Magic and the Supernatural - Lancaster University

Margot McGovern
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narrative vein, has also attracted a large fan base, with 5.1 million U.S. viewers
tuning in for the Season Two premier. 5
4. Parody, Pop Culture and the Critical Engaged Viewer
By initially conforming to popular narrative frameworks Supernatural and True
Blood have attracted mass fan bases. However, having established these followings
the series have begun to play with generic expectations, using parody to criticise
their respective narrative formulas and the popular culture in which they are
located.
Taking up where writer/director, Joss Whedon, left off in Buffy the Vampire
Slayer, 6 Supernatural episodes, such as ‘Monster Movie’ 7 and ‘Changing
Channels,’ 8 use parody to engage with popular culture. ‘Monster Movie,’ filmed in
black and white with cheesy sets and a melodramatic score, pays homage to the
horror films of the 1930s, with the Winchesters squaring off against a monster
movie buff shape shifter who morphs into the characters from his favourite films.
The episode replicates many famous shots and scenes from these films, but renders
them humorous, with the shape shifter’s amateur performance closer to that of a
larping 9 fan than the terrifying monster he perceives himself to be.
‘Changing Channels’ takes a more contemporary approach as Sam and Dean
channel surf through various recognisable series types, including Dr Sexy, MD, a
medio. drama that bears uncanny resemblance to Grey’s Anatomy; a Japanese
torture game show; Supernatural: the Sitcom; NCIS; and Night Rider, with the
style of acting and filming altering to fit each genre.
The series similarly criticises the paranormal investigation genre itself. In
‘GhostFacers’ 10 the Winchesters investigate a haunted house, and discover they
have been beaten there by a group of amateur hunters determined to film the
haunting for the pilot of their self-funded television series. The episode is largely
filmed in steady-cam night vision, and pokes fun at ‘reality’ paranormal
investigation texts, including The Blair Witch Project, Most Haunted, and
Paranormal Activity. This criticism is furthered through the brothers doing battle
against increasingly hilarious ‘monsters-of-the-week,’ most notably a giant manicdepressive
teddy bear 11 and a demi-god in the guise of Paris Hilton. 12
The series also turns the humour on the viewers themselves to comment on the
fan community and its practices. In ‘The Monster at the End of this Book’ 13 the
Winchesters discover that a prophet has documented their career in a series of pulp
fiction novels that have attracted an enthusiastic fan following. In this episode Sam
and Dean are mistaken for Supernatural larpers and discover Supernatural’s own
sub-genre of fan slash fiction: Wincest, demonstrating that the series’ creative team
are not only aware of the Supernatural fan base and its practices, but that they want
to see that community and the series actively engaging with each other. This is
further cemented in ‘The Real Ghost Busters’ 14 when Sam and Dean inadvertently
attend a Supernatural larping convention where they are again mistaken for fans
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