ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 presents an analysis of parodies of Amazon reviews. Parodies of reviews have existed alongside bona fide reviews on the popular e-retailer site for over a decade, and reviews for several of the most popularly parodied products (e.g., Hutzler Banana Slicer, Bic Pen for Her, Three Wolf Moon T-shirt) have been so widely circulated on digital media that the products themselves have achieved the status of memes. Analysing Amazon parody reviews of six different products, this chapter identifies some of the most common themes and tropes that authors invoke in their constructions of parody reviews. Parody reviews exist in a complex textual ecology, which includes bona fide reviews, other parody reviews, as well as user comments responding to reviews. Therefore, Chapter 5 also addresses dialogic interactions taking place among these various text types, exploring the diverse relationships they have to one another. This chapter, with its emphasis on dialogism, takes up the issue of variable audience reception, response — as well as co-construction — of linguistic creativity found in digital spaces.
