Copy Paste

Hey kids, guess what time it is? IT'S MAIL TIME RANDOM POST TIME AGAIN!

That's right! Now is that time of the day when we all get together and share a random post. Yes I know, I know, I missed them too. Today we are going to talk about parodies.

I have an amazing friend that I spend a lot of time with. We tend to do a lot of fun random things together. Recently, we spent almost an entire day working collectively on a parody of the Nyan Cat video. While this is not something all that unusual for us, we did end up investing a lot more effort and time into it than normal. And it ended up leading into a conversation about parodies and copyright law, which, lucky you guys, I thought to share.

In terms of copyright law, we discussed a few pros and cons with it. A major bonus is that it helps creativity by creating security. If someone is secure in the idea that they will be safe from people stealing their work, they will be more likely to put it out there to be found. It allows them to really put a lot of time and effort into the project without fear of losing it. By giving people control over what they do and how it is used, it helps encourage people to share their work. However, the downside is that not being able to draw from something or parody it hurts creativity in a way. It stifles someone who excels at building off of what is already present. Many people are more likely to parody something than create something from scratch because it is easier and less threatening. So while it does create security for the author, it can hinder someone talented who lacks the confidence to branch out on their own.

This of course leads us to parodies. We mused on why they were so popular. One reason was stated above, it is an easier less threatening task than making something new. The basic notes and visuals are already present and have been proven successful. Also, parodies are a way to have a connection with people. They can spread and make you a part of something. It is a way to make something personal or cultural as well. I talked about this in my post regarding song parodies, but the same principle applies to videos. Another reason to parody something lies simply in the idea that, well, it is fun. It is fun to convey an idea or a story through a parody. It is fun to share in that excitement and enjoy the finished product. And in all honesty, especially if you do it with someone else, the experience of creating it is really enjoyable. Even if it turns out to be a bad parody, there is still something to be said about the journey there.

The thing about a parody though, is you need to put effort into it. You can not simply copy paste the ideas and work of another artist, you need to build upon it with your own ideas. You need to think through what you want to change, and why you want to parody this specific thing. You especially need to think about how to do it. Changing one note and calling it good is not a parody. Parodies also need to have a purpose beyond “It's really really popular to parody this thing”. Even if that purpose is just for fun.

-BlackFox

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