# Mistaking the Real Thing for a Parody **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 30, 2020, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342 "2020-08-30T00:43:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/41 "2020-09-06T19:24:29Z")
I’m fairly certain the Trumpy Bear is deliberately marketed ironically (maybe the first ironic product?), Liberals buy them for the irony but Conservatives take it for face value and buy them too. ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/42 "2020-09-07T10:33:10Z")
Not exactly what the OP is asking for, but… When Conan O’Brien was still on NBC, they had a recurring bit where they’d show an absurd, over-the-top, laws-of-physics-defying action sequence from the television show “Walker Texas Ranger”. Then Chuck Norris would walk out on stage and wave, and the studio audience cheered wildly. Conan would swear they were real scenes from Norris’s show, and hadn’t been altered by his staff. They sure looked like parodies. ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/43 "2020-09-07T10:45:17Z")
> [@TheKingOfSoup](#): > > Paula Deen’s cooking show. Her _voice_ definitely comes across as an SNL parody… ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/44 "2020-09-07T10:53:06Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I think the most ridiculous single scene from a TV show that was (apparently) meant absolutely seriously is this scene from _One Tree Hill_ . It doesn’t even work as someone’s sick idea of a parody. I never watched _One Tree Hill_ , so I think I only saw this scene by itself, perhaps as something that someone linked to or as just the scene by itself on YouTube. It never occurred to me that it was actually a scene from a drama series: OMG! It plays like a live-action version of some sick joke on _Family Guy_. Wow! ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/45 "2020-09-07T12:28:24Z")
Directed by Crazy Joe Davola! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/46 "2021-02-25T21:17:04Z")
Bumped. > **[Creator of Parody Facebook Police Account Loses 1st Amendment Battle](https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-tosses-first-amendment-claims-from-facebook-police-parody-creator/)** > > A police department in Ohio had probable cause to arrest a man who created a parody Facebook page of the department, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday, shutting down claims that his First Amendment rights were violated. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/47 "2021-02-25T21:28:00Z")
Look! It’s Jesus! That’s the title of a photo book I bought at Goodwill\*\*. It’s pictures and histories of Jesus, Mary, and such being seen in pieces of lumber, tortillas, rocks etc. The authors never make it clear if they are pointing and laughing or joining in joyous praise of the Lord. \*\* I often see religious objects at GW that make me ask if they are parodies or genuine devotional works. I LOVE Goodwill! ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/48 "2021-02-25T21:31:04Z")
nevermind ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/49 "2021-02-25T21:34:52Z")
From 1978 - an actual conversation: “Did you hear that the new Pope is Polish?” “OK, what’s the punchline?” ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/50 "2021-02-25T21:37:47Z")
> **[Look! It's Jesus!: Amazing Holy Visions in Everyday Life: Choron, Harry, Choron,...](https://www.amazon.com/Look-Its-Jesus-Amazing-Everyday/dp/0811870006)** > > Look! It's Jesus!: Amazing Holy Visions in Everyday Life \[Choron, Harry, Choron, Sandra\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Look! It's Jesus!: Amazing Holy Visions in Everyday Life I enjoy collecting religious items that skirt Poe’s law or are show questionable judgement. I recently threw out a stuffed rabbi who danced and played Hava Nagila. He would no longer dance and I couldn’t find a way to get him open and examine his electronics. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/51 "2021-02-25T21:41:48Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > … He would no longer dance and I couldn’t find a way to get him open and examine his electronics. That’s something you don’t often see written about a rabbi. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/52 "2021-02-25T21:52:50Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I enjoy collecting religious items that skirt Poe’s law… The well known South Park episode _All About Mormons_?. There are a few added details and of course some mild (by South Park standards) mockery, but the story of Joseph Smith is pretty much a straight account of Mormon canon. And hilarious enough that it led to a successful spin-off musical… ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/53 "2021-02-25T21:54:11Z")
In the South Park episode on Scientology, some scenes have ‘This is really what Scientologists believe’ on the screen to help the viewer distinguish parody from the real thing ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/54 "2021-02-25T21:55:10Z")
A South Park ninja! And yes, the Scientology one is an even better example. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2021, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/55 "2021-02-25T22:15:03Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I remember sitting in a movie theater back in the 80’s and seeing a trailer for some upcoming movie called “RoboCop”. The entire audience was laughing, apparently everyone including myself thought it was a parody of the current wave of action movies. I had a similar reaction to the trailer for _Star Wars_. I thought it was going to be a parody of the old Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers serials—sort of like _Flesh Gordon_, but without the sex. Some of my friends had the same reaction; they kept mentioning that _hilarious_ shot of R2-D2 toppling over like a beer can. Of course, once we saw the movie, we forgot all about that trailer. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/56 "2021-02-26T00:13:12Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I just posted about something like that in Cafe Society not long ago. It was about the show “Floor is Lava.” I was absolutely convinced it was a parody…but it isn’t. I mean, yes and no. I don’t think a show like that really either is or is not a parody. It’s certainly not the case that there’s one very serious show called “floor is lava”, and then there’s another that’s making fun of the first one, and you saw the first one but assumed it was the second one. Rather, the show is somewhat tongue in cheek. It’s goofy. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s certainly a riff on something like American Ninja Warrior. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/57 "2021-02-26T00:39:15Z")
My daughter reminded me the other day of a program we sometimes watched on Russian TV called _ **Look, I Cook!** _ A hot Polish babe invited real chefs on to cook while she lounged by a swimming pool sunning herself and chatting with guests before eating all the food. At first I thought it was (like _ **Posh Nosh** _) a parody of cooking shows, but they were dead serious. As one perceptive guest noted: “You call the show _ **Look, I Cook!** _, but you never cook! All you do is lie around and let _other_ people cook!” ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/58 "2021-02-26T01:45:21Z")
True, but I guess what I was hoping for was not just a parody, but a show about making a ridiculous show like Floor is Lava. I kept thinking that at any moment we were going to hear someone holler “CUT!” and then the next scene would be in the writers’ room, where Tina Fey would play the person in charge and we’d watch a comic “behind the scenes” story of producing the show. I guess that show would not strictly be a parody; it would be a show that _contained_ a parodic version of a game show. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2021, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/59 "2021-02-26T19:14:42Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > In the South Park episode on Scientology, some scenes have ‘This is really what Scientologists believe’ on the screen to help the viewer distinguish parody from the real thing The _Honest Trailers_ episode dealing with the movie **Jupiter Ascending** does the same thing.(Look at 2:59 in, for instance) And I actually _like_ that movie, dammit! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ShAeafYCqxk/maxresdefault.jpg "Honest Trailers: Jupiter Ascending") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShAeafYCqxk) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2021, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342/60 "2021-02-27T18:48:34Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > From 1978 - an actual conversation: > > “Did you hear that the new Pope is Polish?” > > “OK, what’s the punchline?” “For his first miracle, he made a lame man blind.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistaking-the-real-thing-for-a-parody/919342.md?page=4)