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comedy

The word comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humor with an intent to provoke laughter in general). In the theater, its Western origins are in ancient Greek tragedy, a genre characterised by a grave fall from grace by a protagonist having high social standing. Comedy, by contrast, portrays a conflict or agon (Classical Greek ἀγών) between a young hero and an older authority, a confrontation described by Northrop Frye as a struggle between a "society of youth" and a "society of the old". A more recent development is to regard this struggle as a mere pretext for disguise, a comical device centered on uncertainties regarding the meaning of social identity. The basis of comedy would then be a plot mechanism conceived to engender misunderstandings either about a hero's identity or about social being in general. In common, present day usage the word comedy almost always refers to the creation or presentation of humor with the intention of...This information was automatically generated from Freebase article comedy. You should replace/update it...

Type: Movie

Genres/Tags: Sci Fi, Romantic