By: Kate Ward
When reading the Gray, Jones and Thompson piece for Tuesday’s class, the difference between satire and parody stuck out to me. Honestly, I had never thought critically about what those terms meant and suppose I may have mixed them up in the past. I now know that while satire is political, parody need not be. That does not mean parody is non-critical of the genre or text it assumes the norms of, that would make it pastiche. The first example that came to mind when learning about parody was from one of my favorite shows: Community.
“Modern Warfare” is the episode that hooked me on Community. It’s ridiculous, funny and downright entertaining. The episode begins just like any other sitcom opening, but transforms into an action flick. Our main character Jeff, initially acts as the straight man, but then falls into place as the hardened, muscly protagonist (think: Bruce Willis in Die Hard). The moment of his switch shows the audience just how ridiculous this trope is– who would strip into a plain white tank top in a full-on paintball battle?!
Throughout the episode there are a myriad of action movie conventions: elaborate fight scenes, sacrifices, a makeshift fire-pit they all bond around, clever battle strategies by our ingenious but rugged protagonist, and of course, an elaborate final fight scene featuring a secret bomb! This episode is jam-packed.
Although this chaotic episode defies the norms of a regular Community episode, it still furthers the narrative of the show, addressing the sexual tension between Jeff and Britta. Their dynamic also fits into action conventions, with Britta as the badass, femme fatale to Jeff’s jaded macho man.
I find it to be a very effective parody as it highlights the ridiculousness and unbelievability of the action genre while being clever, self-aware and entertaining as hell. Trust me, you’ll never watch an action movie the same again.
One reply on “Community’s “Modern Warfare”: A Paintball Parody”
Hey!
I agree with you–I had never fully grasped what the differences between satire and parody were (or the fact that there even is a difference). Community is a show that I really enjoy watching and to me, it feels similar enough to shows such as The Office and Parks and Rec. I remember watching this episode as I was watching the series and in combination with what you have written, all I could think of was the epiphany of all action movies and downright obvious parody film, Epic Movie. Epic Movie is a parody of action films alike and ensures that all of the action-esque tropes are included and played out throughout the film. Though it has been a while since I’ve seen the parody film, from my rugged memory I can remember that it roughly covers many of the same action conventions you mentioned in your post. I think it would be interesting rewatching both Epic Movie and Community’s “Modern Warfare” to see how these tropes are similar and dissimilar.
Cheers,
Jonathan