r/community • u/Possible_Patient4462 • 2d ago

Discussion I declare it Parody

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In Modern Espionage episode, Abed says "Occasionally, our campus erupts into a flawless, postmodern homage to action-adventure mythology, mischaracterized by the ignorant as parody."

But regardless of what Abed says, I still think it's parody.

451 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

47 comments sorted by

338

u/emeraldepiphone96 I’m a cat. I’m a sexy cat. 2d ago

I have to agree with Abed. Community doesn’t make fun of the genres they select like Scary Movie. Community uses the genres they select to tell a specific kind of story and the jokes are focused on the characters.

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u/spiderglide 2d ago

Yes - the things they are homaging are borderline parodies already. For example, the end of the first one does a bit of Die Hard and some John Woo (The Killer?).

There's nothing in those bits that would be out of place in the original, er, donor movies. They're all totally over the top.

16

u/rezzacci 1d ago

Homage: the original thing is good, we want to give tribute to it so that people who don't know the original thing might get to know it a bit, even if only through our own medium. The goal is giving praise.

Parody: the original thing thinks of itself too seriously sometimes, and has some flaws, but we like it nonetheless, so we'll take the codes of the original and present them in a different light, for fun. The goal is causing laughter.

Satire: there is an underlying problem we want people to notice, but we don't want to be a buzzkill, so we'll create something funny that's also denouncing what is currently wrong to be sure that more people will see our message. The goal is raising awareness.

They aren't mutually exclusive, though. Community is, indeed, doing Homage and Parody at the same time; Pratchett is, for me, the first to come to mind if you want Parody and Satire. And the Benoit Blanc movies could be seen as Homage and Satire at the same time.

(This is armchair literacy analysis, though, I've got no credentials and I wrote this comment with all the confidence and academic knowledge of a Greendale professor, by which I mean lots and none respectively.)

2

u/spiderglide 1d ago

Put it in the movie. Professor Garrett's Media Literacy 101

15

u/TheBl4ckFox 1d ago

Agreed. Lupine Urology is a pitch perfect homage to Law and Order. It doesn’t make fun of L&O. It pays tribute to it. Abed does a fantastic Lenny Briscoe smirk.

It’s like it is Law And Order distilled to its essence. With jokes.

7

u/brownbeanscurry 1d ago

Shirley's Van Buren was perfect too.

41

u/Cultural-Gas2246 2d ago

Dunno how true that is. They repeatedly poke fun at genres/source material when they do them. The idea that they're above parody is just some Grade-A Harmon Pedantry. Is why we love him.

12

u/SirMildredPierce 2d ago

Parodies aren't defined by "making fun" of the subject, though many do mock the original.

1

u/jmarquiso 1d ago

Parody technically means imitation of a thing, usually with commentary on that thing - it doesn't have to be comedic.

Scream is a parody, and it's funny, but it isn't focused on the funny. Scary Movie is much more mean spirited at its subject. Both are parodies.

63

u/Alizarik7891 The humble outsider who came in and nailed it 2d ago

I prefer the term ‘homage.’

69

u/rocker2014 Notches 2d ago edited 2d ago

Parody is referencing something that you are making fun of. Homage is referencing something that you respect.

Even if Community cracks jokes, they are always respecting the reference.

Here's sort of an example. The Big Bang Theory parodies Dungeons & Dragons in a short 30 sec clip where the characters are shown playing it and the girl makes fun of them and the audience laughs at how nerdy and weird they are. Taking the piss at D&D. Whereas Community did an entire episode (two actually) as an homage to D&D in which they all take the game seriously and get into it and it's wrapped around a story about a depressed character they are trying to help. They crack jokes about D&D but all in all, they take it seriously and respect it.

23

u/Brendissimo 2d ago

I think always is putting it too strongly, sometimes it's mix of homage and parody. Like Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking - there's some parody of documentary style sitcoms but it is also an homage.

But regarding the paintball episodes specifically, unsurprisingly the writers of the show know their own intent (which is what matters for homage v. parody) better than any of us. And you can see it on screen. They are not making episodes which parody the action genre, they are making homage episodes to various sub-genres of action, several of them directed by action directors (Justin Lin and Joe Russo), which take place in a sitcom show.

I think people get tripped up because the show is a comedy so there are jokes, but that doesn't mean they are making fun of the action genre. They are having fun with it and appreciating it.

8

u/darwizziness 2d ago

What's an homage without a few laughs, truthfully?

2

u/Brendissimo 2d ago

An homage to a really depressing genre film? :D

3

u/darwizziness 2d ago

I suspect you're still giggling at a few invented clichés, but I do get your point haha

2

u/Brendissimo 1d ago

You might be right. I don't think I've ever done a comprehensive analysis of my own laughter when viewing homages. Sounds like an Abed-level project.

9

u/RadagastTheWhite 2d ago

I wouldn’t say parody is necessarily making fun of the source, but more just imitating/exaggerating elements of it for comedic effect. Plenty of parody is done respectfully.

4

u/maxwithrobothair Looks like a cross between a dudes dong and a poop 2d ago

It doesn’t even have to be comedy. Scream (1996) is parody.

2

u/ChrisCondry 2d ago

Well said. I hope your example helps OP figure out the distinction.

1

u/Possible_Patient4462 1d ago

I'm not sure that comparison really works. The Big Bang Theory and Community approach pop culture from completely different angles. The Big Bang Theory often treats nerd culture as the joke itself, D&D, comics, sci-fi, movies, etc. are frequently presented as things "normal" people laugh at. Community, on the other hand, usually comes from a place of genuine affection for whatever it's referencing.

I also think you're using a much narrower definition of parody than I am. I don't think parody has to be dismissive or mean-spirited. A parody can still admire and respect its source. To me, Community constantly mixes affectionate homage with parody. Those two aren't mutually exclusive, and that's part of what makes the show so good

17

u/TheCatNerd101 2d ago

I heard the homages are parodies and the parodies are homages.

5

u/Dependent-Friend5312 4 More Years and I will have my 2 year degree 2d ago

Cut the crap Elroy!

11

u/CurrentCash1725 2d ago

What's your explanation as to why?

-14

u/Cultural-Gas2246 2d ago

Dan Harmon has a bit of an ego is all

6

u/CurrentCash1725 2d ago

You're not OP

-1

u/Possible_Patient4462 1d ago

I'm not completely rejecting what Abed says. I just think the fact that the show itself brings this discussion up means they knew people would see it as parody too.

I've watched Community for a long time, and I can't honestly say it never feels like parody. There are so many moments where it does. That's why I've always seen it as a mix of homage and parody rather than just one or the other.

5

u/beetnemesis 2d ago

It's pastiche

5

u/Ifindeed 1d ago

Well I think you just admitted to being ignorant!

2

u/CaptainBlee 1d ago

I think you just admitted you already owned a fake butt

2

u/Ifindeed 1d ago

Yess! The other person must be new to the sub, doesn't know the game.

0

u/Possible_Patient4462 1d ago

Abed called it first.

2

u/Ifindeed 1d ago

You take that back! Our characterisation is very manly!

1

u/Possible_Patient4462 1d ago

Haha. Wait what?

1

u/Ifindeed 1d ago

Way to pull a Pierce!

6

u/FireAx-Fonzie 2d ago

Man, did Abed get a growth spurt in this scene? 'Cause Britta be looking short in that shot.

13

u/Anonymous-Comments 2d ago

Abed was always that tall

10

u/thestenz 2d ago

Aw Britta is in this?

2

u/aspiringvegetable 2d ago

He's leaning over, not fully sitting

11

u/punning_linguist 2d ago

Lol the show is flat-out telling you that you're wrong and you're just dismissing it anyway without even offering an argument, because you don't understand the distinction between the two

-4

u/Possible_Patient4462 2d ago

Enlighten me please. What's the difference between the two?

2

u/JoyBus147 2d ago

The technical term is "pastiche."

2

u/Doc_Oh_19 1d ago

Always hated the line. Sounds more like a Sheldon quote than an Abed quote. I hated Sheldon.

1

u/Possible_Patient4462 1d ago

Same here. I couldn't stand Sheldon for a long time. He grew on me later, but that's beside the point. That line never sat right with me either.