Copyright infringement: The Parody Paradigm
Introduction
Whether it's the humor of Scary Movie that banks upon and picturized specific tongue in mouth references to other contemporary films or when it is Samsung seriously making fun of or satirizing Apple with the commercial for its new Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1 tablet with reference to a pencil to Cheque De India, Bechare Zameen Parr and the popular AIB’s parodies these days, all stand out to be suitable daily life illustrations of commercial parody. After going through the practical examples, it’s necessary to throw light, on the theory bit, to develop a better understanding of the concept, that defines and elaborate upon, the act of deliberative exaggeration called PARODY.
What is parody??
The Princeton encyclopedia states “.. parody has been defined as the exaggerated imitation of work of art. Like a caricature it is based on distortion bringing into bolder relief the salient features of an artist's style or habit of mind. It belongs to genus satire and thus performs the double-edged task of reform and ridicule. Eccentricity, sentimentalism and pedantry are among its major targets, and at its best it is a critical instrument of telling force because it approaches the subject from within rather than from without..” In a nutshell parody can be put into simpler words as a criticism of the ideas and expression of another artist’s original work. The essence of a parody is its comic or satiric contrast to the serious work. What needs to be noted is that parody is considered as the oldest form of literary expression and hence has a variety of definitions that broaden its very meaning. To reason out the universal appeal of parodies, a twofold argument can be put forth; firstly what can...
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...oint out its defects. The second condition is explained in the latter case. In that case the court while holding that the counter drama in question was of the nature of a parody as it was a criticism directed at the original play relied upon three factors to derive that conclusion- a) the quantum of the matter taken from the original work in relation to the criticisms, b) the purpose and c) the likelihood of competition. Therefore through this decision the Kerala HC concluded that as long as the original work is copied for the purpose of criticizing it does not amount to improper use and thus would constitute fair dealing. On the other hand if a parody is made by adopting the same theme but is performed in a completely different manner from that of the original then the question of copyright violation itself will not arise as ideas and themes cannot be copyrighted.
v. VIP Prods., LLC 666 F. Supp. 2d 974 (Mo., 2008) Anheuser-Busch makes a distinction between confusing and non-confusing parodies, the latter being protected as a parody. The important factors in the case were that the price point of the products was the same, they were directly competing goods and the survey showed that there was a level of confusion (30.3% were confused), in addition, consideration was placed on irreparable harm caused by the defendants use of the mark, the priority lay with the first to register the trademark, lastly the District Court considered public interest, i.e. whether the public was deceived. Similarly in Starbucks Corp v. Wolfe’s Borough Coffee Inc., 588 F3d 97 (2d Cir. 2007) the court distinguished Louis Vuitton S.A. v Haute Diggty Dog, LLC, 507 F.3d 252 (4th Cir. 2007) by holding that if (as in the Louis Vuitton case), the mark is used in non-competing goods, the defendant conveyed that it was not the source of the plaintiffs product and if the actual use of the mark does not impair the distinctiveness of the plaintiff’s mark there may be an argument in favor of the defendant, however, if the defendant’s humor is not conveyed to the public, and does not increase the public identification of the plaintiff’s mark with its mark it will fail to establish
The Greeks understood the importance and benefits of pathos in rhetoric to win arguments. The Mars Corporation seems to follow the path of the Greeks, using pathos in this Snickers advertisement to persuade its audience to buy their product. The key to pathos is to trigger an emotion. With this particular ad the emotion is humor; having Lincoln’s nose stretched out is to extract a laugh or smile from the observer of the ...
How naive are product consumers today? People assume things are factual without questioning the credibility of a person or product. An article in “The Onion” mocks advertisers in a satirical tone to show the bizarre tactics companies use to market their products to customers. The author writes on the topic of “MagnaSoles” shoe inserts, a fictional brand used for his demonstration. He uses devices such as humor, false authority/science, and irony to display the outlandish strategies of advertisers.
"Satire - Definition and Examples | Literary Devices." Literary Devices. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar.
In the article The Onion the satire being made criticizes how easily it is for people to believe in an advertised product even though it may be false. The purpose of the writers use of diction, exaggeration, and sarcasm is to make it clear as to how manipulative people have become believing in any products shown in ridiculous advertisement. In this specific article it targets the way an advertisement uses exaggerated stories such as Helene’s or Geoff DeAngelis in order to try to create a connection to an everyday person. Moreover the way they make themselves more credible by their use of a credible source such as the doctors. In total the way an advertisement builds itself to make themselves seem credible to sell their product.
Satire is a literary genre based on criticism of people or society, ridicule and mockery are mixed with humour throughout a work of satire. It usually attacks human frailty, people, ideas and institutions. Through celebrities, advertisements and false integrity, products are made to be more believable and influential to consumers. In this present day, consumers are more likely to purchase a product if they see that a celebrity uses it, or it comes with something free or a very low price compared to similar products. The Onion, a publication devoted to humor and satire, satirizes how products are marketed to consumers, through exaggeration of functionality, scientific data, and medical explanations (diction-large words.)
While the tone may range from playful to angry, satire generally criticizes in order to make a change. Exaggeration, parody, reversal, and incongruity are satirical devices. Author’s use satirical devices to strengthen their central idea.
Satire can be defined as any work in which a human vice or folly is attacked with irony or sarcasm. An example of satire can be found in the song "When the President Talks to God" by Bright Eyes. In this song, the lyrics lay out hypothetical conversations between the President and God, which mocks current President George W. Bush and his use of strong religious influence while in office.
Satirical writing allows the author to express his or her opinion about a problem in society. A writing must follow three rules in order for it to be classified as satirical. First, a continuous focus on one’s subject’s faults. Secondly, instead of telling the reader directly, information must be given indirectly. Thirdly, the writing must have a variety of satirical techniques in general (Festa). With these simple guidelines, an author can demonstrate his beliefs of what he thinks needs to be changed in society.
Satire is form of comedy in which flaws in people or society are chastised in order to prompt change in the objects of criticism. Regardless of how long ago comedy itself may have existed, the concept of satire was introduced by the Roman satirists, Juvenal and Horace. The tones conveyed in their writing characterize the main modes of satire, being Horatian and Juvenalian, and are still used in satire today. Presently, two popular forms of comedy that employ satirical elements include parody news sources and comedic performances. Although satirical writing has evolved throughout history, many aspects of satire are still apparent in both the articles of parody news sources, like The Onion, and the performances of professional comedians, like
Satire is customarily discussed as humor critiquing current political or social issues. For example, the Oxford English Dictionary defines satire as they type of derisive humor or irony; mocking wit; sarcasm especially employed against something perceived as foolish or immoral. While the Oxford English Dictionary’s emphasis humor calls attention to the mockery of these issues, it does not present the consequences of certain actions. In the Onion article titled “Underfunded Schools Forced to Cut Past Tense From Language Programs”, The Simpsons episode “Two Cars in Every Garage and Three Eyes on Every Fish, and The Colbert Report, satire also addresses the effects certain decisions placed on society. Attending to consequences of the actions or decisions that are being satirized allows us to see how satire can help us come to reasonable solutions that will impact society in a positive way,
The pattern that is seen again and again in the sci-fi parody genre is that science fiction does the separating and parody does the explaining. This is a very important concept to grasp because each genre plays a critical role in the portraying of either a message or critique. The science fiction does the separating. One might wonder why this is even necessary. But, in order to really view topics, you have to first be separated from them. The reason behind this is natural human condition called ethnocentrism. This cultural anthropology term means that you view others from your own cultures perspective and inherently believe that your culture is superior (The Definition). This is a natural behavior of human beings and it is this behavior that
Bordo’s thesis can be shown in many common examples of modern media and advertising. For example in the animated television show The Simpsons, creator and writer Matt Groening uses satire as a means of addressing these stereotypes of gender and race through exaggeration of certain distinguishable traits and personalities of characters. Yet simultaneously, the stereotypes that are reinforced by some members of the show are then unexpectedly broken by others to show the viewer how much the media can alter one’s own opinion.
Remake, this entails the literal reconstructing of the style , and parody is where by things are made or added to in order to make something that is serious and structured comical out of it although it stays true to the plot or a character or it. Many say that parody is one of the crucial strategies of the postmodern
In the United States, there are certain inalienable rights granted to all. As the Declaration of Independence of the original thirteen colonies states, "among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."(Jefferson, 1787, Declaration of Ind., Pg. 1) These rights are not "special rights." While the U.S. government cannot hold back upon these rights, it does have the power to ratify and enforce laws that will enable or restrict its citizens' use of them.