Both parody and pastiche are forms of imitation. The parodist, writes Fredric Jameson, "capitalizes on the uniqueness of [the subject's] styles and seizes on their idiosyncrasies and eccentricities to produce an imitation which mocks the original." Parody usually carries with it an ulterior motive: to satirize or cast ridicule on its subjects. In such cases, parody therefore carries with it "the feeling that there is a linguistic norm in contrast to which the styles of [its subjects] can be mocked." In other words, parody presupposes a norm, and satirizes deviations from that norm.
Pastiche is similar to parody in that it involves "the wearing of a stylistic mask," but contrary to parody, it is "a neutral practice of such mimicry, without parody's ulterior motive, without the satirical impulse, without laughter, without that still latent feeling that there exists something normal compared to which what is being imitated is rather comic." In Jameson's words, pastiche is "blank parody.
After giving it some thought, I generally accept the distinction that parody is more humorous than pastiche. But then, what about Jack Handey jokes? Those are definitely more pastiche than parody, but they're also hilarious. Or am I wrong? Are they parody? Are they not hilarious?
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2 comments:
Pistachio? I mean, pastiche? Sorry, but I don't see it, man. Most Handey quotes I remember lead the reader to think that the writer is logically assessing a weird situation, but then reveal that the absurdity is actually in the writer himself. Maybe that parodies people's non-sensical tendencies. But most of the time I'd say it's neither parody nor pastiche (or pistachio) - it's plain craziness.
But I completely agree that they're hilarious.
"I can still recall old Mister Barnslow getting out every morning and nailing a fresh load of tadpoles to the old board of his. Then he'd spin it round and round, like a wheel of fortune, and no matter where it stopped he'd yell out, 'Tadpoles! Tadpoles is a winner!' We all thought he was crazy. But then, we had some growing up to do."
wikipedia's definition of pastiche includes comedic imitations like some of weird al's music. i think there's plenty of parody that's pastiche, too. friends respectfully parody each other (jokingly). it's often a sign of respect--a rite of passage, even--to be parodied. there's an ulterior motive, but not an entirely disrespectful one. this joking ridicules and shows respect. so that's parody AND pastiche, right?
i say deep thoughts is both parody and pastiche. it ridicules the genre of (cheesy) soothing, relaxing, calmly spoken narratives and, at the same time, pays tribute to the genre by demonstrating how it can elicit a very different response when the narrative is absurd instead of normal and placid.
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