In The Little Girl and the Cigarette, Duteurtre’s intentions are to mock the many aspects of modern society that he views as being absurd. Though Dutteurtre’s story takes place in a fictional setting, it is clear that many of the faults he works into his plot are derived from problems that we experience in the world today. First, he mocks the media and the way they over dramatize situations to lure in viewers. This is especially clear in the chapter describing the media attention that Desire Johnson’s last cigarette receives. It is reminiscent of the night-and-day coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial, and the abundance of court shows on television. In addition to court television, he comments on reality television. In the novel, the narrator becomes a contestant on the terrorist-run game show, Martyr Idol, where the hostages are made to perform stupid tasks in order to gain votes and save themselves from execution. The representation of the different cultures among the contestants is ironic; one would assume that this is to be sensitive to all cultures who will be watching the show, as producers do for reality television today. However, the irony lies in the fact that the show is run by terrorists, which seems to be a comparison Duteurtre makes between terrorists and television producers today. Governmental corruption also plays a large role in Duteurtre’s society. The narrator works in a government building where children have free reign because of the Governor’s efforts to create a society where youth is a driving force behind legislation. The Governor won’t listen to any negative criticism; when the narrator has clear evidence of the “cleaner air” policies actually polluting air more, he is disregarded. This is similar to our government in that we constantly hear of government cover-ups, specifically in relation to the war in Iraq. Government officials take great precautions to ensure that negativity is kept away from their issues.