SM4110/SM5318 Understanding Drama in Media

1
SM4110/SM5318Understanding Drama in Media

• Comedy

2
What is Comedy?

• We all want fun
• drama is fun!
• drama can be fun!
• Life is tough. We need some outlet!

3
What is Comedy?

• Comedy is tragedy done ten times faster!
• comedy is about timing!
• Example
• A Hows your gorgeous girl-friend?
• B Shes no longer my girl-friend.
• A Dont give up hope. I still see her hanging
  around with guys a lot. Boy! Shes hot!
• B Shes now my wife.

4
What is Comedy?

• Comedy is other peoples tragedy
• William Shakespeare
• Comedy is not so personal (to audience), not as
  real, not so serious
• No threat
• Still with suspense and tension great timing

5
What is Comedy?

• Comedy is fantasy surprise
• Often start with a crazy idea
• Principle since ancient Greeks
• Example
• Modern Times, The Private Eyes (????), Shaolin
  Soccer (????), After Hour, Taxi Driver

6
Comic Character

• Comedy is about people who are
• smaller than us
• lower than us
• shorter than us
• less good than us
• less human than us
• No psychological threat to us
• Safe distance

7
Comic Character

• Comedy is exaggeration (over / under)
• Comic action / behaviour
• Walk, talk, look, move
• Often stereotype / anti-stereotype
• Gives rise to slapstick / physical comedy
• Example?
• Chaplin
• ??? (Michael Hui)
• ??? (Chow Sing Chi)
• All great comedians 

8
Comic Plot

• Comedy is fantasy based on reality
• Topping the joke
• add an unexpected ending
• Logical deduction
• trace an internal logic with a little twist
• Example
• If machine can help us work, it can help us eat
• eating machine scene in Modern Times

9
Comic Plot

• Comedy is tripping toppling
• People we want to trip / trick
• Bad jokes that dont hurt much even if were
  true
• Ways we want to see otherwise
• Example
• The Great Dictator, King of Comedy (????),
  Wedding Banquet (??)

10
Comic Plot

• Comedy is attitude POV
• Parody
• Wit
• Winning with joy
• Gives rise to comedy of manners, light comedy

11
Comic Plot

• Comedy is mismatch mistake
• Mismatch of timing
• Mismatch of event
• Mismatch of personality / relationship
• Mismatch / violation of normal causality
• Mistake (duality) of meaning
• Example Wedding Banquet (??), Goodbye Girl

12
Comic Plot

• Comedy is about warmth, about love
• Comedy is release of emotion
• Comic release in tragedy
• Example?

13
What is Comedy? 

• Comedy is hard work discipline behind laughter!
• Many comedians are damn serious in real life!

14
What is Comedy

• Lets see!