A comedy is a genre of entertainment that intends to provide humor for the audience. The comedy genre originated in Athens, Greece during the 5th century BC, developed as a celebration of the Greek God of fun and revelry. Comedies can have varying narratives, but are usually told in a way that makes fun out of the characters situations. Most comedies have a happy ending. However, there are many different sub-categories of the genre; black comedy explores topics that are usually held as serious and explores them in a comical way. This can sometimes make the viewer laugh and feel uncomfortable at the same time.
Comedy is a genre intended to be humorous or amusing. Comedy strives to create laughter and is featured in theater, television, film, stand-up comedy, books or other forms of entertainment. Comedy is subjective to the individual and sense of humor. The comedy genre makes people laugh and has a positive ending. The tone of comedies is generally light and satirical.
The different types of comedy are slapstick which is physical comedy, parody which mimics or ridicules others, spoof which is a light parody, and satire which mocks society or politics. Other forms of comedy are irony which is when the opposite of what’s expected happens, sarcasm which is a scornful response, and farce which features exaggeration of characters. Dark comedy discusses serious subjects and surrealism explores abstract situations are more forms of comedy.
People laugh to show that they like other people, agree with them, understand them, and are part of the same group as them. Laughter is a social behavior and is a way of making and maintaining social bonds. Sometimes people laugh because someone else is laughing, similar to yawning. People that laugh feel immediately better and are happier in their relationships. Laughter serves as a way for people to regulate their emotions together.
