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Parody as Film Genre "Never Give a Saga an Even Break"

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Wes D. Gehring

Foreword by Scott R. Olson

Book Code: GPS/

ISBN: 0-313-26186-5

ISBN-13: 978-0-313-26186-2

DOI:

248 pages, filmography,

Greenwood Press

Publication: 9/30/1999

List Price: $115.00 (UK Sterling Price: £65.00)

Availability: Print on demand

Media Type: Hardcover

Also Available: Ebook

Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4

Subjects:

Series Title: Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture

Series Number: 69

Reviews:

[I]mmensely readable.... Recommended for all readership levels.
—CHOICE
Space is not the final frontier. Film is! That is exactly how I felt after reading Wes Gehring's Parody as Film Genre. Each chapter was a trip at warp speed to a moon surrounding planet Parody in a galaxy far, far away where Gehring beamed me down to Star Wars space bars of familiars and aliens from Hollywood's past. The knowledge imparted was like a meteor, shower-brilliant...
—Film & History 2001

Description: Parody is the least appreciated of all film comedy genres and receives little serious attention, even among film fans. This study elevates parody to mainstream significance. A historical overview places the genre in context, and a number of basic parody components, which better define the genre and celebrate its value, are examined. Parody is differentiated from satire, and the two parody types, traditional and reaffirmation, are explained. Chapters study the most spoofed genre in American parody history, the Western; pantheon members of American Film Comedy such as The Marx Brothers, W. C. Fields, Mae West, and Laurel and Hardy; pivotal parody artists, Bob Hope and Woody Allen; Mel Brooks, whose name is often synonymous with parody; and finally, parody in the 1990s. Films discussed include Destry Rides Again (1939), The Road to Utopia (1945), My Favorite Brunette (1947), The Paleface (1948), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Blazing Saddles (1974), Young Frankenstein (1974), Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993) and Scream (1996). This examination of parody will appeal to scholars and students of American film and film comedy, as well as those interested in the specific comedians discussed and the Western genre. Gehring's work will also find a place in American pop culture studies and sociological studies of the period from the 1920s to the 1990s. The book is carefully documented and includes a selected bibliography and filmography.

Table of Contents:

Illustrations
Foreword by Scott R. Olson
Preface
Parody Overview
Everyone's Going West
The Pre-Brooks King of Parody: Bob Hope...And Disciple Woody Allen
Mel Brooks
Two For The Road
Epilogue
Appendix: Selected Filmography
Selected Bibliography
Index

LC Card Number: 99-18592

LCC Class: PN1995

Dewey Class: 791


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