Upon rewatching the film "Airplane" during a particularly boring day of quarantine, I started wanting to research more about the parody genre.
Parody is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule." Parody can be found in a variety of media, from television with Saturday Night Live or online with Youtube. Parody in film, however, originated with "The Little Train Robbery" in 1905 as a parodic sequel to The Great Train Robbery. However, the movie "Young Frankenstein" created the parody tropes and techniques we see today. Parody continued to evolve, and by the 1980s parody became much more popular with films such as "Spaceballs" and "Airplane!" redefining the genre.
Although films such as "The Starving Games" and "Meet the Spartans" appear to be the beginning of the end for parody films, they stay popular with the teens in the sense that these movies fall under the idea of "so bad it's good". Spoof movies have made Hollywood millions, as the highest-grossing parody movie, "Austin Powers: Goldmember"made over $213 million at the box office.
Content
Reiteration
As parody is used to mock a movie or genre, reiteration is used to establish a connection to the source material. In "Spaceballs", for example, the character designs are linked to the source "Star Wars". This is done to provide context for the humor and give audiences a link for the humor in the films.
Ex. Dark Helmet from "Spaceballs" is used to parody Darth Vader from "Star Wars"
Misdirection
While this technique is used in the comedy genre, it is especially used here. This technique is where there will be a setup for an emotional moment, and then a joke will be used in place of another emotional moment. In "The Starving Games", instead of the pin being an emotional moment between Cantmiss and her sister for good luck, the pin is used as a joke to place bad luck on her sister. This is done to subvert an audience's expectations in order to allow for more comedy.
Ex. Cantmiss gives her sister a pin, and while this is expected to be a bittersweet moment, an unexpected joke is delivered to play up the laughs.
Exaggeration
This technique is used as a way to expand on the source material for the sake of comedy. In "Scary Movie", the film exaggerates the villain from "Scream" to be cartoonish, with a large amount of slapstick and jokes. This is done to allow for more jokes to be made by using the exaggerated version of this character, as the cartoonish nature of the character is used for laughs.
Ex. The villain here has an exaggerated tone compared to the villain from "Scream", and is used primarily for comedic effect.
Production Techniques
Sound
Most parodies tend to use sound for comedic effect. Sound effects such as bangs or screams tend to be used as part of slapstick comedy. Scores in these films also tend to build up to jokes, as a score may become louder and more impactful during a scene packed with jokes. Many films also use parodies of popular music from that year or recent years to relate to audiences.
Camera
Many parodies will use camera techniques such as eyeline matches, where one shot will show a character looking at an object, and the following shot will be of that object. In parody films, this may be used for gross-out humor or a prop that is used for comedic effect. As the target audience of modern parodies is teenagers, eyeline matches can also be used for sexual humor.
Some parodies also use the camera technique of establishing shots in order to better link the source material to the film. For example, in "The Starving Games", an establishing shot of the arena is used to link the parody to the source material, "The Hunger Games". Target audiences are more likely to understand what a parody is satirizing if there is a visible link to the source material.
Editing
Most parodies have very fast-paced editing with quick cuts. This is done as a method of making the jokes feel quicker, but not leave a big impact so more humor can be added. Fast-paced editing also allows the film to allow you to forget jokes that may fall flat so you can focus on the next joke added. The film "Hot Fuzz" has a very fast-paced style to both mimic action movies and allow for more comedy to be added.
Marketing
The target audience of modern parodies is teenagers and young adults, so films are marketed to appear comedic to those age groups. Trailers and advertisements will show some of their best jokes to rake in audiences, as well as show clips of the film that appeal to that audience. Some advertisements may also use images of women that are sexualized in order to draw in male audiences.
Airplane!
"Airplane!" was released on July 2nd, 1980 as a spoof comedy that parodied the disaster movies Hollywood produced throughout the 1970s. The film made 158 million dollars at the box office and has become a fan favorite. In the film, the passengers and crew of a plane suffer from food poisoning, a rogue pilot must work with his ex-girlfriend, a flight attendant, to land the plane.
The film uses many techniques from the parody genre, such as misdirection in scenes with an exaggeration in order to increase the comedy. The film does this to stick with ideas of the genre, as well as create its own interpretation of these ideas. "Airplane!" also uses many of the production techniques familiar to most parodies, as it uses establishing shots of the location such as the tower in the airport in the film to link the film to the source material. The film also uses sound effects when the comedic actions call for a "bang" or "thonk".
The Starving Games
"The Starving Games" was released on October 31, 2013, as a parody of the popular film series, "The Hunger Games". The film made 3.8 million dollars at the box office. but found more popularity on the streaming service, Netflix. The film parodies "The Hunger Games" series, but uses the source material to emphasize a comedic side of the source material rather than a dramatic side. The film follows Cantmiss through her journey in games, poking fun at the original series.
"The Starving Games" uses pop culture references to relate to the target audience, such as having the Avengers cameo. The film also uses many techniques that are common for parodies, but relies mostly on misdirection as a source of humor, as in an early scene the prize is revealed to be a Subway gift certificate and a half-eaten pickle rather than untold riches. The film also relies on sound for much of its humor, using sound effects from the video game "Angry Birds" in a scene in the arena, as well as sound effects for slapstick.
Other Parody Films
Spaceballs (1987)
Scary Movie (2000)
Meet the Spartans (2008)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
SOURCES:
https://scan.lancastersu.co.uk/2016/02/11/a-history-of-the-parody-movie/#:~:text=Declaring%20any%20particular%20movie%20as,is%20The%20Little%20Train%20Robbery.
http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Independent-Film-Road-Movies/Parody-PARODY-AND-THE-POSTMODERN.html
https://www.slideshare.net/NoNameRequired/parody-camera-shots-etc
https://top5ofanything.com/list/7e9d07cb/Highest-Grossing-Spoof-Movies-Ever
https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3625783/looking-back-scary-movie-20-years-later/
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