ABSTRACT
The chapter explores forms and potential functions of fan-made parodies of popular music videos. It argues that the comic effects of these videos derive from their distinctly metareferential stance, fairly often paired with a form of deliberate amateurism. At the same time, and through the mode of parody, these videos reflect critically on the workings of the music industry both on the lyrical and musical level, exposing the highly schematized construction of pop and rock lyrics, dismantling rock music’s claim of authenticity or unraveling the transmedial fabrication of superstars. In so doing, they celebrate (or rather, are celebrated as showcasing) the alleged democratic and deliberating potentials of what has become known as participatory media vis-à-vis the so-called “mainstream.”
