Comedy History
1895-1930 – Films from the comedy genre started being produced at a high rate in the era of the silent films
that was roughly around 1895-1930. As the films were silent they relied on the visual images to be funny
therefore they would frequently use slapstick or burlesque to add to the comedic value of a scene as there
was no dialogue being heard.
1930s-1950s - In the 1930s silent films were replaced by dialogue films as this helped widen the humour
used in films as this helped develop the humour from just visual imagery. Movies still included physical
humour as they used this to add more to the comedic value of a film or scene as the dialogue and physical
humour will add more to the comedy. By the 1950s Television series were a popular industry as more and
more people stayed home to watch the Television than rather going to watch a film in the Theatre. Near the
end of the 1950s a new type of humour was introduced to the comedy genre which was Black Comedy. This
would look to make a dark situation such as war and make it into a comical issue.
1960s-1980s – At the beginning of the 60s dark humour became to emerge as films like Dr. Strangelove
(1964) The Apartment (1960) and Alfie (1966)
Eddie Murphy became a successful action-comedy film actor as he starred in the Beverly Hill Cops series
(1984-1993)
Films that were directed by John Hughes became with popular in the genre during the 1980s and he was
best known for the Home alone movies during the 1990s which helped direct comedy films towards family
audiences.
1990s-2010s- Spoof comedies stayed popular with films like the Scary Movies series. Romantic comedies
developed a lot during the 90s as they became every popular due to films like sleepless in Seattle (1993)
British Comedies started to examine the role of Asian community in Britain as they started to make more
cultural comedies that kept the British elements with films like East is East (1999) and Bend it like Beckham
(2002).

Television
0 Sitcom – These programmes feature the same recurring characters being
placed in different situations in every episode hence the name situation comedy
(sitcom). They use different techniques to build up the humour like Slapstick.
They are either recorded in front of a live audience or with a laugh track. A
popular sitcom is Friends.
0 Comedy Drama – A comedy drama that is commonly known as a Dramedy
combines with drama and dramatic elements. This gives it me realistic tone
then sitcoms. A popular comedy drama is Ugly Betty.
0 Sketch Comedy- These programmes feature the same actors acting as a
different range of characters that are put into different scenarios. They are very
popular in Britain as shows like Little Britain were very successful.
0 Game show Comedy – The UK have plenty of shows that are formatted like a
game show as two teams compete for points throughout games that include
comedic elements. The show gives the comedians chances to use stand up
comedy to win rounds. For example, Mock the Week and 8 out of 10 cats.
0 Animated Comedy – This type of comedy is very popular in America as they
have produced many popular animated series like The Simpsons and Family
Guy. They use attributes from tradition cartoons and sitcoms.

Comedic Genres
0 Alternative comedy - Differs from traditional punch line jokes which features many
other forms of comedy such as Observation, Satire, Surrealism, Slapstick and
Improvisation
0 Black comedy - Deals with disturbing subjects such as death, drugs, terrorism, rape,
and war; can sometimes be related to the horror movie genre
0 Character comedy - Derives humour from a persona invented by a performer; often
from stereotypes
0 Improvisational comedy - Improvisational (sometimes shortened to improv) comics
rarely plan out their routines; television show examples: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Whose
Line Is It Anyway?, Thank God You're Here
0 Insult Comedy - A form which consists mainly of offensive insults directed at the
performer's audience and/or other performers
0 Mockumentary - A parody using the conventions of documentary style
0 Observational comedy - Pokes fun at everyday life, often by inflating the importance of
trivial things or by observing the silliness of something that society accepts as normal
0 Physical comedy - Somewhat similar to slapstick, this form uses physical movement
and gestures; often influenced by clowning
0 Prop comedy - Relies on ridiculous props, casual jackets or everyday objects used in
humorous ways
0 Spoof - The recreating of a book, film or play for humour; it can be used to make fun of,
or ridicule, a certain production
0 Sitcom - Scripted dialogue creating a thematic situation; commonly found on television
series
0 Sketch - A shorter version of a sitcom, practised and typically performed live
0 Surreal comedy - A form of humour based on bizarre juxtapositions, absurd situations,
and nonsense logic.
* Source - Wikipedia