A parody imitates a serious work for comedic effect, often mocking or pointing out its shortcomings. It can be in print, audio, or visual media, and copyright laws can be complicated. Cinema, music, and television are popular venues for parodies. Weird Al Yankovic is a famous parody artist.
A parody imitates a work of art, literature or music for the purpose of making playful fun or a joke of the original work. He might have an ironic or cynical approach to the job he’s imitating, or it might just be comic relief. Most of the time, a parody involves a serious work that has been edited to make it seem absurd by mocking or pointing out the shortcomings of the original work. This impersonation is similar to and may also be called a burlesque, a lampoon, or a parody.
The word comes from the Greek paroidia, meaning one song sung alongside another. In modern culture, a parody can involve print, audio and visual media. Copyright laws are complicated when it comes to such imitations and since the original work is copyrighted by the original creator, the legal debate arises as to the new work based on the original. In many cases, the creator of a parody must obtain permission from the creator of the work he intends to forge.
Cinema is a popular industry where you can create a parody. Iconic films that contain a parody of an original work include the Scary Movie series, which are parodies of many box-office hit horror films, and Spaceballs, which parodies George Lucas’ Star Wars film. Numerous others exist, many of which star notorious Hollywood comedians.
Music is almost as popular as a venue for humorous imitations. The number one parody artist in modern music is Weird Al Yankovic, who has recorded over a dozen albums containing parodies of popular songs and a few originals and has had numerous Grammy Award nominations and two wins.
Other forms of parody exist in television, with Saturday Night Live leading the way. Other shows have been developed as a parody of reality. While this type of print imitation is rarer and less well known, books, magazines, and newspapers also contain parodies of original works or situations.
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