Should people stop taking parodies seriously?

[Odyssey 5,717]

...Or do you think that people have the right to call out on how offensive whatever parody they seen?

 

I personally think that people shouldn't take parodies seriously and laugh it off. What about you?

[Simon 4,557]

Parody is a very unique art.  On one hand, parodies can be extremely funny and a great form of entertainment, but at the same time they revolve around a pretty low  and often irritating form of human behavior which is poking fun at things people like.

 

Parody shouldn't be a free license to be offensive... whether or not it's meant in jest, parody can be and often is extremely insulting and demeaning, so you can't expect people to forgive parody just because of what it is.  That being said, I think people do need to take the creator's intentions into consideration sometimes.  In some instances, parody is meant to be offensive... some parodies are created to insult or attack something that the creator of the parody doesn't like.  But the majority of parody work is meant to take something that the person really does love and gently poke fun at it.

 

I think sometimes you have to take a step back when it offends you and try and figure out whether it was meant to be offensive, but regardless of their intention parody shouldn't be a free license to attack.

 

All that being said I think the one big thing you have to remember is this:  Part of the art form that is parody is finding a balance between mocking something people love without crossing the line into being offensive.  If a parody does offend people, it's a sign that the person who created it crossed that line, and its a fair criticism of a parody work that it was over the top and overly offensive.  At the end of the day, parody is an art form which has to be carefully calculated, and any person creating a parody work knows the risk of being attacked for it and should be willing to accept that risk.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,162]

Well, of course people shouldn't take parodies so seriously. I mean, taking anything like that seriously is a recipe for unhealthy reaction.

 

However, I will also say that if someone feels uncomfortable with something in a parody, then shouldn't feel pressured to not voice their concern. I mean, there was one scene in Family Guy that I could barely watch as it almost made me sick (it involved domestic abuse). I know not to take things seriously, but some things can cross the line; even for me.

 

In essence, yeah, son't take things seriously, but don't be afraid to voice concerns either.

[SparklingSquirrels 21,352]

I agree with Simon; I think it depends on the creator's intentions. If it was intended to gently poke fun at something, then it shouldn't be taken as seriously, but that's a different story if it was intended to be offensive.

[Invincible 2,091]

The short answer i'll give is: No.

 

But if you want me to elaborate, let me say this. Parodies aren't all meant to offend. The ones that do... usually cater to a certain group, or purposely try to elicit some form of reaction. So i think all parody materials should be taken with a grain of salt. Save yourself the grief (and your time) and don't watch it if you can't handle it, i say.

[CriticalStylus 65]

If people are just getting mad at content above the source material's age limit, that isn't a substantial excuse to get mad. It's substantial, however, if it says nothing, isn't funny, and just serves to add shock value. However, without any sort of shock value, or "mean-spiritedness" people wouldn't bother to question the status quo.