A Hundred Cliches That Really Need To Die

#80: Most Parodies

In general, there is always going to be someone who hates a certain popular show, book, or movie. They will think that these stories are overrated, with boring as heck characters and cliche plot lines. These people cannot understand why people think that they are so good. In fact, they can make a whole list on what people should be hating about about it. This creates the idea of some parodies, which are created most of the time to mock a popular franchise. The creators of these parodies think that they can not only reveal how terrible the franchise it was based upon was horrible, but make a boatload of Cash from people who agree with them. However, most of the time all this leads to is a terribly done copy of the original, with all comedy nonexistent. People hate these parodies and do what ever they can to avoid them. Well, that is unless you are South Park for some reason.

Most parodies are cliche products of a person's hatred towards something. They aren't the least original, funny, or respectable of the product that it was based upon. That is why so many parodies bomb, or are completely forgotten after a few hours of seeing it. The simple answer to making great parodies; make sure you are tributing the original franchise. Don't just make a parody because you hate something. Make a parody that will show the flaws of the original franchise, but make sure it is something that is relatable and will possibly make the creators laugh at. Just look at one of my favorite cartoons of all time, Total Drama. The creators of that show were able to point out the problems of reality television, especially the shows Fear Factor and Survivor. They did it in a way that doesn't insult the original shows too much, and somehow made it a strong franchise of its own. That is why people enjoy this show; a parody that knows what it needs to do in order to truly represent the product they are making fun of.