Movie Self-Reference: A Lesson From Spaceballs on Where the Real Money From Movies is Made

Self-reference is an effective comedic technique utilized several times throughout the movie Spaceballs “a 1987 science fiction parody film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks.”¹ (Available on DVD from Amazon.com and Amazon.ca). One specific scene where the self-reference comedic tactic is used provides a useful lesson in marketing movies. This marketing tactic has been used successfully for movies such as Star Wars — I imagine that this scene was in part poking fun at the marketing accompanying the original Star Wars trilogy (the DVDs are available from Amazon.com and Amazon.ca). Anyway, here’s the scene. And remember: “merchandising — where the real money from the movie is made!” ²

References & Notes

1. Spaceballs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceballs Accessed 22/09/09.
2. Elsewhere in the movie we see “Spaceballs: The Bed Sheet” and “Spaceballs: The Toilet Paper”. Are there others?

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