Two examples of strong and bitter social commentary are the writings of Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift and German priest Martin Luther.
With an international reputation, artist and political activist Banksy is known to produce street art that raises public issues such as slave Labour, loss of childhood and the effects of war.
"[3] Due to the fact that the photos are of real life situations, the contents can be perceived to be more confronting than other visual forms of social commentary.
The larger audience offered by radio and television has diminished the significance of public speaking as a means of social commentary.
[5] Influential public speakers such as Pope Francis, Malala Yousafzai, President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II,[6] comment of society's issues.
Social commentaries have been searched for even in fantasy novels such as The Lord of the Rings, though such connections often require much conjecture, or in modern satirical fables.
Some examples of films include Food, Inc., The Story of Stuff featuring Annie Leonard, and Morgan Spurlock's Super Size Me.
And to a lesser degree, the prominent Italian exploitation film Cannibal Holocaust uses graphic violence, shocking imagery, and underlying topics in anthropology to express Ruggero Deodato's distaste for modern society – more importantly – what it has become.
West Indian calypsonians participate annually in songwriting competitions with the common use of double entendre, humour and metaphor as well as monikers to avoid legal complications (see Calypso Music).
[12] The video game series Watch Dogs, in which the protagonists are cyber vigilantes that rebel against an all-seeing government, uses social commentary against mass surveillance.
[13][14][15][16][17] In a similar situation, the fascist government of video game We Happy Few use drugs to keep people in a state of mania, to forget a certain "incident" that occurred and secret police are dispatched to kill people who remember the event or don't take the pills and the citizens are forced to wear masks that mold faces in permanent smiles.
[29] In the interview, he also states his opinions on government action, requesting school classes on drugs, “real” sex education, scams, religious cults, police brutality, apartheid, American racism, poverty, and food insecurity.
[29] Other subjects such as foreign languages, are written off by 2Pac, saying that he doesn't need to learn German, he says he can hardly pay his rent, let alone book a flight to Germany.
In the United States of America, some such shows include: In the late 20th century through the present, radio and television phone-in shows allow limited discussion and sometimes debate on such issues, although if involving politics or issues exploited for political purposes the discussion is often directed by the "moderator" toward a specific point of view, typically by terminating non-conforming phone calls.