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How does indirect satire communicate criticism through a story?

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Take a look at George Bernard Shaw speaking on the marvels of Movietone — satire George Bernard Shaw speaking about the novelty of technology; excerpt from a Hearst Metrotone newsreel (c. 1930). (29 sec; 2.6 MB)

In indirect satire, the author’s intent is realized through the narrative and its story, rather than through a narrator speaking directly to the reader. This approach allows the satirist to communicate criticism by embedding it within the actions, characters, and plot of the work.1

By utilizing rhetorical devices such as irony, burlesque, and parody, the author creates a "vehicle of wit" that makes an attack more subtle and often more effective. These maneuvers allow the satirist to approach targets indirectly, which can be a necessary strategy when facing legal or social pressures.2

For example, in a work like Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, the author uses a surface of grotesque fantasy and mad logic to expose deeper themes of hypocrisy and greed. As the reader engages with the story and laughs at the absurdity, they simultaneously learn to recognize the vices or follies being criticized. This method relies on the reader's ability to perceive the underlying moral or intellectual critique beneath the fictional events.2