Portal:Comedy

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The Comedy Portal

Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term originated in ancient Greece: In Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was influenced by political satire performed by comic poets in theaters. The theatrical genre of Greek comedy can be described as a dramatic performance pitting two groups, ages, genders, or societies against each other in an amusing agon or conflict. Northrop Frye depicted these two opposing sides as a "Society of Youth" and a "Society of the Old". A revised view characterizes the essential agon of comedy as a struggle between a relatively powerless youth and the societal conventions posing obstacles to his hopes. In this struggle, the youth then becomes constrained by his lack of social authority, and is left with little choice but to resort to ruses which engender dramatic irony, which provokes laughter.

Satire and political satire use comedy to portray people or social institutions as ridiculous or corrupt, thus alienating their audience from the object of their humor. Parody subverts popular genres and forms, critiquing those forms without necessarily condemning them.

Other forms of comedy include screwball comedy, which derives its humor largely from bizarre, surprising (and improbable) situations or characters, and black comedy, which is characterized by a form of humor that includes darker aspects of human behavior or human nature. Similarly scatological humor, sexual humor, and race humor create comedy by violating social conventions or taboos in comic ways, which can often be taken as offensive by the subjects of the joke. A comedy of manners typically takes as its subject a particular part of society (usually upper-class society) and uses humor to parody or satirize the behavior and mannerisms of its members. Romantic comedy is a popular genre that depicts burgeoning romance in humorous terms and focuses on the foibles of those who are falling in love. (Full article...)

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Cold Feet is a British comedy drama television series produced by Granada Television for ITV. It was created by Mike Bullen, who also wrote most of the episodes, and produced by Andy Harries, Christine Langan and Spencer Campbell. The series began on 15 November 1998, following the successful one-off television film broadcast in 1997 and ran for 32 episodes before concluding on 16 March 2003. The series is set in Manchester and follows three couples, played by an ensemble cast, who have trouble with committing to each other however hard they try. The cast were not widely known before their appearances in the programme but their careers received significant boosts; most of the actors received British Comedy Award nominations and James Nesbitt won Best TV Comedy Actor three times. The series was and remains critically acclaimed, winning multiple British Comedy Awards, TRIC Awards, and the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series. It maintained consistently high viewing figures, regularly beating other channels in head-to-head ratings battles.

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Credit: Nuremberg Chronicle (1493)

Saint Vitus was a Christian saint from Sicily. He died as a martyr during the persecution of Christians by co-ruling Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian in 303. St Vitus is counted as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers of the Roman Catholic Church. St. Vitus is considered the patron saint of actors, comedians, dancers, and epileptics.

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...that Richard Hanley's book South Park and Philosophy: Bigger, Longer, and More Penetrating analyzes issues of applied ethics as presented in South Park?

... that 22-year-old ski jumper Anette Sagen played the mother of 70-year-old Bård Owe in the Norwegian movie O' Horten?
... that Matt Kirshen's Bigipedia article on the "Bee Whisperer" was inspired by an article found using the random article function on Wikipedia?

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The most difficult character in comedy is that of the fool, and he must be no simpleton that plays the part.

— Miguel de Cervantes

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Hugh Grant (born 9 September 1960) is a Golden Globe-winning British actor and film producer. Grant achieved international stardom after playing the alter ego of writer-director Richard Curtis in the sleeper hit Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). He used this breakthrough role as a frequent cinematic persona during the 1990s to deliver comic performances in mainstream films like Mickey Blue Eyes (1999) and Notting Hill (1999). He established himself, by the turn of the 21st century, as a prominent leading man skilled with a satirical comic talent. In recent years, Grant has expanded his oeuvre with critically acclaimed turns as a cad in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), About A Boy (2002), and American Dreamz (2006). Grant has been criticised by students of cinema for putting emphasis on nuanced mannerisms, for the predictability of his movies, and for his unwillingness to stretch as an actor. Within the film industry, he is cited as a movie star who approaches his roles like a character actor, with the ability to make acting look effortless. Hallmarks of his patented comic skills include a nonchalant touch of irony/sarcasm and studied physical mannerisms as well as his precisely-timed dialogue delivery and facial expressions. In a career spanning 20 years, Grant has repeatedly claimed that acting is not a true calling but just a job he fell into, while his movies have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide.

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... that when Luna Park opened in 1906, the first program included "comedy sheep"?
... that the live-action drama adaptation of the Japanese manga Setsuyaku Rock was reimagined as a buddy comedy?
... that the documentary comedy films Being Canadian and When Jews Were Funny explore the filmmakers' cultural identity through interviews with dozens of comedians?
... that Czech television reporter and author Vladimír Škutina was arrested and imprisoned twice for his use of political satire?
... that real calf brains were used during the production of the 1988 comedy horror film Brain Damage?
... that the racially themed time-travel comedy Timewasters was developed under the working title Black to the Future?

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Comedy

Terms: Black comedy • Comedian • Comedy club • Comedy of manners • Convention (norm) • Irony • Komos • Parody • Political satire • Race humor • Restoration comedy • Satire • Screwball comedy • Surreal humour • Taboo • Toilet humor

Comedy genres: Bouffon • Comedy film • Anarchic comedy film • Gross-out film • Parody film • Romantic comedy film • Screwball comedy film • Slapstick film • Comic novel • Dramedy • Improvisational comedy • Musical comedy • Stand-up comedy • Alternative comedy • Impressionist (entertainment) • One-liner joke • Comedy genres • Sketch comedy • Television comedy • Radio comedy • Situation comedy • Tragicomedy

History of theatre: Ancient Greek comedy • Ancient Roman comedy • Burlesque • Citizen comedy • Clown • Comedy of humours • Comedy of manners • Comedy of menace • Comédie larmoyante • Commedia dell'arte • Face • Jester • Restoration comedy • Shakespearean comedy • Dadaist/Surrealist • Theatre of the absurd

Comedy events and awards: British Comedy Awards • Canadian Comedy Awards • Cat Laughs Comedy Festival • Edinburgh Festival Fringe • Just for laughs • Halloween Howls Comedy Festival • Melbourne International Comedy Festival • New York Underground Comedy Festival

Lists: List of comedians • List of British comedians • List of Canadian comedians • List of Finnish comedians • List of German language comedians • List of Italian comedians • List of Mexican comedians • List of Puerto Rican comedians • List of Indian comedians • List of British TV shows remade for the American market • List of comedies • List of New York Improv comedians

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