Is it enough to have read criticisms and parodies? To find the concept ridiculous? To be familiar with the plot? Or do you have to actually read the book itself?
I happen to like certain books that have been make fun of by most of the internet, and it’s ruined my enjoyment of them. So I kinda feel guilty for joining in the Twilight-bashing.
On the other hand, I’ve read Cleolinda’s chapter-by-chapter summery, so I know what happens in the story and it doesn’t sound any better in detail.
Do I have to go out and read the actual books to have the right to call it stupid? I am not looking foward to that.
I don’t think there’s any level of familiarity with a work that allows you to make fun of it, but it DOES help to have read/seen it when dealing with people who like it. That way when they retort with “well you just don’t get it cause you haven’t read/seen it” you can throw that in their face lol My mom LOVES the Twilight books and I hate them, finding them ridiculous. But, I haven’t read them and I’ll concede that point to her when we get into it about the books. I did consider reading them once, just so I could say I did. But reading excerpts online made me realize I wasn’t into sadism enough to subject myself to that.
I’m not sure what “legitimately make fun of” means here. I think you need to be familiar enough with the work to have your comments be funny - nothing more, nothing less.
Hell, for Twilight you don’t even need to know anything other than “sparkly vampires” or “shirtless werewolves” to at least get a few good jokes off.
Interesting idea, in gereral you’d be better off to be familiar with something before making jokes about it, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a prerequisite. For instance, I bet most of the people who make fun of Justin Beiber or the Kardashians haven’t heard his music/watched their show (and who’s to say there’s anything wrong with that!). I will say, however that nobody should make fun of the Flowbee (vacuum cleaner hair cutting system) without having tried it… blush
I think it depends on the level of badness. I haven’t seen Plan 9 or Manos hands of Fate to use them as standard for bad movies. I have read (misted) Ratliff fanfics and know they are bad.
In one book a character said “I don’t need to travel to the North Pole myself to know that there are no rivers of buttermilk flowing there, and to disclaim Palm trees growing there.”
It also depends on what you’re making fun of: the style and quality of writing? The first 50 pages of Dan Brown or 50 lines of Ratliff will convince any halfway normal person that indeed this sucks bad, on the scale of black hole-suckiness.
The characterization? You may need to read a bit more - but when in the Left Behind book series, the first book, after the Rapture has vanished people, the “hero” pilot has just landed the plane with difficulty at Chicago, wreckage of crashed planes are all around, and the “heros” walk to the terminal without helping, than you don’t need to read further to realize that the heros are sociopaths.
The concept? Well, I haven’t read Twilight either, but sparkly vampires does sound stupid. And I’ve read only the factual criticsms of Dan Brown’s stuff, but know that if you claim “true conspiracy full facts” and can’t even get basic details about the Louvre right, then it’s not worth my time to read the book to make fun of it.
With other books, or cricitism in detail, you need to know a bit more: if you complain about Lord of the Rings, and don’t know who Gandalf the White really turns out to be, you’ll be told to read the book first. Some people criticize a movie and have missed a central explanation in the first 15 min. that render their whole point of upset moot.
There’s no legitimacy required to make fun of something- that’s why it’s fun. Criticism is a different thing, although they’re closely related, and I don’t think there is a blanket answer other than saying a legit criticism requires an understanding of what is being criticized.
Hell, I make fun of the Flowbee all the time because of the part in the commercial that shows someone using it ON THE DOG!!
I don’t know about your dog, but mine won’t get within two feet of the vacuum when it’s running, and she barks at it if you get it out of the closet. Using a hair cutting attachment hooked up to a running vaccum on MY dog? Not gonna happen!
Why do you want to make fun of things in the first place?
Lots of things sound stupid to me (the Adam Sandler Jack and Jill movie springs to mind). I don’t watch/read them. I don’t make fun of them.
On the other hand lots of things sound stupid when you just explain the plot, but are nevertheless wonderful entertainment when you actually experience it.
If you’re looking to produce great humor, then yes, you need to be very familiar with the work you’re parodying/ satirizing.
There are a million parodies of Twilight, the funny ones are way funnier if you’re familiar with Twilight.
You need to be familiar enough that your mockery isn’t obviously wrong - if you’re criticizing Star Trek and talking about the Enterprise’s Klingon Captain Dr. Spock, or criticizing “Watchmen” for getting the dates of Nixon’s presidency wrong (I’m not kidding - I’ve seen that done), then you’re doing it wrong.
