The Art of Comedy: How to Understand and Write Humorous Content

Comedy explores the ironic, silly, absurd, and satirical aspects of the human condition. It critiques social institutions and behaviour in various ways, ranging from mild to biting. Comedy has specific targets and often imparts moral lessons, deep emotions, and moments of seriousness, but presented humorously. It challenges societal norms, conventions, and hierarchies by depicting conflicts between or within different groups, such as classes, races, genders, beliefs, and attitudes. Moreover, comedy often satirises and critiques leadership, specific groups, systems, and industries while ultimately supporting the underdog. Underneath the humour, comedies often address critical social issues, as the comedic situations and characters provide a commentary on the manners, conventions, and hierarchies of society.

Exploring the Essence of Comedy

Comedy often arises from pushing boundaries and taking things to the extreme, even into uncomfortable or socially embarrassing territory. Characters and events are frequently exaggerated and heightened, and the comedic protagonist often lacks a filter, showing no remorse until a moment of epiphany or maturity at the end of the story. The situations and conflicts in comedy are often intentionally inappropriate, overblown, or harmlessly self-defeating, and the more absurd the situation, the funnier it is when the characters treat it seriously.

Characteristics of Comedy

Comedy often features a protagonist who is an outsider, eccentric, or underdog, or has an exaggerated personality that doesn’t fit in with society. They are likely to lack self-awareness and be driven by blind desire. The genre focuses on the protagonist’s flaws (of which they may be unaware) and their struggles to navigate difficult situations, while providing a sense of hope and personal control. The outcome is usually positive, where the protagonist triumphs over their pain, powerlessness, and lack of belief in their own abilities through determination, luck, and fate.

Themes and Social Commentary

The comedic perspective often comes from an outsider making observations without bias or agenda. For example, a professional whose world is turned upside down and forced to work in a new environment may embark on their new role with a determined spirit but a lack of understanding, leading to comical disruption and chaos. Comedy often finds humour in characters’ responses to situations (including responses of distress), which may seem disproportionate from an outsider’s perspective while being emotionally justified from the characters’ point of view. The humour in comedy comes from the audience taking the characters as seriously as they take themselves, while also finding humour in the predicament they are in. A common trope is a character who is obsessed with being the best, where the comedy arises from the reality that they fall short. The comedy often ends when the character gets what they want and acknowledges their flaws.