Fantasy Reappropriation

When an element of popular culture has been reappropriated, it means that it has been taken by society and subverted from it original intention to make it something that belongs more to the consumer who has absorbed and molded the material. This is usually done in a satirical or ironic way. Many consumers enjoy subverting a person's material to make it their own, and it has created an industry were people appreciate this satirical work. The fantasy genre generates an enormous amount of passion from its fans, thus an equally proportianate amount of reappropriation.

For every Twilight fan that clamors to attain the next book in the series or to watch the next film in theatres, there is a Twilight hater who shuns the series and insults the fans. The movie Vampires Suck was targeted mostly for the latter group, but was seen by fans and haters alike. The Twilight series had been examined, twisted, and repackaged in the form of a spoof to poke fun at the series. This is how the series was reappropriated by Hollywood and sold back to us for even more money. Having made millions of dollars, Hollywood then targeted the audience who did not like the movies. They accomplish this by parodying many aspects of the film series that were taken as serious moments or by examining plot holes. By doing so the filmmakers have reappropriated the series and subverted the creator's intentions.


The Internet sensation Potter Puppet Pals is a series of videos on YouTube that has generated millions of views. The videos are somewhat crudely made but nevertheless have become incredibly popular. The makers of the video parody the Harry Potter series by using hand puppets fashioned in the likeness of the characters in the series. The Potter Puppet Pals frequently plays with concepts from the series in a satirical way, such as portraying Professor Dumbledore as a silly eccentric old man. This is another example of society reappropriating material to subvert the intentions of the creator to be humorous.

Another YouTube video that shows this form of appropriation is a Lord of the Rings satire called How It Should Have Ended: Lord of the Rings. While still trying to be funny, this satire focused more on the major plot hole in the trilogy. Why did the hobbits have to walk the entire way to Mordor? Why not just fly on the back of an eagle? This subverts Tolkien's effort to make the trilogy feel more epic and grand. It was much more noble for Sam and Frodo to walk and fight their way into Mordor than to simply drop it into the fire after a few minutes.

This is how society takes what we we consume and make it our own product, usually to be funny but also to point out that we understand how Hollywood works. We understand how they make a profit and we can subvert their efforts in our own way, by reappropriating their material.