Sunday, July 23, 2006
The freedom to parody
One of the most important things regarding freedom of speech is the freedom to parody. In fact Oscar Wilde once said "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about."
While some people may not like the parody, it serves to highlight some aspect of the thing being parodied. Whether that is a car (as in the example below) or a belief system.
I think it is vitally important to parody things because it can get a message across in a way that nothing else can.
For example, from the mid-1960s until the early-1990s Warren Mitchel played the part of Alf Garnet in the TV series "Till death do us part" and later "In sickness and in health". The character was a parody of a certain type of individual. The character of Alf was reactionary, mean-spirited, selfish, bigoted, racist, misogynistic, and anti-Semitic. Curiously Warren himself was Jewish.
When appearing on chat shows Warren was often asked about the character of Alf and did he hold similar views. The answer was always no, followed by a description of someone who had met Warren in the street who had totally failed to see the satire invoved in the show. The very type of person that Warren was parodying were congratulating him for the show failing to see the subtle humour. Meanwhile the rest of the viewers were laughing at those very type of people that were put up for ridicule.
Through the parody, it could be said that the show played some part in changing people's attitudes, moving society forwards.
However, some parodies are not quite so subtle and can stir hateful behaviour. For exampe, the cartoons that appeared in the Danish newspapers some months ago triggers riots and deaths in islamic communities. The cartoons were parodying the fact that on the face of it islam is supposed to be a religion of peace, yet some chose to become suicide bombers, apparently contrary to the teachings in the Koran. The following violence backed up the parody and satire showing that, at least for a significant minority (like the minority satarised in the character of Alf Garnett) that the cartoons were a reflection of that which they sought to parody.
So, after all that, for a little light relief, here is a parody of a Cirtroen advert:
¶ 17:51
While some people may not like the parody, it serves to highlight some aspect of the thing being parodied. Whether that is a car (as in the example below) or a belief system.
I think it is vitally important to parody things because it can get a message across in a way that nothing else can.
For example, from the mid-1960s until the early-1990s Warren Mitchel played the part of Alf Garnet in the TV series "Till death do us part" and later "In sickness and in health". The character was a parody of a certain type of individual. The character of Alf was reactionary, mean-spirited, selfish, bigoted, racist, misogynistic, and anti-Semitic. Curiously Warren himself was Jewish.
When appearing on chat shows Warren was often asked about the character of Alf and did he hold similar views. The answer was always no, followed by a description of someone who had met Warren in the street who had totally failed to see the satire invoved in the show. The very type of person that Warren was parodying were congratulating him for the show failing to see the subtle humour. Meanwhile the rest of the viewers were laughing at those very type of people that were put up for ridicule.
Through the parody, it could be said that the show played some part in changing people's attitudes, moving society forwards.
However, some parodies are not quite so subtle and can stir hateful behaviour. For exampe, the cartoons that appeared in the Danish newspapers some months ago triggers riots and deaths in islamic communities. The cartoons were parodying the fact that on the face of it islam is supposed to be a religion of peace, yet some chose to become suicide bombers, apparently contrary to the teachings in the Koran. The following violence backed up the parody and satire showing that, at least for a significant minority (like the minority satarised in the character of Alf Garnett) that the cartoons were a reflection of that which they sought to parody.
So, after all that, for a little light relief, here is a parody of a Cirtroen advert:
¶ 17:51
