Outdoor Cinema: In Defence of Satire
In Defence of Satire is a razor-sharp curated film program that presents critically acclaimed satires that dive into the absurdities of media, power and performance – inviting you to consider the continued power of the form in exposing the chaos beneath modern society’s polished surface.
In a world where truth is stranger than fiction, satire is still our sharpest lens.
In Defence of Satire is a curated film program exploring the absurdities of modern life – from nuclear brinkmanship and media manipulation to the delusions of fame and the machinery of Hollywood.
The power of these films lies in how they not only entertain, but provoke, dissect and expose.
Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb turns Cold War paranoia into a darkly comic descent into madness, where the fate of humanity rests in the hands of buffoons and bureaucrats. Sidney Lumet’s Network (screenplay by three-time Academy Award winner Paddy Chayefsky) skewers television’s descent into spectacle, with a prophetic fury that still echoes in today’s media landscape.
Rob Reiner’s This Is Spinal Tap flips the volume to eleven in a mockumentary that brilliantly satirises rock stardom, ego and the absurdity of performance. And Robert Altman’s The Player takes us behind Hollywood’s glossy facade, where murder, ambition and cynicism swirl.
Together, these films form a mirror – cracked, distorted and uncomfortably accurate. They ask: what happens when systems built on reason spiral into chaos? When the pursuit of ratings, fame or power overrides truth? When yesterday’s satire is today’s reality?
In Defence of Satire invites you to laugh, wince and reflect. To explore anew the place of satire in understanding the unimaginable, and to appreciate the searing subterfuge of comedy as a weapon of cultural criticism.
Presented by Fed Square, as part of Open Air at the Square.
Monday 2 February, 8pm
Stanley Kubrick’s iconic black comedy turns nuclear annihilation into absurd farce, as a rogue general triggers a doomsday scenario and the world’s leaders — including the bizarre Dr. Strangelove — scramble to contain the fallout with incompetence and paranoia.
Dir. Stanley Kubrick | 1964 | 95 min | USA & UK | English | Classification: PG – Adult themes
Tuesday 3 February, 8pm
In this scathing critique of television and corporate media, a news anchor’s on-air breakdown becomes a ratings bonanza, exposing how truth, outrage and exploitation are commodified in the pursuit of profit and spectacle. Written by Paddy Chayefsky and starring Peter Finch, William Holden, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight, the film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won four, for Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
Dir. Sidney Lumet | 1976 | 121 min | USA | English | Classification: M – Strong themes and coarse language
Wednesday 4 February, 8pm
Rob Reiner’s mockumentary follows a fictional British rock band on a disastrous U.S. tour, hilariously skewering the excesses of the music industry, rock star egos, and the absurdity of fame — all with amps that go to eleven.
Dir. Rob Reiner | 1984 | 82 min | USA | English | Classification: M – Coarse language and drug use
Thursday 5 February, 8pm
Robert Altman’s Hollywood satire centres on a studio executive (played by Tim Robbins) who becomes entangled in a murder mystery while navigating the ruthless world of pitch meetings, power plays, and self-serving storytelling – where even crime can be spun into a screenplay. Writer Michael Tonkin adapted the screenplay from his 1988 novel, winning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Dir. Robert Altman | 1992 | 123 min | USA | English | Classification: M – Medium level coarse language, low level violence