In the short story “Being There,” by Jerzy Kosinski, there are multiple examples of satire that are displayed in both the book and the film. Some of these are: media, death, politics and racism. The media satire was very similar in the book and the movie. The media have played an important role in society and still do today. Kosinski uses Chauncey Gardner, the main character of the story, to show how the media can influence a person. Chauncey loves TV and always watches it in his free time. Today, this seems to be the most popular hobby that takes place within families. Adults, teenagers and children constantly watch TV. In some families, television is also watched during dinner time. Since Chauncey was kept away from the outside world his entire life, he never had the chance to have real life experiences. Everything he knew he learned from watching TV, which reflects today's society. Nowadays, people learn most of their information from the media. Be it TV, radio, newspapers, the Internet, YouTube and social media networks, people now have access to information at their fingertips. It's not like the old days, when everyone learned from textbooks, adults, phone calls, face-to-face conversations, or physical experience. Experiences are now virtually learned through the media, which is how Chauncey learned everything he knows. It got to the point where Chauncey thought he was on TV and even acted like he was a character from the TV shows. In the movie, when Chauncey and EE kissed, Chauncey didn't know what he was doing. He was simply imitating the movements he was watching on TV. Once the show was over, so would Chauncey. Kosinski uses this scene to explain that the media plays an important role... middle of paper... shows how satirical elements such as the media, death, politics and racism influenced the old-time society, but it reflects the way our society has been shaped today. Everyone is too caught up in the media, worried about death, overly involved in politics and news, and continues with racist comments. Kosinski uses satire to show that everything we do is based on how we learn information and grow from society. Works Cited Being There. Director Hal Ashby. Perf. Pietro Sellers. MGM/CBS Home Video 1980. Videocassette.Brown, Earl B., Jr. “Kosinski's Modern Proposal: The Problem of Satire in the Mid-Twentieth Century.” Ebscohost. Np, 1980. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2014. Kosinski, Jerzy. Be there. London: Black Swam, 1996. Print.Lazar, Mary. "Being there, novel and film by Jerzy Kosinski: changes not by chance." Ebscohost. Np, Spring 2004. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2014.