What is comedy?

Question

I'm doing a presentation on comedy or more specifically what Americans as a whole find something funny. Comedy programs or live shows from the past decade or two is the time frame I'd like to research on including popular programs people what these days. I'm sure describing the whole complicated psychology and the different trends in comedy would be too much of a reply so a brief summary and any internet sources will be greatly appreciated. So once again, what is the trend in American comedy that people as WHOLE, not your personal taste, enjoy watching. Examples of shows and the reason behind the answer...also few sites that describe in depth will be awesome. Thank you in advance.^o^

ok thanks for the remark....can you tell me the trend in Comedy for the past decade or since the late 80s or early 90s??? The trend of American viewers?

Answer 1

The most basic thing to remember is that comedy and humor are NOT the same thing. Comedy is about chaos. Tragedy is about order. For some reason, people don't see much humor in anything that is very neat, ordered, and structured. But when things happen for no apparent reason and in no apparent order, people think it is incredibly funny. For example, if Bush gave a long and boring State of the Union speech, that would be tragic (not just sad, but just serious/important and ordered). But, if in the middle of his speech, Bush let out a loud, long fart, that would be comic (not just funny, but totally unimportant and random).

That is why the funniest shows on TV are (or used to be) America's Funniest Home Videos, Seinfeld, and shows like that. In all of these shows, the things that happened were totally unexpected and unimportant. There IS such a thing as serious comedy (The Cosby Show, and Archie Bunker, for example). This type of comedy focuses on the kinds of things that COULD go seriously wrong, if minor problems are not fixed right away. American people, however, tend to prefer light comedy over serious comedy. Sex and the City was the first serious comedy to make a huge impact. But, even so, MOST of the popular shows are still light comedy rather than serious comedy. There are MORE shows in the light comedy genre than in the serious comedy genre. Overall, more people watch light comedy than serious comedy.

Answer 2

Comedy is a mixture of Acting, Funny, nonchalant-(say how it is) in most Tv. comedy, and sense of humor. Check this Video out for a example of Acting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-If3Eh3nhpw

Answer 3

Milton Berle he was a real comedian,made everyone forget their troubles for a while.Any comedy that can do that is a comedy