Comic Forms

Abstract

Why does comedy take the form of satire, slapstick, parody, burlesque, or comedy of manners? Chapter 2 examines the bewildering profusion of comic genres and sub-genres: how they have evolved, where and when they thrive, how they distinguish themselves from or merge with one another. It shows what the word’s great repertoire of comic movie genres and subgenres owes to earlier traditions of Greek theatre, satirical Roman verse, Italian commedia dell’arte, French stage farce, Sanskrit parodies, the Kyogen skits of Japan, and the English novel. Each cinematic form has developed its own set of traits and serves a distinctive purpose. Some forms, like “crisis slapstick,” push old genres in new directions that are still testing the limits of humor and acceptable behavior.