The Graduate

Latest Articles

Latest Topics

1

The Broad Definition of Comedy

What makes a comedy great? Some would say that a good comedy is based on how many times you or a crowd of people burst out laughing. That is not necessarily the case, as films like Birdman and The Graduate are loved by many, but both are not really laugh out lout funny. They have comedic elements, but the reason people love these films is for their drama, more than the comedy. What should constitute for a comedy, and how broad can the genre be?

  • Interesting topic, yet very wide! You can think of comedy in terms of dark comedy, romantic comedy, children comedy, burlesque, silent comedy, family comedy, action comedy, social comedy, satires, pastiches, parodies.... To consider all these different aspects would be great (but very long so maybe choose to focus on one or two and try to narrow down the topic). – Rachel Elfassy Bitoun 9 years ago
    1
  • Sayign what makes it great is too broad. I would try to lower it to what makes a comedy critically successful (Birdman and The Graduate) or what makes a comedy succeed (like in the box office, so films like Anchorman), or what makes a comedy a staple of the genre (Monty Python and The Holy Grail). – Erin Derwin 9 years ago
    2
  • As Erin and Rachel said above, that's a monstrously wide topic. Consider homing in on one facet of, say, dramatic comedies, as you put it. That, or you'll write until you're dead and not run out of material. – Wordsmith123 9 years ago
    0
  • I have always considered the ones that make you laugh are the best comedies. However, in literature and film, this is not the case. In fact, if you want to stick to the ancient definition, anything with a happy ending can be considered a comedy. With that in mind, I would have to say this topic is far too broad. Something more specific can make for more focused and clear articles. – winbribach 9 years ago
    0
  • In order to class a show/movie as a comedy (at least in my head) it has to my me laugh of some level. I don't have to be on the floor holding my rips but, I should't be leaning back groaning every time the something that is meat to be amusing happens. – icysquirrel 9 years ago
    0