A parody is a “new version” of an old story that imitates the style of a well-known person or represents a familiar situation in an exaggerated way for comic effect or ridicule.
If you notice the image above, you can see an example of parody by artist Goya.
What’s parody?
Parody is a sense of humor that can be learned from online explanations about parody.
Examples: The 1987 science fiction spoof Spaceballs pokes fun at the original Star Wars. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974) pokes fun at the original story of King Arthur. Scary Movie parodies original horror and date films.
What happens during laughter:
Laughter starts with activation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, which produces endorphins intended to alleviate pain. One study showed that within four-tenths of a second of exposure to something potentially funny, an electrical wave moves through the cerebral cortex, the largest part of the brain.
Steps to parody:
1. Choose a Subject
In order to have a successful parody, you must determine what you will be writing about. That means choosing a subject that is familiar to audiences or is very popular. Additionally, you must know the story well enough to follow it yet change it appropriately.
2. Build Your Characters
Spaceballs by Mel Brooks was a hit when it first arrived in theaters. The film endures because it so masterfully spoofs the characters from Star Wars, one of the most successful film franchises of all time. Dark Helmet, the Darth Vader knockoff, is an evil nerdy dictator.
Other familiar characters are Lone Starr, a Luke Skywalker/Han Solo hybrid; Barf, the half-man/half-dog Chewbacca fill-in; Dot Matrix, the dainty C3PO clone; and Princess Vespa, the tough but beautiful Princess Leia stand-in.
Each of these characters is familiar enough for audiences to realize their origin in the source material, yet each also possesses exaggerated qualities unexpected enough to induce laughter. Take notes on how Brooks dramatizes these qualities in a plot page about the movie.
3. Exaggerating the Story – Add a Heavy Comic Element
Once you’ve chosen a subject that will resonate with your audiences and come up with original reinterpretations of familiar characters, turn to the story itself. It’s true that some of the work has already been done for you, but audiences will not be happy with a rehash of the same material.
As with your characters, there must be exaggerated qualities to help your work stand apart while also staying familiar enough to the source material for audiences to connect.
What’s Satire?
Steps to satire:
1. Be Knowledgeable
Know your topic and the current events and people about which you are writing. In order to poke fun at an event or person, you must first know what qualities or human errors you are looking for.
2. Choose your subject wisely
No matter who your audience is, they need to have heard of the person you’re talking about or the event you are describing.
3. Identify the human error, vice, folly, or abuse that you want to target
Consider why this vice is so ridiculous. Why does it rile you up? What annoys you about these human behaviors? For example, does the lack of face-to-face communication between teens annoy you?
4. Exaggerate the problem until it is ridiculous
Given the example above, consider what would happen if kids only spoke via text messages and Internet chats. How strange would life be for them in adulthood? Would they even know how to speak to others? Would they hold up a text message to communicate?
5. Keep it simple
It must be absolutely clear who or what your intended target actually is. As obvious as this is, you must focus on your intended audience. Are they going to be able to understand what you’re attempting to do with your writing?
6. Choose a good title
A headline or title is the second most important thing for grabbing your audience’s attention. Spend a good amount of time thinking of your title – more so if it doesn’t immediately spring to mind.
“A Whale gets beached” or “A beached Whale gets emergency help.”
7. Take your time & Pace yourself
Most satire writers are very deliberate, steady working people. Whenever one writes, it is obviously important to ensure that it is of the highest possible standard. So, to ensure a good standard, you must re-read your work over and over after looking online for funny quotes or passages. You can determine if your story is flat or funny.
And finally, read online pages on the study of comedy so you can understand the science behind comedy.
An example of what’s online:
Elements of Comedy
DOUBLE ENTENDRE
Double entendres are funny because they are cleverly disguised as something innocent, but when you take a closer look, you realize that they are actually quite dirty.
Examples: “I think women board navy ships looking for seamen.”
A man buys a large hotdog at a stand, and a woman says, “Wow! That’s a big hotdog.” Excuse me!
A woman is near a melon stand, a man sees the melons and says, “Wow! Those are big melons.” Excuse me!
PUN
Puns take a simple phrase and turn it funny, giving the listener a new perspective on the familiar.
Examples:
“Always trust a glue salesman. They tend to stick to their word.”
“A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.”
“One hundred hares have escaped the zoo, so police are combing the area.”
JUXTAPOSITION
Juxtaposition is a comedy technique that uses two elements that are opposite of each other to create humor. The two elements can be ideas, concepts, words, images, or anything really. When you put them together, they create a conflict or an ironic comparison.
Examples:
“All’s fair in love and war.”
“Life is like heaven and hell.”
“He who runs from a fight today lives to fight another day.”
SLAPSTICK
Slapstick is a type of comedy that uses exaggerated physical actions that are usually silly and cause pain or injury, such as falling down, tripping, being hit, or sprayed with water. Modern examples of slapstick comedy can be seen in shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy.
Examples:
“Hitler stood out on his castle’s balcony taking a breather, then suddenly a big wad of bird droppings fell on his head. His maid bravely tells Hitler that someone finally got him.”
COMIC TIMING
There are three main elements to comic timing in comedy: pauses, sound effects, and accents.
Pauses are extremely important in comic timing. They give the audience time to laugh and process the joke. If you speak too quickly, the audience might not understand the joke or they might not have time to laugh.
Sound effects are also an important part of comic timing. They help convey the joke and add to the overall humorous effect. For example, a loud noise in the wrong place can make a joke funnier.
Accents can also be used for comic timing. Certain accents can be used to make fun of people from other parts of the world or to parody certain stereotypes. In some cases, an accent can even be
used to make a character seem more bizarre or outrageous.
TABOO
Comedians have to walk a tightrope when it comes to discussing taboo topics. If they go too far, they can easily cross the line and offend their audience. But if they stay within the lines, they can often create comedy that is both funny and provocative. Comedians often push the envelope by discussing taboo topics. This is what makes their comedy so interesting – and sometimes offensive. But as long as they stay within the bounds of good taste, they can often create comedy that is both funny and thought-provoking.
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
Comedians often mine their personal lives for material, but sometimes they wind up with something they didn’t expect: material about mistaken identity. This can be a great source of comedy because it’s based on reality, and it’s a situation that most people can relate to. There are a few different ways to go about exploring mistaken identity in comedy. You could tell stories about times when you or someone you know was mistaken for someone else. You could also do sketches or stand-up routines about mistaken identity. The important thing is to make sure that the material is funny and relatable.
REPETITION
Repetition is one of the most important tools in a comedian’s toolbox. It’s what helps them get laughs by drilling a joke into the audience’s head. The more times a comedian can make an audience laugh at the same joke, the more likely they are to remember it and share it with their friends. But repetition can also be a crutch. A comedian who relies too much on repetition will quickly wear out their material and lose the audience’s attention. It’s important to find the right balance and use repetition judiciously.
For example, “She flipped the bird at her flat tire. No seriously, the tire got flipped for looking flat.”
HYPERBOLE
Hyperbole is often used in comedy to make a point. For example, a comedian might say, “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.” This is an exaggeration to get the listener to understand how hungry the person is. Hyperbole is also often used for comic effects, such as saying that a small inconvenience is “the end of the world.” Comedians often use hyperbole, or exaggeration, in their jokes. This is often done to make a point or to get a laugh from the audience. For example, a comedian might say that their city is the worst place to live, but they’re still there.