History Main / NarrowParody

Music/TheBuggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" parody "Internet Killed the Video Star," by "The Broadband," doesn't go much further than switching the original lyrics around. With the rise of WebVideoCreators, the song is a [[TheNineties 90's]] UnintentionalPeriodPiece.

* ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' is an inversion: the film is a very close parody of the at-the-time 48-year-old ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'' (with some elements of ''Disney/SnowWhite'' and a touch of ''Disney/{{Cinderella}}'', which are even older), almost completely ignoring the much more recent [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation Disney renaissance]] films. This is fitting, since ''Enchanted'' is targeted more towards adults who grew up with ''Sleeping Beauty'' than with the more nuanced or deconstructive Renaissance films. The script was first written ''during'' the Renaissance but didn't get made until 2007.

* Played for laughs with ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken''[='s=] parody of ''Film/IntoTheBlue''. The entire premise of the parody is that since it takes several months to produce a ''Robot Chicken'' episode, all they had to work with at the time was the trailer.
--> '''Seth Green''': I hope you enjoyed this parody of ''Into The Blue'', which I'm sure by now has been a box office blockbuster and won several Academy Awards.

* ''Film/DisasterMovie'' suffered from this as well. It has [[ShallowParody half-assed]] parodies of ''Film/{{Juno}}'', ''Series/HannahMontana'', ''Film/IronMan1'', ''Series/SexAndTheCity'', ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', ''Film/{{Hellboy}}'', ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', ''Film/{{Hancock}}'', ''Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'', ''Film/{{Superbad}}'', ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'', ''Film/TheLoveGuru'', ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'', ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'', ''Film/{{Wanted}}'', ''WesternAnimation/{{Beowulf 2007}}'', ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'', ''Film/{{Jumper}}'', and ''Film/TenThousandBC''. All of which are definitely not disaster films. Some even came out [[UpToEleven AFTER]] ''Disaster Movie'' was in theaters, which takes ShallowParody to a truly ridiculous extreme: There's skimping on the research, and then there's not even bothering to watch the movie you're supposed to be parodying!

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
* Done by the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]] to the Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen the week after Wrestling/CurtHennig was inducted. While some parts were funny, many wrestlers and commentators have said since that the skit was harsh in its portrayal of [[Wrestling/ArnAnderson Double-A]] as TheAlcoholic. Arn has had legitimate struggles for years with this problem, and Flair has never been shy about defending Arn when the skit is mentioned. Apparently Arn got into a fight with someone over the skit, but Flair has been tight-lipped about whom, saying only, "Arn is a tough guy, and I'll leave it at that."
-->'''Wrestling/RicFlair:''' What hurt everyone's feeling was, his son is watching that at home, and they're depicting Arn as drinking beer all day long? His kid is watching that, and nobody wants to see that.
[[/folder]]

* Many a sketch comedy show has fallen into this trap. ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' manages to avoid it most of the time, but some of the lesser seasons have succumbed.

* ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' is an inversion: the film is a very close parody of the at-the-time 48-year-old ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'' (with some elements of ''Disney/SnowWhite'' and a touch of ''Disney/{{Cinderella}}'', which are even older), almost completely ignoring the much more recent [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissanceAgeOfAnimation Disney renaissance]] films. This is fitting, since ''Enchanted'' is targeted more towards adults who grew up with ''Sleeping Beauty'' than with the more nuanced or deconstructive Renaissance films.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Films]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''Series/SesameStreet'' often falls into this as part of its attempt to add {{Parental Bonus}}es. It's often borderline impossible to do a true parody of the subject matter, so they simply copy the title, the appearance of the characters, and the general setting. [[Series/TrueBlood True Mud]], for example, was about a man's attempt to get a waitress to serve him Mud (as opposed to spud, cud, and a dud).

* A cartoon from [[TheNineties the late 1990s]] shows the Greek gods and goddesses of Olympus being portrayed by then-popular celebrities. Some of the cameos made a good deal of sense, like Creator/SylvesterStallone as Ares and {{Music/Madonna}} as Athena. But when it came to "casting" Poseidon (the god of the sea), the cartoonist awarded the role to...Tiger Woods, who has nothing at all to do with maritime or nautical themes. How did the cartoonist justify this move? By having Poseidon ''hit a golf ball with his trident''. Still a huge stretch.

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* Done by the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]] to the Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen the week after Wrestling/CurtHennig was inducted. While some parts were funny, many wrestlers and commentators have said since that the skit was harsh in its portrayal of [[Wrestling/ArnAnderson Double-A]] as TheAlcoholic. Arn has had legitimate struggles for years with this problem, and Flair has never been shy about defending Arn when the skit is mentioned. Apparently Arn got into a fight with someone over the skit, but Flair has been tight-lipped about whom, saying only, "Arn is a tough guy, and I'll leave it at that."
-->'''Wrestling/RicFlair:''' "What hurt everyone's feeling was, his son is watching that at home, and they're depicting Arn as drinking beer all day long? His kid is watching that, and nobody wants to see that."

* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' song "Video [[StealthPun Revue]]", set in a video store (which ''in itself'' makes this sequence dated) is basically a LongList of characters and plot points from random movies from the 1980s and early '90s, some of which are barely remembered today (if that).
** To be honest, however, a lot of referential jokes and songs in Animaniacs went this way, especially if you did not live in the USA in the 1980s-early 1990s.
** "Video Revue," however, can be excused as an homage to the "things come to life in a bookstore" genre of cartoons, most of which were similarly products of their time.
* On that note, ''many'' WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes cartoons of the 30s and 40s are essentially this. Take, for example, "The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos," where most of the jokes are based upon the fact that a celebrity of the 1930s has been parodied as an animal.

* ''Film/SpyHard'', one of Creator/SeltzerAndFriedberg's earliest movies, is primarily a Film/JamesBond spoof, but it's pretty much a time capsule of early-to-mid 1990s pop culture, including references to ''Film/JurassicPark'', ''Film/TrueLies'', ''Film/SisterAct'', ''Film/PulpFiction'', ''Film/InTheLineOfFire'', and ''Film/HomeAlone'', not all of which have stood the test of time.

* ''Film/SpyHard'', one of Creator/SeltzerAndFriedberg's earliest movies, is primarily a Film/JamesBond spoof, but it's pretty much a time capsule of early-to-mid 1990s pop culture, including references to ''Film/JurassicPark'', ''Film/SisterAct'', ''Film/PulpFiction'', ''Film/InTheLineOfFire'', and ''Film/HomeAlone'', not all of which have stood the test of time.

* ''Film/SpyHard'' is primarily a Film/JamesBond spoof, but it's pretty much a time capsule of early-to-mid 1990s pop culture, including references to ''Film/JurassicPark'', ''Film/SisterAct'', ''Film/PulpFiction'', ''Film/InTheLineOfFire'', and ''Film/HomeAlone'', not all of which have stood the test of time.

--->"...Eth's MarilynMonroe! What's she doing here?"\\

* ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'' is an inversion: the film is a very close parody of the at-the-time 48-year-old ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'' (with some elements of ''Disney/SnowWhite'' and a touch of ''Disney/{{Cinderella}}'', which are even older), almost completely ignoring the much more recent DisneyRenaissance films. This is fitting, since ''Enchanted'' is targeted more towards adults who grew up with ''Sleeping Beauty'' than with the more nuanced or deconstructive Renaissance films.

* The later films in the ''Film/ScaryMovie'' series ended up like this. Originally, they worked, as most HorrorTropes were [[TropeCodifier codified]] in TheEighties or earlier, so anyone with even a passing familiarity with the horror genre will get the jokes. However, later gags became a lot more obvious and telegraphed while the pool of references narrowed from broader subgenres of horror ({{slasher|Movie}}s in the first, HauntedHouse[=/=][[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghost]] movies in the second) to specific, recent movies (some of which weren't even horror). The first big complaint from fans was the inclusion in the third film of an extended parody of ''Film/EightMile'', which had nothing to do with horror movies.

->''Instead of spoofing movies that came out two weeks ago, they decided to spoof movies that ''hadn't even come out yet''. This becomes painfully obvious when the "jokes" amount to simply recreating moments from the trailers and TV spots. Ultimately, this movie should have been called '''''2008 Movie''''', because it seems the main requirement for being spoofed here was being released in 2008.''
-->--'''[[http://www.agonybooth.com/agonizer/Disaster_Movie_2008.aspx Albert Walker]]''' on ''[[Creator/SeltzerAndFriedberg Disaster Movie]]''

* ''Film/DisasterMovie'' suffered from this as well. It has [[ShallowParody half-assed]] parodies of ''Film/{{Juno}}'', ''Series/HannahMontana'', ''Film/IronMan1'', ''Series/SexAndTheCity'', ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', ''Film/{{Hellboy}}'', ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', ''Film/{{Hancock}}'', ''Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'', ''Film/{{Superbad}}'', ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'', ''Film/TheLoveGuru'', ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'', ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'', ''Film/{{Wanted}}'', ''Film/{{Beowulf 2007}}'', ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'', ''Film/{{Jumper}}'', and ''Film/TenThousandBC''. All of which are definitely not disaster films. Some even came out [[UpToEleven AFTER]] ''Disaster Movie'' was in theaters, which takes ShallowParody to a truly ridiculous extreme: There's skimping on the research, and then there's not even bothering to watch the movie you're supposed to be parodying!

* ''Film/DisasterMovie'' suffered from this as well. It has [[ShallowParody half-assed]] parodies of ''Film/{{Juno}}'', ''Series/HannahMontana'', ''Film/IronMan1'', ''Series/SexAndTheCity'', ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', ''Film/{{Hellboy}}'', ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', ''Film/{{Hancock}}'', ''Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'', ''Film/{{Superbad}}'', ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'', ''Film/TheLoveGuru'', ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'', ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'', ''Film/{{Wanted}}'', ''Film/{{Beowulf 2007}}'', ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'', ''Film/{{Jumper}}'', and ''Film/TenThousandBC''. All of which are definitely not disaster films. Some even came out [[UpToEleven AFTER]] ''Disaster Movie'' was in theaters, which takes ShallowParody to a truly ridiculous extreme: There's skimping on the research, and then there's [[TheyJustDidntCare not even bothering to watch the movie you're supposed to be parodying!]]

* ''Film/DisasterMovie'' suffered from this as well. It has [[ShallowParody half-assed]] parodies of ''Film/{{Juno}}'', ''Series/HannahMontana'', ''Film/IronMan1'', ''Series/SexAndTheCity'', ''Film/TheIncredibleHulk'', ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', ''Film/{{Hellboy}}'', ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', ''Film/{{Hancock}}'', ''Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'', ''Film/{{Superbad}}'', ''Film/HighSchoolMusical'', ''Film/TheLoveGuru'', ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull'', ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'', ''Film/{{Wanted}}'', ''Film/{{Beowulf}}'', ''Film/NightAtTheMuseum'', ''Film/{{Jumper}}'', and ''Film/TenThousandBC''. All of which are definitely not disaster films. Some even came out [[UpToEleven AFTER]] ''Disaster Movie'' was in theaters, which takes ShallowParody to a truly ridiculous extreme: There's skimping on the research, and then there's [[TheyJustDidntCare not even bothering to watch the movie you're supposed to be parodying!]]

* Done by the [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder nWo]] to the Wrestling/FourHorsemen the week after Curt Hennig was inducted. While some parts were funny, many wrestlers and commentators have said since that the skit was harsh in its portrayal of Double-A as TheAlcoholic. Arn has had legitimate struggles for years with this problem, and Flair has never been shy about defending Arn when the skit is mentioned. Apparently Arn got into a fight with someone over the skit, but Flair has been tight-lipped about whom, saying only, "Arn is a tough guy, and I'll leave it at that."
-->'''Ric Flair:''' "What hurt everyone's feeling was, his son is watching that at home, and they're depicting Arn as drinking beer all day long? His kid is watching that, and nobody wants to see that."

* ''SeitokaiNoIchizon'' is very guilty of this, with nearly all of their parodies being of shows from the last 2-3 years (the closer the better), including series from the same season. The times they reference something older are few and mostly refer to super-popular series like ''DragonBall'' and one AppealToObscurity to make a "nobody will get this" joke.

* The later films in the ''ScaryMovie'' series ended up like this. Originally, they worked, as most HorrorTropes were [[TropeCodifier codified]] in TheEighties or earlier, so anyone with even a passing familiarity with the horror genre will get the jokes. However, later gags became a lot more obvious and telegraphed while the pool of references narrowed from broader subgenres of horror ({{slasher|Movie}}s in the first, HauntedHouse[=/=][[OurGhostsAreDifferent ghost]] movies in the second) to specific, recent movies (some of which weren't even horror). The first big complaint from fans was the inclusion in the third film of an extended parody of ''Film/EightMile'', which had nothing to do with horror movies.

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