Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2021 May 24

= May 24 =

Is there a name for this kind of "parody"
Is there a proper term for a book or show that is a sort of parody in which the original story is not altered, but is viewed from the point of view of an unrelated, unimportant side-character from the story. Two examples: In Monty Python's Life of Brian, they do not set out to change the story of Jesus. They tell a completely new story about a side character that tends to poke fun at the original story. Similarly, in Puffs, they do not change the Harry Potter stories. They tell a completely new story about a side character and, in the process, poke fun at the original story. I am hesistant to call them a parody because they are not a humorous retelling of the original story. They are new stories that happen to take place at the same time as the original story. So, I assume there's a specific term for this. 97.82.165.112 (talk) 13:19, 24 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Seems to me like what you're describing is, in fact, Parody. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:23, 24 May 2021 (UTC)
 * I've never heard of a specific name for it. I hate deconstructing comedy, but I suppose those parts of Life of Brian are some kind of mix of parody, allusion and conflation, but I think it just generally gets labelled as parody. - X201 (talk) 14:26, 24 May 2021 (UTC)


 * Our article Parallel novel seems to be describing this sort of thing. Deor (talk) 16:01, 24 May 2021 (UTC)
 * That article's talk page suggests changing the name to parallel literature to cover more than just novels. My examples would be the case with a parrelel movie and a parallel play. 97.82.165.112 (talk) 17:55, 24 May 2021 (UTC)
 * W. S. Gilbert's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is a parody of Hamlet (although not a retelling), but Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead is more a parallel play, running at the same time as Hamlet but viewed from a very different angle. The film Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead is both a parody and a parallel narrative that involves all three predecessors. --Lambiam 00:11, 25 May 2021 (UTC)


 * One of the most famous examples of this in the mid-20th-century was Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, but our article on this doesn't use any specific term to describe this (other than "in the wings"). The word "midquel" sometimes means this and sometimes not (our sequel article distinguishes between "interquels" and "intraquels", terms I've never heard before)... AnonMoos (talk) 00:16, 25 May 2021 (UTC)
 * *quels extend over parts of the time axis not occupied by their originals – after, before, or in interstices. RaGAD occupies the same time slot as the original narrative. --Lambiam 10:32, 25 May 2021 (UTC)
 * I've seen the term "sidebar" used to describe separate but related narratives taking place at the same time as the main story, often involving secondary characters, but usually the events are depicted in the same manner as the original, with no parodic element intended. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} 90.197.27.217 (talk) 14:51, 25 May 2021 (UTC)

Parallel novel? E.g. The Last Ringbearer is not comedy or parody, but it is a LOTR story told from the point of view of an orc. 2601:648:8200:970:0:0:0:752 (talk) 08:17, 28 May 2021 (UTC)