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(10-19-2016, 07:32 PM)Verad Wrote: I'd argue in kind that self-referential and parodical media tend to have significant, if subtle, differences in portrayal, and those are often present in the style being used.
Final Fantasy itself, as an extremely self-referential series, is a pretty good example of that - it constantly refers back to itself, but does so to greater or lesser effectiveness depending on style.
But for the sake of argument, if portrayal is a third axis of fiction, how would you see it as different from the other two elements?
Generally in parody, Amplification is the only difference in portrayal from the source material; the actual ratio between the two facets in parody work itself is often unchanged, meaning that style and content can still be near identical within the work itself. Parody in particular is only required to refer to something else, and not necessarily itself (self-parody would fall into self-reference).
Comparison between the three axes:
Style: the backbone undertones of something that categorizes a work (ex. Color, cinematography, word and phrase usage, visual design).
Content: elements of a piece of media independent from (yet added to by) style (ex. Characters, story, world, mechanics).
Portrayal: the light in which a piece of media is to be taken, or the way or order that style and content are put forth (ex. Tonality, genre, narrative position, presentation).
Portrayal is often confused with the others because various styles automatically lend themselves to certain portrayals  (ex., bright cartoons of happy animals being portrayed in a positive and lighthearted way), but the fact  they can still be subverted (Happy Tree Friends) shows the difference between them.