Towards the Parody Machine. Qualitative Analysis and Cognitive Processes in the Parody of a Politician

The paper presents a model of parody, viewed as a distorted imitation of a text, dis-course, behavior or trait of a person performed in order to elicit laughter. Focusing on the parody of politicians as a way to discredit them for persuasive purposes, a qualita-tive analysis is presented of the parody of a Mayor of Rome by an Italian comedian. The role of allusion in parody, and its consequent dependency on culturally shared knowledge are highlighted, and the function of ridicule as a form of moralistic aggres-sion is stressed. Finally a first flash of a procedure for the construction of a parody machine is provided, based on the cognitive process of parody in humans