Final Project: Critical Analysis of Genre Characteristic of the PARODY FILM

Dictionary.com defines a genre as "a class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique, or the like." There exists a specific genre that thrives off of these particular forms, content, and techniques. That genre is the Parody. In the world of film, a parody film is one that essentially picks on other genres by taking these thematic elements of a certain genre of film and then portraying them in a way that is so excessive, it becomes humorous. Essentially, parodies create hilarity out of things that are not meant to be funny at all. Parody is by far the most versatile genre of film ever created. Unlike other genres, parodies can be based off of any genre of film or other medium of media for that matter. For instance, it takes a very specific mix of film elements to make a movie a "horror movie" or an "epic drama." But anything, no matter how frightening, emotional, or action-packed, can be made fun of, and this is the goal of the parody.

There are many ways to make a parody film. Some focus on an entire genre and make obvious humorous references to many films within that genre, or simply to ideas or events that are consistent through most films of that genre. One of the best known parody series of this kind are the Scary Movie films. As the name implies, these films put a humorous twist on many of the most popular horror movies of our time.



There are currently 4 films in the "Scary Movie" series, and each one focuses primarily on a few specific major horror films, adding bits and pieces of others along the way. This clip is from the original "Scary Movie," which primarily makes fun of the teen slasher films "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer," arguably the two most popular horror franchises of the 1990s. This particular scene illustrates how the film makes fun of the now iconic ghost mask worn my the killer in the "Scream" films. The first time you see the killer in the clip, his mask is as it appears in the actual horror film, and it is very terrifying. But as the clip progresses, you will obviously notice the mask change from scary, to smiling, and finally to the face of a drunk. Parody is most effective when making fun of the most memorable aspects of films and genres, and the "Scream" mask is a perfect target for those acquainted with modern horror films. This is also a less direct mockery of the perpetual need for killers to wear masks in horror films. Masks hide a killer's identity as well as any emotion he/she might display. This scene turns the idea into a joke by portraying different expressions on an inanimate mask that can't itself actually change shapes. Also noticeable, this scene does not solely employ elements of horror movies. This scene makes fun of a very popular Budweiser ad that was aired during a Monday Night Football Game in November of 1999. This conveys how parodies find material from all forms of media and don't only make fun of the genre and medium on which they primarily focus.

Other parodies focus on specific films or stories within a genre. These types of parody succeed by portraying certain events or facets of a story in ways that are unusual to the story, as well as adding in props and dialogue that are completely irrelevant, but therefore hilarious. There is a parody that makes a mockery of the Medieval epic story of King Arthur and his knights of the round table, and is in my opinion the greatest parody ever created. It is called "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."



The overarching parodies taking place in this scene is that of the Witch Hunting craze which took place in Medieval England, as well as the very skewed scientific beliefs and logic inherent to the time period. When it comes to movie about historical time periods, parodies don't merely make fun of common genre characteristics, but also thematic events, beliefs, and practices of the time period in which the mocked films take place. Obviously, nobody would actually believe the things said in this scene, especially when a person's life was at stake, but the fact that the film makes such outlandish claims while the characters appear to take it all very seriously is absolutely hysterical. Parodies also portray details such as political and socio-economical conditions and stereotypes of the time period. This scene demonstrates the common idea that the lower class (peasants) are deceitful, unintelligent degenerates while the upper-class (monarchy/noblemen) are "so wise in the ways of science." The ironic humor behind this is that the King's so-called "wise" claim is no more logical than the ideas of the peasants. The last method by which parodies of a single film are effective is placing elements that simply do not belong. This is a particularly useful tactic in historical parodies such as "Holy Grail" because items and ideas of other time periods can be placed into the scenes, creating a very mixed-up and therefore funny atmosphere. This can be seen in the film clip when the peasant of England in 792 A.D. is wearing shaving cream.

The one thing that is absoutely crucial to the parody genre, and that is stereotypes. Parodies would not be here today without the institution of stereotypes in society. Parodies thrive off of these commonly accepted, though often skewed social perspectives. Whether they be racial, gender, economic, or cultural, stereotypes are very common accepted, yet nothing more than perspective. This makes them very easy to mock. A good example of a film parodying many different stereotypes is Mel Brooks's classic "Blazing Saddles."



This scene is very representative of the whole movie in that it is saturated with jokes formed around stereotypes. This scene employs many stereotypical, derogatory terms for certain races and groups, which come off as funny just because of the shear shock value at suddenly hearing something so absurd and inappropriate. Racial expectations are touched on here too. The white men in the scene expect to hear the black laborers sing songs reminiscent of slavery "work songs," yet the blacks retaliate with Sinatra. Many stereotype jokes get their comedic value simply from complete unexpectancy. Physical examples of sterotypes are evident in this scene as well. All the Chinese laborers are portrayed wearing golden Chinese "coolie" hats, suggesting that all Chinese people wear these hats, though this is clearly not the case in real life. Such steretype jokes continue all throughout the film including, including a blonde haired, blue eyed singer who just happens to have a thick German accent, country "hillbilly" characters speaking incoherent gibberish and being absolutely filthy, as well as a long waiting line at the gallows. Regardless of what the main topic of the film is, if you're watching a parody, you will undoubtedly see countless jokes developed around stereotypes.

There are countless other types of parodies out there to cater to the film preferences of anyone. Some other ideas include Mel Brooks's "Spaceballs," which makes fun of sci-fi films(particularly Star Wars), Hot Shots 1 & 2, which mock Top Gun and Rambo respectively, and "This is Spinal Tap," which parodies the documentary (more specifically, the rock band documentary, or "Rockumentary"). The fact is, anything and everything can be made fun of and that is the reason that parody films will continune to prosper.

Integrating Film Into the Classroom

In my experience of English classes, I have always been most intrigued by Shakespeare's work. Every year and every class in which I have dealt with his plays, I found myself wondering how the instructor would incorporate lessons that would present Shakespeare in a fun and engaging way. As such, this will be the focus of my assignment.

The Shakespeare plays I enjoy the most are Hamlet and Midsummer Night's Dream so these are the plays I would ideally teach in my class. My lesson strategy involves perpetually increasing the level of involvement as different mediums of experiencing the play are employed. I would start the lessons for each play by having the students read the plays at home over the course of a couple days. Then, during the next few days, we would assign roles to the students and read the play in class, allowing the students to re-read the play with the added intrigue of being able to interact with the other students in the class and develop their own take on the character they are portraying. When this is over, I would set aside a day of class to view a film version of the play. The following class, the students would engage in a discussion about what they liked/disliked about the film version as opposed to their own personal reading of the play. Finally, to close out the stint on each particular play, the students would get together into groups of 6 or 7 and film their own adaptation of a scene from the play previously viewed in class. They would have the freedom to present the play in any way they wished as long as they essentially stick to the script. They would be required to employ editing and film development techniques into their video to create a quality media product. They would each share their videos with the rest of the class, opening the floor to Q/A and comments following the presentation.

While I was in high school, I noticed that with a few exceptions including myself, most students did not enjoy studying Shakespeare. I believe that implementing lessons and assignments that utilize media and stimulate student creativity is an effective way to eliminate this lack of excitement regarding the greatest writer in the history of literature.

Music Preference

For this assignment, I will choose to report on my favorite band, Motion City Soundtrack. MCS is a local band who started right here in Minneapolis, but have worked their way up to international stardom, playing concerts in countries all over the world and even getting a couple of their music videos on MTV and VH1.

My first experience with MCS was at the 2004 Warped Tour. A couple of my friends had talked about them but I had never heard their music before that point. As soon as they finished playing their first song, I was hooked. I immediately bought both the albums they had released by that time, and within weeks I knew the lyrics to almost all their songs and was following their career on several websites. In the 5 years since I became obsessed, I have watched them perform live 6 times and am looking forward to seeing them again this January at 1st Avenue downtown when they kick-off the release tour for their newest album.

It is rather difficult to truly explain all the reasons why I love MCS, one because there are so many reasons, and two, because some are just difficult to put into words. One major factor is the fact that they are a local band. Over the last few years, I have developed a strong association and appreciation for local artists, and it all started with MCS. I see it as the same idea as supporting our hometown sports teams; you always want to represent where you come from. I take personal pride knowing that a band as incredible as MCS came from the town where I was born and raised .

Now, let's put sentimentality aside and discuss the more technical and aesthetic reasons that MCS is the greatest band in the world. First and foremost, they are wonderfully unique. MCS has implemented both innovative musical techniques and a rare, personal connection with their fans to create a style all their own. Their lyrics are very unusual and at the same time so straightforward and easy to relate to. Not only that, they are very creative and beautifully poetic. Their seemingly simple yet vastly complex instrumental compositions mixed with the melodic and emotionally charged voice of lead singer Justin Pierre collectively create irresistibly catchy songs that can either elate the soul or break the heart. Perhaps the best thing about them is also one of the most uncommon for bands these days, they actively avoid the curse of monotony. All their songs are individually unique, each one sounding different than the last. The fact that all their songs sound different and are yet all perfect just proves how talented this group is. In fact, in my opinion at least, MCS is one of the few bands ever that has yet to create an unappealing song.

Lastly, I love MCS because of their personality as a band. They are a group of musicians who love to have fun and goof around, all while making it obvious that they take their music very seriously. As is apparent in their music videos and live performances, they are experts at playing to their audience, creating an entertaining and unforgettable fan experience. The biggest reason I truly respect this band is that they maintain a firm connection with their roots, regardless of how famous they become. The consistently incorporate reference to Minneapolis in their lyrics and film many of their music videos here. They also never forget to let the hometown fans know that we are their favorite crowd; we gave them their start and boosted them to fame and they always let us know how much they appreciate our support.

For an example, here is a link to a music video of one of my favorite songs of theirs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAO8jKMm8Wc

So here is to MCS, the Pride of the Minneapolis music scene.

May the continue to amaze and surprise us for years to come.