197,006 research outputs found
The good parodist: beyond images of escape in the fiction of Doris lessing
No full textIn her earlier fiction, Doris Leasing presents images of escape from what Cohen and Taylor term "everyday life”. These images of escape, such as the vision of the "noble city, set four-square" in Martha Quest and Martha's plunge into the muddy veld pothole in A Proper Marriage, are framed by realism. In positing an escape from 'realism'(understood as both literary form and "everyday reality") they suggest the inadequacy of realism. However, the success of these images is limited as they attempt to posit an "outside", a project which postmodernism has taught us, is bound to fail. Lessing increasingly replaces these images of escape with parody. Parody more fundamentally interrogates realism and allows Lessing to negotiate an escape whilst recognizing her implication in contemporary society. My model of parody takes its lead from Linda Hutcheon's consideration of "serious parody", as marking "the intersection of creation and re-creation, of invention and critique" (A Theory of Parody, 1985). This, I argue, is the intersection of Lessing's political and aesthetic projects. Lessing's use of parody also provides her with a useful strategy for negotiating subjectivity. I argue that whilst she questions the liberal humanist self, she does not completely reject it. She is "post-humanist" rather than "anti-humanist". Lessing's "space fiction" seems to signal a return to the project of positing an "outside" implied by her images of escape. However, I illustrate how her space fiction is equally subject to the problematic politics of parody. Just as parody "installs" a pre-existing text to "subvert" it, so space fiction "installs" the Earth in order to critique it. The "dual-codedness" of parody is, I conclude, perfect for Lessing's multiple projects
After the Prestige: A Postmodern Analysis of Penn and Teller
No full textBy mocking the magic community and revealing the secret behind some of their tricks, Penn and Teller perform a kind of parodic and post-modern “anti-magic.” Penn and Teller display an artful use of rhetoric; in exposing the secrets and shortcomings of conjuring, they are revolutionizing the way people think about both the art of magic and the magic community. Individuals such as Penn and Teller may use parody to subvert the hegemonic interpretations. However, we also know that it is difficult to bring down a system while operating within that system. Thus, this article explores the way Penn and Teller are challenging the metanarrative of the magic community, using several of the duo’s more popular illusions as examples for analysis. Ultimately, this paper should help us gain a better understanding of the way parody can be used to challenge hegemonic conceptions, and the limitations of this type of rhetorical approach
Struggling and clowning in Wall Street : identity, parody and critique through Olive Stone’s films (1987, 2010)
No full textPopulaarikulttuurin representaatiot kiinnostavat johtamis- ja organisaatiotutkijoita. Viime vuosina on korostettu kuinka ne tarjoavat helposti saatavilla olevan koealustan laadullisille teorioille sekä sisältävät kritiikkiä kulttuurissa. Tämä tutkimus tarkastelee näitä mahdollisuuksia Wall Street -elokuvien (Oliver Stone, 1987; 2010) ja niiden julkisen vastaanoton kautta kahdella eri tavalla. Ensinnäkin tutkimus analysoi elokuvien narratiivien kautta kuinka eri henkilöhahmojen identiteetti rakentuu kamppailuna sosiaalisissa ja organisatorisissa konteksteissa. Toiseksi tutkimus keskustelee kuinka molemmat elokuvat voidaan tulkita tietyntyyppisinä parodioina ja sosiaalisena kritiikkinä.
Tutkimuksen teoreettisena perustana oletetaan, että identiteetti on nonsubstantiaalinen, jatkuvasti ihmisten tekemisien ja sanomisien myötä rakentuva ilmiö. Tutkimuksessa sovelletaan erityisesti Mats Alvessonin (2010) esittämää seitsemän kuvan metaforista lähestymistä identiteettiin. Narratiivien analyysin kautta käy ilmi kuinka päähenkilöiden identiteettien rakentumista kuvaa parhaiten ”kamppailijat” -kuva, joka ottaa huomioon subjektiviteetin muodostumisen ristiriidat, vaikeuden ja avoimuuden eri tulkinnoille, mutta toisaalta tunnustaa myös mahdollisuuden suhteellisen eheään käsitykseen itsestä. Tämän kuvan kautta analysoidaan kuinka päähenkilöiden subjektiviteetti rakentuu eri diskurssien ja käytäntöjen leikkauspisteissä, jossa hahmot kamppailevat säilyttääkseen positiivisen käsityksen itsestä.
Tutkimuksessa ehdotetaan Alvessonin (2010) kartoitusta täydentävää kuvaa identiteetin tutkimukseen. Tämä ”klovnien” kuva keskittyy jonkin kulttuurisen käytännön parodiseen liioitteluun. Tästä näkökulmasta esitetään, että kriittiset identiteettitutkijat voisivat kiinnittää huomiota myös parodiseen kyseenalaistavaan identiteettipolitiikkaan, joka tapahtuu populaarikulttuurissa. Klovnien kuvan kautta tutkimuksessa esitetään uudenlainen tulkinta ensimmäisestä Wall Street -elokuvasta stiob-tyyppisenä estetiikkana (Boyer &Yurchak 2010), jossa liioittelu on usein niin lähellä niitä muotoja ja sisältöjä, joita se pyrkii matkimaan, että se hämärtää rajanvedon parodisen ja vilpittömän representaation välillä (Boyer 2013). Tämä ilmenee myös elokuvan ambivalentissa vastaanotossa. Vaihtoehtoisten kritiikin muotojen tunnustaminen (esim. stiob) ja niiden kanssa liittoutuminen nähdään arvokkaana kriittisessä johtamis- ja organisaatiotutkimuksessa, koska vaikka niiden esitystapa on erilainen, niiden poliittiset päämärät ovat errattain samankaltaisia (Pullen & Rhodes 2013).Researchers in Management and Organization Studies are interested in representations in popular culture. Lately it has been emphasized how popular culture offers easily accessible testing-ground for qualitative theories and includes critique in culture. This study explores these possibilities through Wall Street -films (Oliver Stone, 1987; 2010) and their public reception in two different ways. Firstly, through the narratives of the films, the study analyses how different characters’ identity is constructed as struggle in social and organizational contexts. Secondly, the study discusses how both films could be interpreted as certain types of parody and social critique.
Theoretical ground of the study presumes that identity is non-substantial phenomenon that is constantly becoming within the doings and saying of people. The study applies Mats Alvesson’s (2010) metaphorical approach of seven images to identity. Through the analysis of narratives it is illustrated how the identity construction of main characters is best analysed through the image of Struggles, which accounts contradictions, harshness and openness to various interpretations in formation of subjectivity, but, on the other hand, distinguishes also possibility to achieve relatively coherent sense of self.
The study suggests a complementing image to Alvesson’s (2010) mapping of identity studies. This image of Clowns focuses on parodic exaggeration of some cultural paradigm. From this perspective it is argued that critical identity scholars could also pay attention to parodic destabilizing identity politics that occur in popular culture. Through the image of Clowns the study presents a new kind of interpretation of the first Wall Street film as a type of stiob aesthetics (Boyer & Yurchak 2010), in which the exaggeration is often so close to the forms and contents which are replicated that it disrupts the distinction between parodic and sincere representation (Boyer 2013). This is illustrated also through the ambivalent reception of the film. Distinguishing alternative forms of critique (i.e. stiob) and aligning with them is considered to be valuable in critically oriented management studies because although their delivery is different, the political ends are rather similar (Pullen & Rhodes 2013)
Copyright and the Economic Effects of Parody: An Empirical Study of Music Videos on the YouTube Platform and an Assessment of the Regulatory Options
No full textThis report presents a distilled discussion of the legal treatment of parodies in seven jurisdictions that have implemented or are considering implementing a copyright exception for parody (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, UK, and USA). The underlying principles (including economic and constitutional) governing divergent legal approaches are identified, and a list of policy options is presented
Cartoon Noir: A Comparative Study of Visual Parody
No full textAmerican film parody can be characterized as a distorted, comical and yet affectionate imitation of a given genre or specific work. Film noir as a genre with its distinct visual styles has been an easy target for such "creative criticism." Mel Brooks, famous for his series of successful parody films, has exhorted that the situation alone must be absurd while the actors must be serious, not funny to make a comedy funnier. He also said that funny is in the writing and not in the performance itself. Film noir through its unconventional visual styles and convoluted story lines engenders feelings of anxiety and paranoia in the audience, providing rich fodder for parody. The animated theatrical series Looney Tunes with its trademark slapstick style is well suited for making serious situations look absurd, affording "creative criticism".
In this thesis I first analyze canonical examples to distill the distinct visual characteristics of these two different genres. I then employ the use of parody to bring together a few salient visual elements from each of these genres, thus enabling computer-generated visual parody. Finally, still image examples of such parody are produced by systematically combining visual elements from the two distinct genres, film noir for its expressionistic lighting and elliptical compositional elements, and Looney Tunes for its mischievous mise-en-scene and ingenuous characters
A Structure Of Knowledge AS A Precedent Text For A Parody
No full textAccording to the theory of intertextuality, elaborated by Julia Kristeva, every text, including literary ones, refers to another – precedent – text(s). Intertextual links may have various forms and include parody among others. Intertextuality has been usually considered in the framework of literary studies. Thus, this article suggests presenting the precedent text as a cognitive structure of knowledge which can be recognized with the help of parody. On the example of allusive texts from the stories of the Glass Family Series by J. D. Salinger, the author explores and demonstrates the mechanism of cognitive structure recognition, and comes to the conclusion that parody is being used as means of activating of cognitive structure of knowledge
Parody in Juvenal and its Relation to the Roman Satirical Tradition
No full textPresent concepts of parody and ancient concepts of are discussed and defined (Chapters 1-2). The use of parody by Lucilius, Horace and Persius is discussed in Chapters 3, 4, and 5 respectively, and trends in parody, as well as the possible influence of the earlier satirists on the later satirists, are outlined. In Chapters 6-3 Juvenal’s use of parody is scrutinised at length, and possible influences upon his treatment of parody are enumerated. In the concluding chapter (9) Juvenal’s debt to and areas of superiority over his predecessors are summed up.ThesisMaster of Arts (MA
The Parody of Politicians. Multimodal distorted imitation aimed at political discredit
No full textThe paper presents a model of parody, seen as distorted imitation of some object or person aimed at eliciting laughter. A qualitative analysis is presented of the parody of a politician by a comedian. The analysis is carried out through an annotation scheme that describes each sentence, gesture, gaze, facial expression of the parody, and finds out the allusion it bears and the humorous aspects it contains. Finally each point of the parody is classified as to the criteria of evaluation of politicians proposed in previous works: whether the Target is made fun of concerning his competence, benevolence, or dominance. Finally the behavior exhibited by the Parodist is compared with the corresponding real behavior of the Target, in such a way as to single out which features of the Target are imitated in a parody.
parody; humor; imitation; multimodality; political communicatio
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Virtual Landscapes of Memory
No full textThis paper will focus on two World Wide Web projects: the virtual nation of Cyber- Yugoslavia (www.juga.com) and the homepage of former Yugoslav president Tito (www.titoville.com). Both projects problematize our understanding of nationhood and political leadership through skilful manipulation of the structural characteristics of the medium. The virtual, performative and transitory nature of both the nation and the state will be exemplifed by Cyber-Yugoslavia - a virtual nation- building endeavour conjured up by Belgrade expatriate playwright Zoran Bacic. The changing character of political leadership will be discussed against the backdrop of Tito's homepage, which archives numerous image and sound files documenting the life of the former Yugoslav president. The two projects share at least three common elements: their genre is parody; their subject matter is repressed collective memory; and they reflect the anxieties of the postmodern condition in their treatment of its most emblematic medium, the Internet. The repressed collective memory encapsulated in these projects is that of South-Slav unity, as an alternative to the now dominant particularist ethno-nationalisms of the Yugoslav successor states
Parody Evolution in M. YU. Lermontov's Poetry: Liberation from the Ballad Canon
No full textПародия на балладный жанр рассматривается в контексте художественных поисков М. Ю. Лермонтова. Устанавливается, что в ранних комических произведениях поэта пародийность становится формой художественного эксперимента, обнаруживающего ограниченность эстетического потенциала канонической баллады и помогающего через ее деформацию искать пути обновления жанра.The article studies parody of the ballad genre with reference to M.Yu. Lermontov's poetic search, ascertaining the fact that the poet's early comic works make parody a form of artistic experiment, showing certain limits of the aesthetic potential of the canonical ballad, deformation thereof leading to the possibility of genre renovation
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