Slapstick is a type of comedy Comedy as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse generally intended to amuse, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in Ancient Greece. In the Athenian democracy, the public opinion of voters was involving exaggerated extreme physical violence or activities which exceed the boundaries of common sense and sometimes includes ironic situations, such as a character being hit in the face with a heavy frying pan or running into a brick wall, or going mad while searching for something when it was really right next to where that person was originally sitting. These hyperbolic Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is rarely meant to be taken literally depictions are often found in children's cartoons (such as Tom and Jerry Tom and Jerry is a series of animated theatrical shorts created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that centered on a never-ending rivalry between a housecat and a mouse (Jerry) whose chases and battles often involved comic violence. Hanna and Barbera ultimately wrote and directed one hundred and fourteen Tom and Jerry, Road Runner...), and light film comedies aimed at younger audiences. Though the term is often used pejoratively, the performance of slapstick comedy requires exquisite timing and skillful execution.
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Origins
The phrase comes from the battacchio—called the 'slap stick In music, a whip is a type of musical instrument played by a percussionist that is used in modern orchestras, bands, and percussion ensembles. The instrument is designed to imitate the sound of a bullwhip crack, without the attendant safety and space limitations' in English—a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'Arte (Italian: "the comedy of art ") is a form of improvisational theatre that began in Italy in the 15th century, maintained its popularity through the 16th century, and is still performed today.Performances were unscripted, held outside and used few props. They were funded by donations and anyone could view the. When struck, the battacchio produces a loud smacking noise, though little force is transferred from the object to the person being struck. Actors may thus hit one another repeatedly with great audible effect while causing very little actual physical damage. Along with the inflatable bladder (of which the whoopee cushion is a modern variant), it was among the earliest forms of special effects The illusions used in the film, television, theater, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects that could be carried on one's person.
History
While the object from which the genre is derived dates from the Renaissance The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historic era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not uniform across Europe, this is a general use of the, theater historians argue that slapstick comedy has been at least somewhat present in almost all comedic genres since the rejuvenation of theater in church liturgical dramas in the Middle Ages. (Some argue for instances of it in Greek and Roman theater, as well.) Beating the devil off stage, for example, remained a stock comedic device in many otherwise serious religious plays. Shakespeare William Shakespeare [a] was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon".[b] His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of 38 plays,[c] 154 sonnets, two long narrative also incorporated many chase scenes and beatings into his comedies. Building on its later popularity in the nineteenth and early twentieth-century ethnic routines of the American vaudeville Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s in which each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill. Types of acts included popular and classical musicians, dancers, comedians, trained animals, magicians, house, the style was explored extensively during the "golden era" of black and white, silent movies directed by figures Mack Sennett Mack Sennett was a Canadian -born Academy Award-winning director and was known as the innovator of slapstick comedy in film. During his lifetime he was known at times as the "King of Comedy." and Hal Roach Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach, Sr. was an American film and television producer from the 1910s to the 1990s and featuring such notables as Mabel Normand, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor and filmmaker. Best known for his silent films, his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face", Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Wisdom OBE is an English retired comedian, singer, songwriter, actor and musician, Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, KBE was an English comedic actor and film director. Chaplin became one of the most famous actors as well as a notable filmmaker, composer and musician in the early to mid Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a popular comedy team composed of thin, English-born Stan Laurel and heavy, American-born Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). They became famous during the early half of the 20th century for their work in motion pictures and also appeared on stage throughout America and Europe, the Keystone Cops, and the Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce comedy punctuated by quickly-delivered one-liners, within outrageous storylines. Moe Howard firmly notes, in the The Howard Stern Show Three Stooges Lost and Found. Slapstick is also common in animated cartoons The word cartoon has various meanings, based on several very different forms of visual art and illustration. The term has evolved over time such as Tom and Jerry Tom and Jerry is a series of animated theatrical shorts created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that centered on a never-ending rivalry between a housecat and a mouse (Jerry) whose chases and battles often involved comic violence. Hanna and Barbera ultimately wrote and directed one hundred and fourteen Tom and Jerry and Looney Tunes Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and is Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. The regular Warner Bros. animation cast also became known as the "Looney Tunes".
Modern criticism
In recent times, some have criticized representations of violence in a belief that they encourage actual violence, a claim supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics The American Academy of Pediatrics was founded in 1930 and now has 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists as members. The AAP's mission is to attain optimal physical, mental and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults.[1] Slapstick comedy has not escaped negative attention, though its lengthy presence in performance history and obviously fictitious nature usually protects it from efforts meant to censor video games A video game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device. However, with the popular use of the term "video game", it now implies any type of display device. The electronic systems used to and action films Action movies are a film genre wherein the story is largely told through physical action as opposed to dialogue. The action typically involves individual efforts on the part of the hero. While action has long been an element of films, the "Action film" as a genre of its own began to develop in the 1970s. The genre is closely linked with. Slapstick continues to maintain a presence in modern comedy that draws upon its lineage, running in film from Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor and filmmaker. Best known for his silent films, his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face" to Mel Brooks to the Farrelly Brothers The Farrelly brothers, Peter and Bobby (b. June 17, 1958), are screenwriters and directors of ten comedy films, including There's Something About Mary; Dumb and Dumber; Kingpin; Me, Myself & Irene; Shallow Hal; Stuck on You; Osmosis Jones; Fever Pitch (also known as The Perfect Catch outside of America) and The Heartbreak Kid, and in live performance from Weber & Fields to Jackie Gleason Herbert Walton Gleason, Jr. , baptized as John Herbert "Jackie" Gleason, was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on the sitcom The Honeymooners. His most noted film role was Minnesota Fats in The Hustler to Rowan Atkinson Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British comedian, actor and writer, famous for his work on classic sitcoms such as Blackadder, The Thin Blue Line, Not the Nine O'Clock News and Mr. Bean. He has been listed in The Observer as one of the 50 funniest acts in British comedy, and amongst the top 50 comedy acts ever in a 2005 poll of fellow comedians.
See also
- Laughter Laughter is an audible expression or appearance of happiness, or an inward feeling of joy . It may ensue (as a physiological reaction) from jokes, tickling, and other stimuli. Inhaling nitrous oxide can also induce laughter; other drugs, such as cannabis, can also induce episodes of strong laughter. Strong laughter can sometimes bring an onset of
- Slapstick film Slapstick films are a type of comedy film that employ slapstick comedy with five main conventions:
- Wacky Comedy film Anarchic comedy is a genre of cinema using nonsensical, stream-of-consciousness humor. Films of this nature stem from a theatrical history of anarchic comedy on the stage. Jokes and visual gags are utilized, usually in a non sequitur manner that eschews narrative for sheer absurdity. Like farce, anarchic comedy uses wildly exaggerated characters
- Physical comedy
- Stage combat Stage combat is a specialized technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet productions. The term is also used informally to describe fight choreography for other production media including film and television. It is
References
- ^ American Academy of Pediatrics. "Media Violence." Pediatrics, Volume 108, Number 5, November 2001 (pages 1222-1226).
External links
- "What's the Origin of Slapstick?" The Straight Dope The Straight Dope is a popular question-and-answer newspaper column published in the Chicago Reader, syndicated in thirty newspapers in the United States and Canada, as well as being available and archived at the Straight Dope website - straightdope.com, 1 March 2005.
- "Slapstick." Answers.com, 2008.
- Dirks, Tim. "Comedy Films." filmsite.org, 1996-2008.
- Pedini, Kevin. "Mook Productions." mook-productions.com, 23 March 2007.
Categories: Comedy Categories: Humor | Entertainment | Performing arts | Genres
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... September 5 at 7:00 pm The Chicken's hilarious brand of slapstick comedy has been a mainstay at ballparks around the country for more than 30 years. ...
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**Update 6--Ross Kaminsky provides an excellent detailed breakdown of Judge Larry Naves' decision in the Churchill lawsuit; more reactions on Churchill's failed lawsuit at Drunkablog, including a roundup of links; ...
Q. I thought we had a consensus regarding sense of humor and that men and women as a whole aren't into humor more than the other? Are there more things that one gender finds funny than the other gender? Yes, and BTW, what happened to my fav. Feminist? No Heidi, this isn't my first question. Yes, I agree, this stereotypical statement came from a GWS Feminist in the form of a question. Jebus, done ! Elf, yes, I think that it's a matter of personal preference too.
Asked by Know It All - Mon Jan 12 11:30:08 2009 - - 15 Answers - 1 Comments
A. I don't know if there is any gender correlation here. Seems like personal preferences to me. As a child, I enjoyed the Three Stooges as much as my brothers, but after seeing it for the 347th time, it lost some of the appeal. Nothing kills a joke better than too much repetition. BTW, who is your favorite feminist?
Answered by Elf #3 - Mon Jan 12 12:55:30 2009
