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- Title
The Parody Within: The Employment of the Parodic Mode in The Addams Family (1991).
- Authors
Bertram, Anne I.
- Abstract
This paper argues that Barry Sonnenfeld's film The Addams Family (1991) works as a critique of 'traditional,' conservative US American middle-class suburban family values. It challenges cultural anxieties of the 1990s concerning the fear of the destabilization of these values tied to the concept of the nuclear family through the use of the parodic mode, characterized by the 'whimsical macabre.' The absence of the parodic mode, indicated by a rupture in the established mise-en-scène through a lingering gaze and silence, aims to evoke an affective response within viewers and provides 'counter values' that uphold 'traditional' family values. It is through the film's subversive employment of the parodic mode that it makes an impactful social comment by confronting viewers' ideas of the 'normal' and the 'abnormal,' urging them to reflect on their values.
- Subjects
SUBURBS; MIDDLE class families; NUCLEAR families; FAMILY values; PARODY; EMPLOYMENT
- Publication
Aspeers, 2024, Issue 17, p25
- ISSN
1865-8768
- Publication type
Article