Although the parodies are seemingly innocuous to the thousands of people retweeting them, they do highlight some problematic concerns. One in particular regards the continued debate over the ethics of A.I. in art and entertainment. The more times a prompt like this is replicated, the smarter systems like Midjourney and DALL-E get, which is generally at the cost of hardworking artists whose work is being stolen from them. It also contributes to the never-ending discussion around licensing, ownership and the very fickle world of copyright law.
Another issue is Anderson himself. These videos distill his intentional work as a filmmaker down to a singular aesthetic, despite many of his films having much more to say beneath the surface. The style in question wasn’t even adopted until 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums, Anderson’s third film in his impressive filmography, which goes to show that the director evolved as an artist and is much more than what the pastiche suggests.
In the same interview, Anderson went on to question his own work as it relates to the parody: “Is that what I do? Is that what I mean? I don’t want to see too much of someone else thinking about what I try to be because, God knows, I could then start doing it.”
While we’ll probably never see Anderson’s take on something like The Lord of the Rings, his fear makes sense, especially considering the phenomenon around artists subconsciously using the things they absorb on a daily basis in their own work.
Either way, if you’re thinking of making that Wes Anderson American Dad parody, maybe keep it to yourself.