Comedic Work

A Comedic Work is a creative work that is designed to induce laughter (through comedic techniques and humorous expression).

• AKA: Comedy, Comic Work, Humorous Work.
• Context:
  • It can (typically) employ Comic Techniques through humor creation and audience engagement.
  • It can (typically) generate Emotional Responses through laughter induction and mood elevation.
  • It can (typically) utilize Comic Timing through delivery patterns and pacing control.
  • It can (typically) express Social Commentary through humorous critique and satirical observation.
  • It can (often) incorporate Cultural References for shared understanding.
  • It can (often) subvert Social Conventions through comic disruption.
  • It can (often) blend Genre Elements for comedic effect.
  • It can (often) develop Character Dynamics through humorous interaction.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Light Comedy to being a Dark Comedy, depending on its tonal approach.
  • It can range from being a Physical Comedy to being a Verbal Comedy, depending on its comedic method.
  • It can range from being a Popular Comedy to being a Artistic Comedy, depending on its target audience.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Stage Comedys, such as:
    • Classical Comedys, such as:
      • The Clouds (423 BCE), critiquing social institutions through satirical play.
      • The Birds (414 BCE), combining political satire with fantastic elements.
    • Commedia dell'arte (1500s), establishing stock characters through improvised performance.
    • Modern Comedys, such as:
      • The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), mastering wit through social satire.
      • Waiting for Godot (1953), blending comedy with existential themes.
      • Noises Off (1982), structuring farce through theatrical devices.
  • Film Comedys, such as:
    • Silent Comedys, such as:
      • The Gold Rush (1925), perfecting physical comedy through visual storytelling.
      • The General (1926), combining action sequences with comic timing.
    • Screwball Comedys, such as:
      • It Happened One Night (1934), establishing romantic comedy through class conflict.
      • His Girl Friday (1940), mastering rapid dialogue through workplace comedy.
    • Dark Comedys, such as:
      • Dr. Strangelove (1964), examining serious topics through satirical lens.
      • Fargo (1996), blending crime drama with comic elements.
  • Television Comedys, such as:
    • Sitcoms, such as:
      • I Love Lucy (1951), pioneering situation comedy through physical humor.
      • Seinfeld (1989), revolutionizing observational comedy through daily life.
      • The Office (UK) (2001), developing cringe comedy through mockumentary style.
    • Sketch Comedys, such as:
      • Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969), combining surreal humor with intellectual references.
      • Saturday Night Live (1975), maintaining topical comedy through ensemble cast.
  • Stand-up Comedys, such as:
    • Traditional Stand-ups, such as:
      • Richard Pryor Live (1979), transforming personal experience into universal humor.
      • Eddie Murphy Raw (1987), mastering stage presence through storytelling skill.
    • Alternative Comedys, such as:
      • Hannah Gadsby's Nanette (2018), deconstructing comedy form through social critique.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Drama Works, which focus on serious emotions without comic intent.
  • Tragic Works, which aim for catharsis rather than laughter.
  • Documentary Works, which primarily seek to inform rather than amuse.
• See: Comic Art, Humorous Expression, Satirical Work, Entertainment Work,

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References

2015

• (Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/comedy Retrieved:2015-12-20.
  • In a modern sense, comedy (from the , kōmōidía) refers to any discourse or work generally intended to be humorous or to amuse by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, television, film and stand-up comedy. The origins of the term are found in Ancient Greece. In the Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by the political satire performed by the comic poets at the theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance which pits two groups or societies against each other in an amusing agon or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions that pose obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth is understood to be constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to take recourse in ruses which engender very dramatic irony which provokes laughter.

     Satire and political satire use comedy to portray persons or social institutions as ridiculous or corrupt, thus alienating their audience from the object of their humor. Parody subverts popular genres and forms, critiquing those forms without necessarily condemning them.

    Other forms of comedy include screwball comedy, which derives its humor largely from bizarre, surprising (and improbable) situations or characters, and black comedy, which is characterized by a form of humor that includes darker aspects of human behavior or human nature. Similarly scatological humor, sexual humor, and race humor create comedy by violating social conventions or taboos in comic ways. A comedy of manners typically takes as its subject a particular part of society (usually upper class society) and uses humor to parody or satirize the behavior and mannerisms of its members. Romantic comedy is a popular genre that depicts burgeoning romance in humorous terms and focuses on the foibles of those who are falling in love.

2011

• http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/03/14/lessons-from-late-night
  • QUOTE: Comedy is about confidence, and if people in the audience sense a slip in confidence they’re nervous for you and they can’t laugh.

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