A pastiche is a work that combines elements of other works.
Pastiche is a notion with origins in the French language but, in our language, it derives from the Italian word pasticcio , which can be translated as "pasta" and comes from the Latin pasticium .
The term is used to name the work that is created from the combination of components present in other people's works . In this way, the pastiche is presented as if it were a new and original work, although it is a compilation of already known elements.
The author of a pastiche, however, can recognize his creation as an imitation of the style of other authors. When imitating something already done by other artists, there may be an intention to make a tribute , although sometimes pastiche also represents a parody .
Examples of pastiches
It is possible to find examples of pastiches in cinema , literature , music and the plastic arts . A novel that combines different styles, goes from the first to the third person in the narration and includes fragments of newspaper articles and film scripts, for example, could be considered a pastiche.
In the case of literature, it is considered that among the works that have elements of pastiche is, for example, "The truth about the Savolta case" ( 1975 ) by Eduardo Mendoza . And this novel includes a great variety of genres and mixtures of ideas, characters...
Along the same lines is also the narrative "Three sad tigers" ( 1965 ) by the writer Guillermo Cubano Infante , which presents numerous references and winks to other authors and other important works within the literary field.
In the cinematographic field, for its part, there is a wide variety of films that can be classified as pastiche. A clear example would be the "Scary Movie" saga and what it does is base itself on sequences from some of the best-known horror films, to unite them and result in some truly comic films.
In the case of Spain , following this trend, we find the production "Spanish Movie" , which brings together characters and stories from feature films such as "The Orphanage" , "The Others" and "The Sea Inside" .
Pastiches mix different elements.
derogatory use of the term
Sometimes, the concept of pastiche is used in a derogatory way to describe what is unclear or indefinite. If an editor, upon receiving a manuscript, comments that it is a pastiche that lacks identity and whose narrative advances without a firm direction, he will be making a negative criticism of the text .
In a similar sense, a man who tries to prepare a gastronomic recipe that he has never made before may be disappointed by the result and claim that the dish he made is a pastiche with an uninviting appearance and a too sloppy presentation.
The publication «Pastiche»
In the same way, we cannot ignore the existence of a publication that uses the term we are analyzing to name itself.
This is the magazine «Pastiche» , which is online, bimonthly and free. Its objective is to address any type of information related to the world of literature.