Your Parody... Isn't. (original) (raw)

Hey-o, Kowareta here. This is my first post. Found this community a few weeks ago and have been reading and thinking of a rant to do. Here's something that may not get talked about often:

(Is behind cut because of its length.)

Excuse me, what's this? Don't look at me like that. What is this? No, don't you run away. It says parody, I can see the label clealy enough. You call it parody. But you know what it really is? It's crap.

No, no. I assure you, it is crap. Here, let me provide a definition:

Parody: [par-_uh_-dee] 1. a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing: his hilarious parody of Hamlet's soliloquy.
2. the genre of literary composition represented by such imitations.

This does not mean that multiple jokes about Kurama's hair ("Hey, put down the hair brush there, buddy!) is funny. This does not mean that making Hiei OMG!Wangsty! or naive when it comes to human objects is funny (What is this "toaster" you speak of and why do I feel like killing myself with it?). And Kuwabara bashing isn't funnier in parody than it is in the various Sue-fics.

In fact, neither does the whole concept where cookies make everyone high and the characters act OOC deserve a "parody" label.

(There are of course the people who can get away with these things because they write it well and put it in the right context... and who don't bash Kuwabara to be cruel. But these people are few and far between.)

Also, hey, Mary-Sue parodists: hating Mary-Sues and deciding to make a parody to "prove" to the YYH section that Mary-Sues are bad is a pretty awful move as a whole. I have nothing against Mary-Sue parodies, because I hate Mary-Sues too and I really do love the Sue parodies, but for those of you out there who use parody as a place to vent about how horrid Mary-Sues are... get out of my genre. If you're going to write a parody, you should at least try to write a story to go along with it. And the point, while perhaps including wild, crazy, and true commentary on the existence of the Mary-Sue, is to have fun with it.

What's this? I support Mary-Sues just because I found your Mary-Sue parody to be as trite and poorly-written as the Mary-Sues you're mocking. W~e~l~l, there's something.

I hate Mary-Sues, but having a so-called parodist try to "prove" to me that Mary-Sues are bad through their parody without taking the time to create an enjoyable story with a plot is just as bad. Partly because I already know Mary-Sues are bad and don't need the point hammered into my brain repeatedly after every scene. It's been done.

Actually, it's like this: were I to be reading a parody, I'd rather it not become clear in the fic who the author was siding with, until quite possibly the very end. On a whole I think the fic should lead the reader in the direction of what the author thinks, but never address me and say, "this is what I think." There's a difference between a parody on Mary-Sues and a rant on Mary-Sues. I don't want someone's rants shoved at me when I want to read entertainment.

Because... a parody isn't just a bunch of one-liners crammed together about how Kurama looks like a girl and Yusuke puts him in a skirt, or how Hiei suddenly gets melodramatic, or how Kuwabara is... I don't know... somehow incredibly stupid. It shouldn't even be about how awful Mary-Sues are. (After all, can you really cover all that in one fic)? A parody, much like any other story should be a story. And I know, I know, Mary-Sues are ruining the fandom, but I think, on a whole, parodies should be funny and not the same old Sue jokes we've seen year after year with one or two predictable "twists" thrown in.

And...

Why yes, that pro-Kuwabara rant in your LJ is wonderful, but addressing your audience in your fanfic through your characters and bashing your readers is not going to "prove" the point of what you're using parody for.

When it comes to "proving a point" in parody, use the story--the events, the character's reactions, the set-ups and scenarios--to show what it is you're trying to get across.

Parody is for parody. Not ranting.

Sometimes we Mary-Sue haters/pro-Kuwabara/pro-Mukuro/realistic yaoi/yuri fans are just as bad as the bashers and the Suethors.

There is, however, no accounting for those who a just cram those one-liners together in the pretense that it's a great joke.

If you're going to write parody, make sure it's really a parody.

Why do I feel as though I've been redundant through this entire rant? Probably because I was. Wait... ranting about people who rant...

Shutting up now.

-Kowareta