YouTube Spoofs

The Nature of YouTube Spoofs

Because of the open nature of YouTube, you are likely to find almost anything. Therefore, it is sometimes hard to know what is appropriate for a given viewer before he sees it. However, the YouTube community itself effectively polices the site for inappropriate material. Users can flag content that they feel is inappropriate. YouTube then reviews this content and removes it from the system, usually within minutes, if it violates YouTube's Terms of Use. Even within this framework, there is a broad range of material to suit all tastes. YouTube spoofs and parodies can be innocent or risqué, they can come from America or anywhere else in the world, but since YouTube tends to bring out your inner-director, many are also creative and fun.

Political Spoofs

Political satire is the lifeblood of any healthy democracy. With YouTube spoofs, democracy is alive and well. There is no question that whatever side of the political divide you call home, no matter what your pet cause or peeve, there will be political spoofs to make you laugh. Check these out:

• The Super Duper Friends, which casts the George W. Bush administration as a "Legion of Doom" and the Democratic presidential candidates as superheroes.
• President George W. Bush as Frodo in The Lord of the Rings
• Al Gore's Penguin Army
• OBAMA: The Musical

Movie Spoofs

Easily as popular as the political spoofs, the movie spoofs cover a wide field from Lost to 300, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. You can always rest assure that someone out there will be aiming their satirical lance at the latest blockbuster:

• Jack Black's Lord of the Rings Parody, where Jack finds a novel use for the "One Ring."
• Star Wars, this parody from Great Britain is priceless!
• Harry Potter, this spoof covers two media icons, Harry Potter and American Idol. It's a must see!
• Titanic meets McDonalds. Need we say more?

Celebrity Spoofs

Making fun of celebrities is almost as old as making fun of politicians, and with the lot we have these days, the YouTube spoofs certainly have a great deal to offer. Check it out:

• Pink's Infamous Spoof Video is notorious in the way it stabs at video girls, pop goddesses and all the other sexist cheesiness of American pop culture.

• Britney Spears (OK, not really) gets a haircut after rehab.
• I'm a Celebrity, Please Don't Shoot Me offers a new game show for the reality TV generation.

Television and Commercial Spoofs

Like film, television offers a wide range of spoofing possibilities in both its actual programming and the commercials that, up until recently, paid for it all. Here is a sample of YouTube spoofs that focus on TV:

• Star Trek vs. Star Wars: How could you not want to see what happens?
• The classic Mac vs. PC ad with a South Park twist.
• Here is the Most Haunted Spoof.
• Not even the Discovery Channel's MythBusters are safe!

To Conclude

Originally started as a personal video sharing service, YouTube has quickly grown into a leading video entertainment destination on the Internet. Unlike most download sites, they have created, and with their merger with Google in 2006 augmented, a community for personal video, musicians, amateur filmmakers, comedians and professional content owners. These artists offer an amazingly broad range of content and with the much-loved YouTube spoofs, that makes YouTube one of the best humor sites on the Internet today.