Black comedy
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
| Revision as of 19:05, 9 October 2007 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) ← Previous diff |
Revision as of 19:16, 9 October 2007 Jahsonic (Talk | contribs) Next diff → |
||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
| '''Black comedy''', also known as '''black humor''' is a sub-genre of [[comedy]] and [[satire]] where topics and events that are usually treated seriously — [[death]], [[mass murder]], [[suicide]], [[disease|sickness]], [[Insanity|madness]], [[terror]], [[drug abuse]], [[rape]], [[war]], etc. — are treated in a humorous or satirical manner. Synonyms include '''dark humor''', '''morbid humor''', '''[[gallows humor]]''' and '''[[off-color humor]]'''. | '''Black comedy''', also known as '''black humor''' is a sub-genre of [[comedy]] and [[satire]] where topics and events that are usually treated seriously — [[death]], [[mass murder]], [[suicide]], [[disease|sickness]], [[Insanity|madness]], [[terror]], [[drug abuse]], [[rape]], [[war]], etc. — are treated in a humorous or satirical manner. Synonyms include '''dark humor''', '''morbid humor''', '''[[gallows humor]]''' and '''[[off-color humor]]'''. | ||
| - | In America, black comedy as a literary genre came to prominence in the [[1950s]] and [[1960s]]. Writers such as [[Terry Southern]], [[Joseph Heller]], [[Thomas Pynchon]], [[Kurt Vonnegut]] and [[Harlan Ellison]] have published novels, stories and plays where profound or [[horrific]] events were portrayed in a comic manner. An anthology edited by [[Bruce Jay Friedman]], titled "Black Humour," assembles many examples of the genre. | + | In America, black comedy as a literary genre came to prominence in the [[1950s]] and [[1960s]]. Writers such as [[Terry Southern]], [[Joseph Heller]], [[Thomas Pynchon]], [[Kurt Vonnegut]] and [[Harlan Ellison]] have published novels, stories and plays where profound or [[horrific]] events were portrayed in a comic manner. An anthology edited by [[Bruce Jay Friedman]], titled ''[[Black Humor: Anthology]]'' (1965) assembles many examples of the genre but before him was ''[[Anthology of Black Humor]]'' (1940) by [[André Breton]] |
| The [[1964]] film ''[[Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb]]'' presents one of the best-known examples of black comedy. The subject of the film is nuclear war and the extinction of life on Earth. Normally, dramas about nuclear war treat the subject with gravity and seriousness, creating suspense over the efforts to avoid a nuclear war. But ''Dr. Strangelove'' plays the subject for laughs; for example, in the film, the fail-safe procedures designed to prevent a nuclear war are precisely the systems that ensure that it will happen. The film ''[[Fail-Safe (1964 film)|Fail Safe]]'', produced simultaneously, tells a largely identical story with a distinctly grave tone; the film ''[[The Bed-Sitting Room]]'', released six years later, treats post-nuclear English society in an even wilder comic approach. | The [[1964]] film ''[[Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb]]'' presents one of the best-known examples of black comedy. The subject of the film is nuclear war and the extinction of life on Earth. Normally, dramas about nuclear war treat the subject with gravity and seriousness, creating suspense over the efforts to avoid a nuclear war. But ''Dr. Strangelove'' plays the subject for laughs; for example, in the film, the fail-safe procedures designed to prevent a nuclear war are precisely the systems that ensure that it will happen. The film ''[[Fail-Safe (1964 film)|Fail Safe]]'', produced simultaneously, tells a largely identical story with a distinctly grave tone; the film ''[[The Bed-Sitting Room]]'', released six years later, treats post-nuclear English society in an even wilder comic approach. | ||
Revision as of 19:16, 9 October 2007
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
Black comedy, also known as black humor is a sub-genre of comedy and satire where topics and events that are usually treated seriously — death, mass murder, suicide, sickness, madness, terror, drug abuse, rape, war, etc. — are treated in a humorous or satirical manner. Synonyms include dark humor, morbid humor, gallows humor and off-color humor.
In America, black comedy as a literary genre came to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. Writers such as Terry Southern, Joseph Heller, Thomas Pynchon, Kurt Vonnegut and Harlan Ellison have published novels, stories and plays where profound or horrific events were portrayed in a comic manner. An anthology edited by Bruce Jay Friedman, titled Black Humor: Anthology (1965) assembles many examples of the genre but before him was Anthology of Black Humor (1940) by André Breton
The 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb presents one of the best-known examples of black comedy. The subject of the film is nuclear war and the extinction of life on Earth. Normally, dramas about nuclear war treat the subject with gravity and seriousness, creating suspense over the efforts to avoid a nuclear war. But Dr. Strangelove plays the subject for laughs; for example, in the film, the fail-safe procedures designed to prevent a nuclear war are precisely the systems that ensure that it will happen. The film Fail Safe, produced simultaneously, tells a largely identical story with a distinctly grave tone; the film The Bed-Sitting Room, released six years later, treats post-nuclear English society in an even wilder comic approach.
Today, black comedy can be found in almost all forms of media.
Anthology of Black Humor (1940) - André Breton
Anthology of Black Humor (1940) - André Breton
