A time line of some of the famous comedies in the film history:
How does comedy change over time?
The origin of comedy: 2600 BCE-1600 BCE
The earliest jokes came from Egypt were about political satire, drunken behavior, and sex. May not have been performed to the masses but seems to have been written for at least a large group of people
One of the earliest comedic stories: Poor Man of Nippur
The story effectively tells the tale of a poor man who got thrown out of the mayor's office and being humiliated by the mayor. In revenge, three times the man deceives the mayor and beats him, with the last time beating him to death. While the end might not seem so funny, the comedy is in the fact that someone who is supposed to be uncouth is able to deceive the supposedly smart city ruler. The man wears different disguises to trick the mayor, once even making money by tricking the mayor to think he had stolen gold from the poor man by fining the mayor, as the poor man was disguised as a visiting foreign emissary.
Written in Nippur from ancient Mesopotamia around 1500 BCE
The first well-known comedic actor: Quintus Roscius (126-62 BC)
He was known to have brought comedy away from a clown-like style to a presentation of using wit in humor.
Roscius influenced the style of acting in forthcoming Roman comedy, primarily where acting became about oration and presentation using gestures as well as using words and wit.
Context: Actors were often foreign and usually of low status. Women were often not allowed to take leading roles, usually being relegated to non-speaking roles in plays and comedies.
Another tuning point: 16th century
In Italy, the character of Pulcinella had an impact in what we would consider the origins of Western slapstick comedy
Punch and Judy puppet shows:
'Character of Punch would be joined by his wife Judy. Punch would be the character evoking sometimes shockingly odd or funny scenes on characters he encounters, provoking hilarious laughter from his audience. '
Context: In the 17th century Britain, during the Cromwell period. Audiences that were influenced by puritanism were starved for humor and the Punch and Judy show helped change the mood for English audiences.
In the 19th century:
Pantomime developed as a form of musical comedy, designed for family entertainment.
Usually during Christmas period as part of the wider entertainment that would occur during that time of year, traditionally after the harvest and in the depths of winter, when work would be minimal and celebrations building for the upcoming Christmas feasts.
Vaudeville was another genre that emerged in the late 19th century as a type of stories told in a musical fashion with stories leading to comedic situations
The Late Modern era:
As television was invented, the audience of comedy expand rapidly. The nature of comedy changed from spoken to unspoken, as early films had no sound and were just fast-moving picture sequences. This led to comedic innovators such as Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laural, and Dan Leno.
They develop a new form of comedy that depend on actions include pranks and tricks, or just simply making fun of the intelligence of the character.
The Postmodern era:
Due to the effect of post modernisation (Baudrillard's idea), 'Postmodern comedy has taken the anarchic comedy implicit in Joyce and made it explicit.' In present, comedy is often used as a sub genre to attract audience, sometimes with reasonless punchline. Comedy for the mass have went back for pure violence and foolishness that can recall audiences' original impulse without any obstruction.
Sub-genres of Comedy
Other sub-genre:
Prank-real life participants are lead through a planned event without their knowledge
Mockumentary-use the documentary format for parody, satire, or spoof.
Sketch Comedy-a collection of separate situations, with no inherent connection to each other
Parody,Spoof and Satire
How and why are genres important for filmmakers, audiences and the film industry?
For the audience: Films that are categorized help audiences target their interests.
For filmmakers: Genres help them narrow down their audience and determine the narrative structure.
For the film industry: Genres set expectations for audiences, allowing the industry to receive feedback on its popularity. Genre also helps the industry schedule release dates.
Notes of the opening of Dune and WandaVision
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