To what extent do you think this is true of comedy as much as it is of dramas and thrillers?
Do comedies also give us access to simulated traumas?
Friday, June 27, 2014
2.3: Crusin' for a Bruisin'
To what extent do you think this is true of comedy as much as it is of dramas and thrillers?
Do comedies also give us access to simulated traumas?
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I feel this is true of dramas and thrillers. However I feel it is not true for comedies. The difference that I see is dramas and thrillers are more standardized. There is a "trauma" that takes place that most anyone can relate to or at least recognize in dramas and usually an evil that most recognize in thrillers. In comedies however one might find something funny that another does not. For example someone from the east coast might find a joke about the west coast funny while someone from the west coast would not.
ReplyDeleteI would agree that comedies are less standardized and may have a broader scope of ideas in which they can function as a film, however these comedies are still likely to have a plot or multiple plots. For example, the movie Tommy Boy is about a young man trying to prove himself by becoming a top notch salesman. While some may not find it comical, it is a still a situation that I can feel involved in for the hour and a half that I watch the movie. Even movies that seemingly have no plot, such as Napoleon Dynamite, will have events that I can momentarily experience. Napoleon has an annoying brother, an evil uncle, makes a new friend and is part of the high school presidential debate. Although I find it funny and some find it stupid, these events are still simulations for all viewers. Would you consider a car chase, a common plot element in both comedies and dramas, only a simulated trauma in dramas and thrillers, despite that the execution of car chases is universal among genres? Where do we draw the line between comedies and dramas in relation to their level of simulation?
DeleteDramas and comedies allow our minds to experience situations that many of us may never experience in real life. For example, we may never be in a car chase or have a frat house as a neighbor (although deep down we may crave that excitement and thrill). Therefore while these are simulated traumas, they allow us to "live life" through someone else without the risk of actually being in that situation. Also, nearly every story has a plot - and what good is a story without the conflict, rising action, and climax? Because of this, comedies, dramas, and thrillers all have some kind of simulated trauma, although the intensities of these traumas may vary.
ReplyDeleteI think that comedy, like dramas and thrillers, can simulate trauma, but the types of trauma it simulates re much different. In the infancy of film, comedy was limited in scope due to its short viewing length and lack of speech. During this time, the majority of comedy was physical humor; crashing through walls, pie to the face, being chased by a bull, the like. While the majority of the situations and their outcomes are ludicrous, I think they can still count as a simulation of a trauma. Once Film acquired sound, a whole array of literary tools was opened up. Most notable for this question might be the use of satire. While Satire is not inherently funny, is has been used as comedic relief in literature for centuries. An example would be, a truck swerves to miss the protagonist, who is checking Pinterest on her phone, and in the process dumps its load of bouncy balls into the middle of the intersection, potentially knocking out some pesky pedestrians on the other side of the street. In this case the trauma is not inflicted to the protagonist, but those around her. This highlights one of satire’s most valuable properties, the ability to simulate not just the trauma of an individual, but the trauma of a group of people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with previous posts that comedy can stimulate trauma. Even ridiculous comedy, like "Scary Movie 3", have problems, or traumas that have to be dealt with. Typically, comedy deals with trauma in a light hearted way. As a result, dramas and thrillers are more likely to transport someone into its traumatic event than a comedy is.
ReplyDelete-Abigail Savage