pastiche

/ˌpæˈstiʃ/

Other forms: pastiches

The next time you see a movie that you think is a cheap imitation of an older, better movie, you can sound like a film critic by dismissing the picture as a thoughtless pastiche.

A pastiche is an artwork that copies the style of another work or that combines various, distinct styles together into one work. A pastiche can also be a musical medley, or the piecing together of various songs. Pastiche comes from the Italian word pasticcio, which can refer to a pie containing a mix of ingredients, such as meat and pasta.

Definitions of pastiche

1. noun

   a work of art that imitates the style of some previous work
   type of:

   work of art

   art that is a product of one of the fine arts (especially a painting or sculpture of artistic merit)
2. noun

   a musical composition consisting of a series of songs or other musical pieces from various sources
   synonyms: medley, potpourri

   type of:

   composition, musical composition, opus, piece, piece of music

   a musical work that has been created