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What is a Parody?

Updated on June 26, 2015
"Daisy Mariposa with a Pearl Earring," a parody based upon Jan Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring," created by Mohan Kumar (Docmo)
"Daisy Mariposa with a Pearl Earring," a parody based upon Jan Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring," created by Mohan Kumar (Docmo) | Source
Photograph of Daisy Mariposa, the author, which Mohan (Docmo) Kumar used when creating the parody "Daisy Mariposa with a Pearl Earring"
Photograph of Daisy Mariposa, the author, which Mohan (Docmo) Kumar used when creating the parody "Daisy Mariposa with a Pearl Earring" | Source

Parodies are Original — Not Copies

Parodies are works created by artists or writers that imitate or ridicule another’s creation in an amusing way. The earliest examples of parodies were songs or poems in Ancient Greece which imitated yet earlier writing. These examples from Greece and the parodies produced today aren’t copies — they’re original pieces created with the intent of making fun of the earlier work.

In addition to songs or poems, parodies have been created of movies, plays, television programs, sculptures, and paintings. Read more about the different types of parodies and have fun looking at some examples that both Mohan Kumar (Docmo) and I created.

Jan Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring"

Jan (Johannes) Vermeer was born in the city of Delft in what is now the Netherlands in October 1632. He died at the age of 43 in that same city in December 1675. Vermeer specialized in painting domestic scenes—in interior scenes rather than in landscapes.

Many of the people in Vermeer’s paintings seem to be the same. It’s as if he used models in his paintings and posed them engaged in various everyday, ordinary acts. The backgrounds in the paintings are similar, primarily the same two rooms in a house, possibly Vermeer’s own home, with the furnishings rearranged.

One thing I noticed while studying Vermeer’s work was the pearl earring that many of the women in his paintings were wearing. Vermeer’s models seemed to be wearing the same earrings. In all the research I’ve done, I haven’t seen any mention of this. Whose earrings were they? Did they belong to Vermeer’s wife?

Jan Vermeer preferred using bright colors in his paintings. He took advantage of the natural light and frequently had the sun highlighting one of his models in a given painting. He was especially fond of the colors cornflower blue and yellow.

The model in Girl with a Pearl Earring is wearing the pearl earring and is dressed in cornflower blue and yellow. Vermeer painting Girl with a Pearl Earring in 1652. Less than 40 of his paintings are known to exist today.

Jan Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" was painted in 1652. This work is in the public domain in the United States, and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less.
Jan Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" was painted in 1652. This work is in the public domain in the United States, and those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years or less. | Source

Examples of Parodies

Name
Genre
Parody
Airplane
Movie
Disaster movies
Austin Powers
Movie
James Bond Movies
Bored of the Rings
Magazine article (”National Lampoon”)
J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel “Lord of the Rings”
The Chipmunk Song
Song
Song “Christmas Don’t Be Late”
Daisy Mariposa with a Pearl Earring
Painting (Mohan Kumar)
Jan Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring”
Hill Billy Bone
Video still (Mohan Kumar)
Blake Shelton (Mohan "Docmo" Kumar) and Trace Adkins (Bill "billybuc" Holland)
King Tut
Comedy Sketch (Steve Martin)
Egyptian King Tutankhamen
Mount HubPages
Sculpture (Daisy Mariposa)
Mount Rushmore National Monument (US)
The Raving
Poem (Phil Alexander)
Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven"
Saturday Night Live
Television—US
Celebrities currently in the news
Shrek
Movie franchise
All of the films in the Shrek franchise are parodies of fairy tales.
Sunshine Mona Lisa
Painitng (Daisy Mariposa)
Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa”
Young Frankenstein
Movie
Classic horror movies

Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore is a national monument located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The faces of four influential United States presidents were carved in the mountain's granite rock by sculptor Gutzon Borglund. Completed in 1941, the four presidents carved by Borglund are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

The sculpture was completed in 14 years at a cost of $990,000. Each of the the presidential components of the sculpture is as tall as a 6-story bulding. The facial parts are huge—George Washinton's nose is 21 feet long, his eyes are 11 feet wide, and his mouth is 18 feet wide.

The photograph of Mount Rushmore which appears below is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person’s official duties under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.

A
Mount Rushmore:
Mt Rushmore National Memorial, Black Hills National Forest, 13000 State Highway 244, Keystone, SD 57

get directions

Mount Rushmore National Monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The four United States presidents carved in the granite rock are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.
Mount Rushmore National Monument in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The four United States presidents carved in the granite rock are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. | Source

Mount HubPages

The parody I created contains the images of Dave Roome, Rick Stephen, Jason Menayan, and James Johnson.

This Mount HubPages parody created by the author features the images of HubPages writers Dave Roome, Rick Stephen, Jason Menayan, and James Johnson.
This Mount HubPages parody created by the author features the images of HubPages writers Dave Roome, Rick Stephen, Jason Menayan, and James Johnson. | Source

Hill Billy Bone

Mohan Kumar took a still from a YouTube video and created this parody. The original image features Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins. The parody features Mohan (Docmo) Kumar as Blake Shelton and Bill (billybuc) Holland as Trace Adkins.

Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins
Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins | Source
Mohan (Docmo) Kumar and Bill (billybuc) Holland
Mohan (Docmo) Kumar and Bill (billybuc) Holland | Source

Sunshine Mona Lisa

I created this Sunshine Mona Lisa parody using a copy of Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and a photograph of Linda Bilyeu (Sunshine625).

Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa"
Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" | Source
Sunshine Mona Lisa (Linda "Sunshine625" Bilyeu)
Sunshine Mona Lisa (Linda "Sunshine625" Bilyeu) | Source
working

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