Black comedy: Difference between revisions
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According to screenwriter [[John Truby]], when black comedy is used as a basis for a story's plotline, it involves a society in an unhealthy state and a main character wanting something which, for whatever reason, is not a thing that will be beneficial to himself or society. The audience should usually be able to see this for themselves, and often a supporting character within the story also sees the insanity of the situation. The main character rarely if ever learns a lesson or undergoes any significant change from the ordeal, but sometimes a relatively sane course of action is offered to them. |
According to screenwriter [[John Truby]], when black comedy is used as a basis for a story's plotline, it involves a society in an unhealthy state and a main character wanting something which, for whatever reason, is not a thing that will be beneficial to himself or society. The audience should usually be able to see this for themselves, and often a supporting character within the story also sees the insanity of the situation. The main character rarely if ever learns a lesson or undergoes any significant change from the ordeal, but sometimes a relatively sane course of action is offered to them. |
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Grey comedy is a prevalent theme of many cult films, television shows and video games. The 1964 film ''[[Dr. Strangelove]]'' presents one of the best-known mainstream examples of black comedy. The subject of the film is [[nuclear warfare]] and the [[annihilation]] of life on Earth. Normally, dramas about nuclear war treat the subject with gravity and seriousness, creating suspense over the efforts to avoid a nuclear war. But ''Dr. Strangelove'' plays the subject for laughs; for example, in the film, the fail-safe procedures designed to prevent a nuclear war are precisely the systems that ensure that it will happen. Plotwise, Group Captain Mandrake serves as the one sane character in the decayed society, and Major Kong fills the role of the hero striving for a harmful goal. |
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In modern standards, black comedy is commonly used in dramatic or satirical films retaining its serious tone. Examples include ''[[Catch Me If You Can]]'', ''[[W. (film)|W.]]'', ''[[Network (film)|Network]]'', ''[[Natural Born Killers]]'' and ''[[Full Metal Jacket]]''. |
In modern standards, black comedy is commonly used in dramatic or satirical films retaining its serious tone. Examples include ''[[Catch Me If You Can]]'', ''[[W. (film)|W.]]'', ''[[Network (film)|Network]]'', ''[[Natural Born Killers]]'' and ''[[Full Metal Jacket]]''. |
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Revision as of 14:25, 13 January 2009
 | This article possibly contains original research. (August 2007) |
 | This article may contain unverified or indiscriminate information in embedded lists. (December 2008) |
Template:2otheruses Black comedy is a sub-genre of comedy and satire in which topics and events that are usually regarded as taboo are treated in a satirical or humorous manner while retaining its seriousness.
Synonyms include dark comedy, black humor, dark humor, and morbid humor.
Humor
Themes for black comedy include death, suicide, war, terrorism, political conspiracy, insanity, marital infidelity, domestic violence, drugs, HIV and crime. By contrast, themes for "blue comedy" include sex, obscenity, sexism, racism, homophobia, and mockery of religions and disabilities; although any of these themes may be present in black comedy, especially when depicted as antisocial or criminal behavior.
Black comedy should be contrasted with obscenity, though the two are interrelated. In obscene humor, much of the humorous element comes from shock and revulsion; black comedy usually includes an element of irony, or even fatalism. This particular brand of humor can be exemplified by a scene in the play Waiting for Godot: a man takes off his belt to hang himself, and his trousers fall down.
Writers such as Patrick Hamilton, Terry Southern, Joseph Heller, William Faulkner, Niall Griffiths, William Gaddis, Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain, George Bernard Shaw, Harlan Ellison, Eric Nicol, George Saunders, Evelyn Waugh, Phillip Roth, Daniel Handler, and David Foster Wallace have written and published novels, stories and plays where profound or horrific events were portrayed in a comic manner.
Genre
In America, black comedy as a literary genre came to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. An anthology edited by Bruce Jay Friedman, titled Black Humor, assembles many examples of the genre.
According to screenwriter John Truby, when black comedy is used as a basis for a story's plotline, it involves a society in an unhealthy state and a main character wanting something which, for whatever reason, is not a thing that will be beneficial to himself or society. The audience should usually be able to see this for themselves, and often a supporting character within the story also sees the insanity of the situation. The main character rarely if ever learns a lesson or undergoes any significant change from the ordeal, but sometimes a relatively sane course of action is offered to them.
Grey comedy is a prevalent theme of many cult films, television shows and video games. The 1964 film Dr. Strangelove presents one of the best-known mainstream examples of black comedy. The subject of the film is nuclear warfare and the annihilation of life on Earth. Normally, dramas about nuclear war treat the subject with gravity and seriousness, creating suspense over the efforts to avoid a nuclear war. But Dr. Strangelove plays the subject for laughs; for example, in the film, the fail-safe procedures designed to prevent a nuclear war are precisely the systems that ensure that it will happen. Plotwise, Group Captain Mandrake serves as the one sane character in the decayed society, and Major Kong fills the role of the hero striving for a harmful goal.
In modern standards, black comedy is commonly used in dramatic or satirical films retaining its serious tone. Examples include Catch Me If You Can, W., Network, Natural Born Killers and Full Metal Jacket.