00:18

But Swift didn’t really mean to suggest that we should actually make babies part of

00:22

our everyday diet… maybe only on special occasions…

00:29

He meant it as satire: by presenting a solution so ridiculous… it was humorous.

00:35

A lot of people didn’t get the joke. Including the Queen.

00:39

You’d think an old woman who wears a crown would have more of a sense of humor…

00:44

With today’s popularity of news satire like the Onion and the Daily Show…

00:49

…people are a lot savvier to the art of irony.

00:55

So we have a proposal for you.

01:00

We’re tired of all the brainless summer blockbusters.

01:02

Sure, we love explosions and giant robots as much as the next moviegoer, but whatever

01:08

happened to nuance, character development, and symbolism?

01:18

Movies aren’t being developed just for us anymore: they’re being developed for the

01:22

world.

01:24

We need to take back the movie industry, and here’s how we propose to do it…

01:29

Start importing Chinese babies.

01:32

Hear us out… China accounts for the second largest box

01:35

office earnings in the world, and will soon overtake the U.S. by most estimates.

01:39

There are even scenes shot for some movies specifically for the Chinese audience.

01:44

Iron Man 3 had a small sub-plot added for its Chinese release.

01:52

And the next Transformers movie is currently seeking acting talent in China on a reality

01:57

show called Transformers 4 Chinese Actor Talent Search Reality Show…

02:04

We hope the movie will be more creative than the title of that show.

02:10

We propose to start importing Chinese babies ASAP. By the thousands.

02:15

They have more people over there than they know what to do with.

02:18

And when the babies grow up, they will be seeing movies here instead of in China.

02:22

We can increase our box office and help with China’s overpopulation at the same time.

02:29

Brilliant!

02:29

What do you think?

02:30

Would it work?

02:32

We’re joking, right? Shmoop amongst yourselves.

Related Videos

The Importance of Being Earnest Summary
123040 Views

They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...

The Giver Summary
105893 Views

Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...

Invisible Man (Ellison)
1818 Views

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
1257 Views

Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...

Quotes: A fool's paradise
296 Views

Find out the meaning behind "a fool's paradise."