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What's so Funny, Anyway: Is it Time to Comedies Seriously?
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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 9245302" data-attributes="member: 177"><p>Oh, this reminds me of something, so thank you!</p><p></p><p>I don't recall the original source, but I read an interesting bit on the nature of comedy that might be relevant.</p><p></p><p>Comedy, broadly, and in general, operates on the basis of <em>deviation from expectations</em>. The nature of any particular comedic piece, then, lies in what expectations are the focus.</p><p></p><p>Movies like <em>Airplane</em>, <em>Taladega Nights</em>, and <em>Ace Ventura</em> are leaning on expectations of a genre, and social structures of the day. The "I speak Jive," joke works based on social norms of the 70s, for example. The joke loses impact when those social norms are no longer the lived experience of the audience, or when that genre loses popularity.</p><p></p><p>Some other comedies, like <em>Young Frankenstein</em>, the musical of <em>The Producers</em>, or <em>Singin' in the Rain</em>, are attached to genres and social norms that are somewhat longer lasting - they tend to retain relevance longer, and (I expect, I haven't double checked) are often considered "better movies" in the longer run. </p><p></p><p>Yet other comedies - <em>Ted Lasso</em> and <em>The Good Place</em> and <em>The Orville</em> are good recent examples - are "about something meaningful". These don't actually need to have their every moment be comedic, and give the breaks from expectation greater contrast and focus, which used properly can make comedy more sustainable over time, supporting series work.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 9245302, member: 177"] Oh, this reminds me of something, so thank you! I don't recall the original source, but I read an interesting bit on the nature of comedy that might be relevant. Comedy, broadly, and in general, operates on the basis of [I]deviation from expectations[/I]. The nature of any particular comedic piece, then, lies in what expectations are the focus. Movies like [I]Airplane[/I], [I]Taladega Nights[/I], and [I]Ace Ventura[/I] are leaning on expectations of a genre, and social structures of the day. The "I speak Jive," joke works based on social norms of the 70s, for example. The joke loses impact when those social norms are no longer the lived experience of the audience, or when that genre loses popularity. Some other comedies, like [I]Young Frankenstein[/I], the musical of [I]The Producers[/I], or [I]Singin' in the Rain[/I], are attached to genres and social norms that are somewhat longer lasting - they tend to retain relevance longer, and (I expect, I haven't double checked) are often considered "better movies" in the longer run. Yet other comedies - [I]Ted Lasso[/I] and [I]The Good Place[/I] and [I]The Orville[/I] are good recent examples - are "about something meaningful". These don't actually need to have their every moment be comedic, and give the breaks from expectation greater contrast and focus, which used properly can make comedy more sustainable over time, supporting series work. [/QUOTE]
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