Private Eye: English Media in the Sixties. Humour, Satire and Language

Almost forty years have passed since the first issue of Private Eye was published on October 25th 1961. The magazine undoubtedly provided the greatest media contribution to launching the craze for satire, humour and desecration in the Sixties, i.e. by printing what other papers would never have dreamed of publishing. The purpose of the article/paper is to analyse this trend with particular reference to the humour register, syntax, semantic categories and linguistics used in Private Eye as well as the evolutionary language and innovations introduced in the magazine. The linguistic approach will focus on specific examples and attempt - from a mainly cultural perspective - an interpretation of the various articles and cartoon strips that dealt with the topics of politics, culture and education, customs and manners of the time. On the whole, the main focus of the paper/article will be etymological. At the same time, an attempt will be made to analyse how the rebellious, intellectual traditions and political dissent, directed mainly at the Establishment of the time, was culturally and linguistically structured in the original collective satire of Private Eye. For the younger, upper-middle class generation considered the real avant-garde of the cultural revolution of the Sixties, a new world was appearing on the horizon in the decade under review in this paper (1961-1970). During this period of great impetus and ferment, it was Private Eye that reflected the political, social and cultural reality of the time in England from an extremely original perspective: i.e collective satire and caricature within the framework of an unprecedented innovative cultural and linguistic model. The Sixties a world of fashion models e.g. the world renowned Jean Shrimpton and Lesley Hornby (better known as Twiggy); designers such as Mary Quant and John Stephen; unconventional restaurants and bistros in some of the most exclusive areas in London (Chelsea, Hampstead, Kensington); discos and rock music, glossy magazines and advertising agencies are analysed mainly in terms of the most qualifying cultural trends both of the age and subsequent decades. From a contemporary perspective, that world opens up a whole new horizon and offers a fascinating interpretative key of the time, reflected specifically in the cultural and linguistic attitude of Private Eye in its attacks and criticism on the Establishment.