Although the subgenre is often overlooked by critics, parody films are commonly profitable at the box office.
Maher notes that the "difference is not always clear" and points out that "some films employ both techniques".
[6] Parody is found in a range of art and culture, including literature, music, theater, television, animation, and gaming.
Historically, when a genre formula grows tired, as in the case of the moralistic melodramas in the 1910s, it retains value only as a parody, as demonstrated by Buster Keaton shorts that mocked that melodrama genre.
In the 2000s, the increasing availability of digital cameras (and then smartphones) that could shoot video and accessible editing software made it possible for amateur and early-stage professional creators to make parodies and post them online.