Why is Comedy funny?
Hitch, There’s Something About Mary, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Sleepless in Seattle, and The Wedding Planner. Now how about George Carlin, Chris Rock, and Bill Cosby? What do these all have in common? You’re right. They have all made us laugh…or cry with laughter. Whatever.
Chances are, you have seen most of the romantic comedy films mentioned above, or you might have attended a stand up performance of Chris Rock. But what really makes them, make us laugh? We laugh at comedians because we need to. Life is ,at times, stressful so we need to release the steam. That is where comedy enters.
Historically, it all began in Greece. Yes, it was not William Shakespeare that started it all but the Greeks. The types of comedy: there’s black comedy (no, this is not the African-American comedy, haha) which makes a horrific situation seem funny. An example is Beetlejuice, an 80’s film that showed two spirits/ghosts(?) that have wedded ;SATIRE which makes fun of the errors of politics, morality and the society in general. Shakespeare was highly effective at stirring the mind using this type of comedy; SITCOM (situational comedy) which floods our TV sets daily. Say hello to Will and Grace, Still Standing, etc; STANDUP which made a celebrity out of Chris Rock and even Eddie Murphy; SLAPSTICK (anybody here who remembers the 3 stooges please raise your hand?) Well who will be able to forget the mallet strikes on Moe’s head? This type of comedy shows much horsing around and gags; and, of course, ROMANTIC COMEDY. Two thumbs up for Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez, Sandra Bullock, who are all but a few names of those leading women who made us laugh and cry at the same time. No need to explain the last one, huh, we’ve seen too many of those films, haven’t we? All of these have the elements of comedy which make them tickle our funny bones all the more.326And what are these? Timing, a pregnant pause (or shall we call it the gasp moment?), and let’s add confidence.
Timing is everything, most comedians would say. Hell, yes. Even a good joke would turn sour if told prematurely. The professional comedian would deliver the package once the audience is asking for it. Which also calls for the other element: pregnant pause.
The pregnant pause is that moment between the delivery of a joke and its success. Yes, it is that moment when the comedian stops and waits…then delivers.
So, looking at the long list, we need comedy to make life a little better for us. But since there is a big smorgasboard of comedies, it all depends on our taste on what we would want to watch. Whether we would want to stimulate our visuals or our minds, it is all up to us. Anyway, comedy has been there far too long, we just need to do the picking.
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