Parodies
How did the parody appear in Mulan?
American Gothic
The Depression-era understanding of the painting as a depiction of an authentically American scene prompted the first well-known parody, a 1942 photo by Gordon Parks of cleaning woman Ella Watson, shot in Washington, D.C."American Gothic" is one of the few paintings to achieve iconic cultural status, along with Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and Edvard Munch's "The Scream". It is thus one of the most reproduced – and parodied – images ever made. Many artists have replaced the two people with other known couples and replaced the house with well-known houses. References and parodies of the image have been numerous for generations, appearing regularly in such media as postcards, magazines, animated cartoons, advertisements, comic books, album covers, television shows and other artists. The opening credits of the 1965 television show "Green Acres" had the main couple in an American Gothic-style pose; cinematic posters of the films "For Richer or Poorer", "Son In Law", "American Gothic", and "Good Fences" parody the painting. It is also a key motif in Anthony Weigh's play "2,000 Feet Away", which opens with a scene featuring the painting at the Art Institute. The painting was also parodied in a classic commercial for "New Country Corn Flakes", a General Mills product. A sculpture entitled "God Bless America" by sculptor John Seward Johnson II that features the "American Gothic" couple went on display in Chicago, Illinois, just south of the Tribune Tower on the Magnificent Mile of Michigan Avenue, in December 2008 but has been removed as of February 26, 2010. The sculpture was displayed in Dubuque, Iowa at the Figge Art Museum and is now on the campus of Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa until at least December 31, 2013. Postcards mimicking the couple with sitting US Presidents, Presidential nominees, and their spouses are popular commercial products. Ohio State Buckeyes football games feature the painting on their scoreboard; within a few seconds of its display, the man's eyes bug out and his tongue wags. A 1963 "Saturday Evening Post" cover featured the cast of "The Beverly Hillbillies" in a parody of American Gothic with "Irene Ryan" and "Buddy Ebsen" posing like the 2 people in the painting flanked by "Max Baer" and "Donna Douglas" at their sides. David Ackles borrowed the title for his 1973 "American Gothic" album, as did The Smashing Pumpkins for their 2008 EP "American Gothic" and a 1995 television horror series created by Shaun Cassidy. Elton John and RuPaul portray the couple on the video for a rerecording of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" released in 1994. Astrovamps parodied the painting on the cover of their album, "American Gothik". The Ma and Pa couple at the beginning of the "Doctor Who" episode "Gridlock" are fashioned in the style of the couple in the painting. The "American Gothic" couple have even been reinterpreted as Living Dead Dolls twice, in 2004 and 2009. In the opening scene of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn appear as a farmer and his wife in parody of "American Gothic". They are joined by a daughter dressed in the same fashion. The painting is also seen on the wall in the castle during the song "Time Warp" as well as it is seen in the sequel "Shock Treatment"In the episode of "The Simpsons", "Bart Gets an Elephant", the Simpsons are revealed to evidently have the original "American Gothic" painting hanging on their living room wall. Bart unwittingly scrubs it while cleaning the house, and rubs off all the paint. Underneath, it reads "If you can read this, you scrubbed too hard. Signed, Grant Wood. "In the scene where Mulan's ancestors awaken Mushu in "Mulan", two of the ancestors appear as a parody of the farmer and his daughter, representing traditional values. The painting and its process of creation was parodied in a "Saturday Night Live" episode, which aired November 10, 2012, with host Anne Hathaway as Nan Wood Graham, Jason Sudeikis as Dr. Byron McKeeby, Tarran Killam as Grant Wood, and Kenan Thompson as a tour guide at The Art Institute of Chicago.