Super Mario,the new silent clown: Video game parodies as transformative comedy tools

Abstract

This article examines how the video game character Super Mario has become a key character in contemporary culture and an icon of user-generated comedy in hundreds of YouTube parodies, sketches and visual gags. The transformation of the original figure in user-generated makeovers highlights a vaudevillistic potential that allows Mario’s image to be reinvented, enriching and questioning the limits of fan re-appropriation.

Keywords

comedy Nintendo Super Mario video games YouTube

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