Is Spoof Dead?

Posted on June 8, 2009 in Filmmaking 360 | No Comments

Chris Mazin pens an insightful commentary on the spoof genre and where it is right now.

…But right now…what’s going on? After the box office high points of Scary Movie 1, 3 and 4, things have fallen off. Superhero Movie struggled to 25 million (although a healthy 45 million overseas helped its bottom line for sure), and it looks like Dance Flick is in for a similar fate in the U.S., with about $11 million in its opening weekend (not counting tomorrow’s holiday draw).

I’m going to try and define the genre first, because in many ways, that’s where the problems are…

Spoof movies are not satires. They do not use comedy or mockery to comment on social problems, politics or any other serious issues of the day. South Park (and the excellent South Park films) is a satire that often uses parody (a humorous reimagining of something serious) to make a point.

Spoof movies, however, have no point. They do not have any perspective on anything important at all. They are, in a word, silly. They employ parody to make you laugh. There is no other goal.

— The Artful Writer| Read The Full Article