THE POWER OF COMEDY
Uploaded by mshams on Jun 19, 2006
THE POWER OF COMEDY!
Mark
What is Comedy?
Some people have the misconception that comedy is the actual opposite of drama. However under closer examination it is apparent that Comedy is that of a dramatic work. Dramatic work that is light and often humorous or satirical in tone and that usually contains a happy resolution of a conflict. Comedy keeps the world in motion, it allows people to shrug off rude comments, laugh at one another, and it creates a casual environment. There are many types of comedy: irony, satire, sarcasm etc. All are used in making the world more enjoyable. However, comedy consequently has the potential to make someone laugh as well as being offended. Laughter is a universal phenomenon however although comedy is as well, but only in a selective material to a selective audience to what you find funny enough to laugh.
Two Interviews
I conducted two interviews with a friend from work: Alex who performs stand up comedy at local bars from time to time and a close personal relative of mine named Travis. (Please Note out of the respect of confidentiality I have replaced their real names with fictitious names.) My main question to them was “What is comedy and what they think its main function is? Here is what they had to say. I used a tape recorder and wrote their answers verbatim.
Interview ALEX: “You know as a comedian as ironic as this may seem, I am not necessary looking for my audience to get a laugh, (although I sure don’t wanna make them cry) I am more interested in seeing the reaction in their faces and body movement. I know I am not the funniest comedian out there, I don’t claim to be. If you get an audience who is reacting to your jokes they are at least...