…Exploring the role of the prankster as artist, activist and social observer and the significance of the prank in society.
A parody uses elements of a prior work to target the prior work itself, satire uses elements of a prior work to target some other aspect of society.
Dime for a shine? Fuhgeddaboudit!
In 1979, Joey Skaggs, SVA students and friends, make a statement about runaway inflation by charging ten times more than normal for a luxury shoe shine on Wall Street for workers who easily made ten times more than the average person.
Check out the story behind the Wall Street Shoe Shine here.
From the Vault: Maqdananda
“Why deal with the legal system without knowing the outcome beforehand?”-Maqdananda
Legal council from the other side. From courtrooms to crystal balls, Maqdananda brings legal advice to another dimension.
Joey Skaggs as Maqdananda, Psychic Attorney, in a :30 CNN TV commercial (1994).
We need more militarization, more rules, less 1st Amendment protection and definitely more fear in our city streets. We need to bring back WALK RIGHT!
Back in 1984, when mercenary vigilantes like the Guardian Angels were “reclaiming” NYC subways, Joey Skaggs launched WALK RIGHT! an ad hoc group of vigilante sidewalk etiquette enforcers who patrolled the streets to make New York a better place to live and walk.
Here’s a short tease from Joey Skaggs: WALK RIGHT! oral history film.
WALK RIGHT published 66 rules for walking, including:
*Pedestrians must choose one lane and stay in it.
*No changing directions except at designated areas.
*No stopping unless in the shopping lane.
*No eating, gesticulating, or umbrellas held lower than 5’10”.
CNN and local news covered it as serious public policy. But it was satire then—and it is satire now.
They are to be forgiven because they weren’t born when WALK RIGHT! ruled the New York City streets. And they can’t be expected to do any research that might deter them from promoting a great idea to gain sponsorship $$ or eyeballs for their products.
Just sayin’…
“Jon Stewart Responds To Kimmel Suspension In The Most Brutally Sarcastic Way,” by Lee Moran, Huffpost, September 19, 2025.
The comedian delivered a very different version of “The Daily Show.”
Jon Stewart made a rare midweek appearance on “The Daily Show” Thursday night to wade into the controversy over ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night program.
Stewart, who usually only hosts on Mondays, opened the show in front of a gold-emblazoned, Trump-style backdrop to deliver what he described as the latest episode of a “fun, hilarious, administration-compliant show.”
An anti-road rage solution? Or another variation of angry birds? Promoting a concept that exploits road rage but probably adds to the problem.
“Car company creates hilarious tool to channel drivers’ anger — and avoid dangerous road rage incidents,” by Brooke Steinberg, New York Post, August 21, 2025.
A car company in China has a cartoonish approach to curing road rage.
XPeng has unveiled a quirky new feature designed to subdue angry drivers — though it may also prove to be a distraction.
Suppose you’ve ever thrown a digital banana peel at an opponent in Mario Kart. In that case, you might know the satisfaction that throwing something like a digital shoe or an angry face would illicit.