Parody  

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-[[Image:Mona Lisa Smoking a Pipe.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Mona Lisa Smoking a Pipe]]'' (1883) by [[Eugène Bataille]]]] 
-{{Template}}  
-In contemporary usage, a '''parody''' is a work that [[imitates]] another work in order to [[ridicule]], [[irony|ironically]] comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. As literary theorist [[Linda Hutcheon]] (2000: 7) puts it, "parody...is imitation with a critical difference, not always at the expense of the parodied text." Another critic, Simon Dentith (2000: 9), defines parody as "any cultural practice which provides a relatively [[polemic]]al allusive imitation of another cultural production or practice." 
-Parody exists in all art media, including [[literature]], [[music]], and [[film|cinema]]. Cultural movements can also be parodied. Light, playful parodies are sometimes colloquially referred to as [[spoof]]s. The act of such a parody is often called ''lampooning''. 
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-==Origins== 
-According to [[Aristotle]] (''[[Poetics (Aristotle)|Poetics]]'', ii. 5), [[Hegemon of Thasos]] was the inventor of a kind of parody; by slightly altering the wording in well-known poems he transformed the sublime into the ridiculous. In ancient [[Greek literature]], a ''parodia'' was a narrative poem imitating the style and prosody of [[Epic poetry|epic]]s "but treating light, satirical or mock-heroic subjects" (Denith, 10). Indeed, the apparent Greek roots of the word are ''par-'' (which can mean ''beside'', ''counter'', or ''against'') and ''-ody'' (''song'', as in an ode). Thus, the original Greek word ''parodia'' has sometimes been taken to mean ''counter-song'', an imitation that is set against the original. The Oxford English Dictionary, for example, defines parody as imitation "turned as to produce a ridiculous effect" (quoted in Hutcheon, 32). Because ''par-'' also has the non-antagonistic meaning of ''beside'', "there is nothing in ''parodia'' to necessitate the inclusion of a concept of ridicule" (Hutcheon, 32).  
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-[[Ancient Rome|Roman]] writers explained parody as an imitation of one poet by another for humorous effect. In [[France|French]] [[Neoclassical literature]], ''parody'' was also a type of poem where one work imitates the style of another for humorous effect. 
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-==Music== 
-In [[classical music]], ''parody'' means a reworking of one kind of composition into another (e.g., a [[motet]] into a keyboard work as [[Girolamo Cavazzoni]], [[Antonio de Cabezón]], and [[Alonso Mudarra]] all did to [[Josquin des Prez]] [[motet]]s.) More commonly, a [[parody mass]] (''missa parodia'') or an [[oratorio]] used extensive quotation from other vocal works such as motets or [[cantata]]s; [[Tomás Luis de Victoria|Victoria]], [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina|Palestrina]], [[Orlande de Lassus|Lassus]], and other notable composers of the 16th century used this technique; [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]] also used existing cantatas for his [[Christmas Oratorio]]. In fact, the musical use of the word parody is wider than its general use - and while much [[parody music|musical parody]] does have humorous, even satirical intent, some simply recycles musical ideas.  
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-Song parodies can be filled with mishearings known as [[mondegreen]]s. 
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-==English term== 
-The first usage of the word ''parody'' in English cited in the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' is in [[Ben Jonson]], in ''[[Every Man in His Humour]]'' in 1598: "A Parodie, a parodie! to make it absurder than it was." The next notable citation comes from [[John Dryden]] in 1693, who also appended an explanation, suggesting that the word was in common use. 
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-==Modernist and post-modernist parody== 
-In the broader sense of Greek ''parodia'', parody can occur when whole elements of one work are lifted out of their context and reused, not necessarily to be ridiculed. Hutcheon argues that this sense of parody has again become prevalent in the [[Twentieth Century|twentieth century]], as artists have sought to connect with the past while registering differences brought by [[modernity]]. Major modernist examples of this recontextualizing parody include [[James Joyce]]'s ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]'', which incorporates elements of [[Homer]]'s [[Odyssey]] in a [[Twentieth Century|twentieth-century]] Irish context, and [[T. S. Eliot]]'s ''[[The Waste Land]]'', which incorporates and recontextualizes elements of a vast range of prior texts, including [[Dante]]'s [[The Inferno|The Inferno]]. 
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-Blank parody, in which an artist takes the skeletal form of an art work and places it in a new context without ridiculing it, is common. [[Pastiche]] is a closely related [[genre]], and parody can also occur when characters or settings belonging to one work are used in a humorous or ironic way in another, such as the transformation of minor characters [[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern]] from [[Shakespeare]]'s drama [[Hamlet]] into the principal characters in a comedic perspective on the same events in the play (and film) [[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead]]. In [[Flann O'Brien]]'s novel ''[[At Swim-Two-Birds]]'', for example, mad [[King Sweeney]], [[Fionn mac Cumhaill|Finn MacCool]], a [[pookah]], and an assortment of [[cowboy]]s all assemble in an inn in [[Dublin]]: the mixture of mythic characters, characters from [[genre]] fiction, and a quotidian setting combine for a humor that is not directed at any of the characters or their authors. This combination of established and identifiable characters in a new setting is not the same as the post-modernist habit of using historical characters in fiction out of context to provide a metaphoric element. 
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-==Reputation== 
-Sometimes the reputation of a parody outlasts the reputation of what is being parodied. For example, [[Don Quixote]], which mocks the traditional [[knight errant]] tales, is much better known than the novel that inspired it, [[Amadis de Gaula]] (although Amadis is mentioned in the book). Another notable case is the [[novel]] ''[[Shamela]]'' by [[Henry Fielding]] (1742), which was a parody of the gloomy [[epistolary novel]] ''[[Pamela (novel)|Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded]]'' (1740) by [[Samuel Richardson]]. Many of [[Lewis Carroll]]'s parodies of Victorian didactic verse for children, such as "[[You Are Old, Father William]]", are much better known than the (largely forgotten) originals. In more recent times, the television sitcom [['Allo 'Allo!]] is perhaps better known than the drama [[Secret Army (TV series)|Secret Army]] of which it is a parody (although a full appreciation of the humour largely depends on a knowledge of the earlier work). 
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-Some artists carve out careers by making parodies. One of the best-known examples is that of [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]. His career of parodying other musical acts and their songs has outlasted many of the artists or bands he has parodied. It is worth mentioning that while he is not required under law to get permission to parody, as a personal rule, however, he does seek permission to parody a person's song before recording it. 
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-The point that in most cases a parody of a work constitutes fair use was upheld in the case of [[Rick Dees]], who decided to use 29 seconds of the music from the song ''When Sonny Gets Blue'' to parody [[Johnny Mathis]]' singing style even after being refused permission. An appeals court upheld the trial court's decision that this type of parody represents fair use. ''[[Fisher v. Dees]]'' [[Court citation|794 F.2d 432]] (9th Cir. 1986) 
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-==Film parodies== 
-Perhaps the earliest parody was the 1922 ''Mud and Sand'', a Stan Laurel film that made fun of Rudolph Valentino's movie ''Blood and Sand''. Laurel specialized in parodies in the mid-20s, writing and acting in a number of them. Some were send-ups of popular films, such as ''Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde'' (1920)--parodied in the comic ''Dr. Pyckle and Mr. Pride'' (1926). Others were spoofs of Broadway plays, such as ''No, No, Nanette'' (1925)---parodied as ''Yes, Yes, Nanette'' (1925).  
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-Some [[Genre|genre theorists]], following [[Bakhtin]], see parody as a natural development in the life cycle of any [[genre]]; this idea has proven especially fruitful for genre film theorists. Such theorists note that [[Western movie]]s, for example, after the classic stage defined the conventions of the genre, underwent a parody stage, in which those same conventions were ridiculed and critiqued. Because audiences had seen these classic Westerns, they had expectations for any new Westerns, and when these expectations were inverted, the audience laughed. One famous film parody is the Scary Movie franchise. [[Daffy Duck]] has a talent for film parody-appearing as [[Stupor Duck]] ([[Superman]]); [[Robin Hood Daffy]] (Errol Flynn's classic [[The Adventures of Robin Hood (film)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]); [[Duck Dogers]] ([[Buck Rogers]]); and Sam in ''Carrotblanca''. 
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-==Self-parody== 
-A subset of parody is ''[[self-parody]]'' in which artists parody their own work (as in [[Ricky Gervais]]'s ''[[Extras (sitcom)|Extras]]'') or their work (such as [[Antonio Banderas]]'s [[Puss in Boots (Shrek)|Puss in Boots]] in ''[[Shrek 2]]''), or an artist or genre repeats elements of earlier works to the point that originality is lost. 
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-==Copyright issues== 
-Although a parody can be considered a [[derivative work]] under [[United States Copyright Law]], it can be protected from claims by the copyright owner of the original work under the [[fair use]] doctrine, which is codified in [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode17/usc_sec_17_00000107----000-.html 17 USC § 107]. The [[Supreme Court of the United States]] stated that parody "is the use of some elements of a prior author's composition to create a new one that, at least in part, comments on that author's works." That commentary function provides some justification for use of the older work. See ''[[Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc.]]'' 
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-In 2001, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit|United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit]], in ''[[Suntrust v. Houghton Mifflin]]'', upheld the right of [[Alice Randall]] to publish a parody of ''[[Gone with the Wind]]'' called ''[[The Wind Done Gone]]'', which told the same story from the point of view of [[Scarlett O'Hara]]'s slaves, who were glad to be rid of her. 
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-==Social and political uses== 
-:''[[political satire]]'' 
-Parody is a frequent ingredient in [[satire]] and is often used to make social and political points. Examples include [[Jonathan Swift|Swift]]'s [[A Modest Proposal]], which satirizes English neglect of Ireland by parodying emotionally disengaged political tracts, and, in contemporary culture, [[The Daily Show]] and [[The Colbert Report]], which parody a news broadcast and a talk show, respectively, to satirize political and social trends and events. Some events, such as a national tragedy, can be difficult to handle. A [[9/11]] update of [[George Orwell]]'s novella [[Animal Farm]]—[[Snowball's Chance]] by U.S. author [[John Reed]]—raised the ire of the George Orwell estate, and critics such as [[Christopher Hitchens]]. Chet Clem, Editorial Manager of the news parody publication ''[[The Onion]]'', told ''[[Wikinews]]'' in an interview the questions that are raised when addressing difficult topics: 
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-:"I know the [[September 11 attacks|September 11]] issue was an obviously very large challenge to approach. Do we even put out an issue? What is funny at this time in American history? Where are the jokes? Do people want jokes right now? Is the nation ready to laugh again? Who knows. There will always be some level of division in the back room. It’s also what keeps us on our toes." 
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-Parody is by no means necessarily satirical, and may sometimes be done with respect and appreciation of the subject involved, while not being a heedless sarcastic attack. 
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-Parody has also been used to facilitate dialogue between cultures or subcultures. Sociolinguist [[Mary Louise Pratt]] identifies parody as one of the "arts of the contact zone," through which marginalized or oppressed groups "selectively appropriate," or imitate and take over, aspects of more empowered cultures. [http://www.nwe.ufl.edu/~stripp/2504/pratt.html]  
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-Shakespeare often uses a series of parodies to convey his meaning. In the social context of his era, an example can be seen in [[King Lear]] where the [[Jester|fool]] is introduced with his [[Comb (anatomy)#Other|coxcomb]] to be a parody of the king. 
==See also== ==See also==
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* [[Subvertising]] * [[Subvertising]]
* [[Joke]] * [[Joke]]
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-==Examples== 
-=== Historic examples === 
-* ''[[Chaucer's Tale of Sir Topas|Sir Thopas]]'' in ''[[Canterbury Tales]]'', by [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] 
-* ''[[Don Quixote]]'' by Miguel [[Cervantes]] 
-* ''[[Beware the Cat]]'' by [[William Baldwin (author)|William Baldwin]] 
-* ''[[The Knight of the Burning Pestle]]'' by [[Francis Beaumont]] and [[John Fletcher (playwright)|John Fletcher]] 
-* ''[[Dragon of Wantley]]'', an anonymous 17th century ballad 
-* ''[[Hudibras]]'' by [[Samuel Butler (poet)|Samuel Butler]] 
-* "[[MacFlecknoe]]", by [[John Dryden]] 
-* ''[[A Tale of a Tub]]'' by [[Jonathan Swift]] 
-* ''[[The Rape of the Lock]]'' by [[Alexander Pope]] 
-* ''[[Namby Pamby]]'' by [[Henry Carey (writer)|Henry Carey]] 
-* ''[[Northanger Abbey]]'' by [[Jane Austen]] 
-* ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]'' by [[Jonathan Swift]] 
-* ''[[The Dunciad]]'' by [[Alexander Pope]] 
-* ''[[Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus]]'' by [[John Gay]], Alexander Pope, [[John Arbuthnot]], ''et al.'' 
-* [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]]'s ''[[A Musical Joke]]'' (''Ein musikalischer Spaß''), K.522 (1787) - parody of incompetent contemporaries of Mozart, as assumed by some theorists 
-* ''[[Sartor Resartus]]'' by [[Thomas Carlyle]] 
-* ''[[Ways and Means (poem)|Ways and Means]]'', or ''The aged, aged man'', by [[Lewis Carroll]]. Much of ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' and ''[[Through the Looking-Glass]]'' is parodic of [[Victorian era|Victorian]] schooling. 
-* ''[[Batrachomyomachia]]'' (battle between frogs and mice), an ''[[Iliad]]'' parody by an unknown ancient Greek author 
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-===Visual example=== 
-[[Marcel Duchamp]]'s [[Dada|Dadaist]] painting [[L.H.O.O.Q.]] parodies [[Leonardo da Vinci ]]'s [[Mona Lisa]] by marring it with a goatee and moustache. In keeping with his Dadist practices, which called artistic conventions and aesthetic assumptions into question, Duchamp paired his visual parody with a low pun; in French, when the letters "L.H.O.O.Q." are pronounced one after the other, the phrase sounds like "elle a chaud au cul", or "her ass is hot", due to the long time she has been sitting on the chair. 
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-{{GFDL}} 

Revision as of 07:16, 25 February 2013


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