Parody is well embedded in humorous discourse in the West.
However it is wrong and should be banned. A fully nuanced and
historically referenced argument is presented in my million word
webpage www.downwitheverything.co uk (updated daily) but the
key points are:1) Parody fails when the subject is so bizarre as to
defy ridicule--imagine trying to parody "Eurotrash" or the writings of
neo-Marxists. 2) Parody fails when the parodist has a reputation for
being humorless--to laugh or not to laugh at what may or may not
be a parody performed by Pol Pot?. 3) Parody fails when through
excess of subtlety or crudity it is mistaken for the real thing. It may
then itself become the object of misplaced parody: a "double
humour failure" with potentially catastrophic consequences. A
spoof announcement of an unlikely but just plausible academic
conference could suffer this fate. There is a remedy. All parody
should be banned and defiant parodists imprisoned or shot,
depending on how I feel on the day. Material and individuals
deserving humorous sanction should be dealt with by what we
theoreticians call "slapstick methods" i.e. custard down the
trousers or boiling in oil. Simple and unlikely to fail.
Roger Leigh
Roger Leigh
Geography
Enfield Campus
Middlesex University
London EN3 4SF
Tel:+44(0)20 8362 5513
pmail: Roger10
email: [log in to unmask]
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