The Fine Art of the Parody
Parody, the use of mimicry to mock, has been around for many years (the Greeks defined it, and it appears to have its origins in the Greek words for "counter" and "song"). At one time, it was confined primarily to literature and stage. Later, parodies were also made of popular music - most notably by "Weird" Al Yankovic. Finally, some humorists used parody in film (like the Austin Powers series).
Then, technology freed up the inner parodist (is that a word?) in all of us. And YouTube has served up an audience. What only a handful of people will do out of sheer creative determination, many more will do if someone will actually get to see/hear/read the result.
Sci-fi is a particularly ripe topic for parody (hence any number of Star Trek and Star Wars parodies). One of my favorites is Steam Trek, the marrying of silent movie Steam Train with Kirk-era Star Trek.
And naturally, technology Biggies, like Microsoft and Apple are the target of dozens of truly funny parodies of commercials (c'mon, isn't that just too easy?).
A very popular parody subject is half-animated The 300, and of course there are politicians... even, both at once!
All you need to create your own parody for YouTube, of course, is a basic video editing program (like iMovie), a idea, and a little creativity.
Parody, the use of mimicry to mock, has been around for many years (the Greeks defined it, and it appears to have its origins in the Greek words for "counter" and "song"). At one time, it was confined primarily to literature and stage. Later, parodies were also made of popular music - most notably by "Weird" Al Yankovic. Finally, some humorists used parody in film (like the Austin Powers series).
Then, technology freed up the inner parodist (is that a word?) in all of us. And YouTube has served up an audience. What only a handful of people will do out of sheer creative determination, many more will do if someone will actually get to see/hear/read the result.
Sci-fi is a particularly ripe topic for parody (hence any number of Star Trek and Star Wars parodies). One of my favorites is Steam Trek, the marrying of silent movie Steam Train with Kirk-era Star Trek.
And naturally, technology Biggies, like Microsoft and Apple are the target of dozens of truly funny parodies of commercials (c'mon, isn't that just too easy?).
A very popular parody subject is half-animated The 300, and of course there are politicians... even, both at once!
All you need to create your own parody for YouTube, of course, is a basic video editing program (like iMovie), a idea, and a little creativity.
Comments