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 Greece, like tragedy, a genre characterised by a grave fall from grace by a protagonist having high social standing. Comedy, in contrast, portrays a conflict or agon 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".

Humor being subjective, one may or may not find something humorous because it is either too offensive or not offensive enough. Comedy is judged according to a person’s taste. Some enjoy cerebral fare such as irony or black comedy; others may prefer scatological humor (e.g. the "fart joke") or slapstick. A common gender stereotype that plays on this convention is that men love the comedy of The Three Stooges, while women do not.

Mel Brooks on comedy and tragedy: "Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall down an elevator shaft and die."

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NPR Topics: Arts & Entertainment

'Rent' Takes Final Bow On Broadway
Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:00:00 -0400
The curtain comes down on Rent for the last time Sunday night, after 12 years on Broadway. Although critics call the musical dated, it will live on in a touring production and countless high school drama classes.
'Bangkok Dangerous': A Hit Man Adrift In Thailand
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:03:00 -0400
The Pang Brothers' partially sanitized remake of their own 1999 thriller is hardly philosophical. Its style and its soul are more Asian than American — and it leaves some space for contemplation between shootouts.
'The Fly' Stirs New Buzz — On The Operatic Stage
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:36:00 -0400
Science fiction isn't typical source material for opera. Which is why Placido Domingo was a little surprised when The Fly landed on his desk. But David Cronenberg and Howard Shore's opera opens Sept. 7 in Los Angeles.

NYT > Arts

The Risky Leap From Screen to Stage
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:35:06 -0000
Broadway, it seems, has eclipsed Playboy as the place to make Hollywood pay attention.
The New Season | Dance: ‘On the Town’ and Out of Town
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:37:15 -0000
New York doesn’t do justice to the choreographers who live and work here, but it remains the best place to see the spectrum of those who don’t.
The New Season | Video Games: Creative Ferment in Worlds That Never Were
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:40:52 -0000
Video games are enjoying a moment of creative possibility not seen since the early 1980s. Here are some products to watch.

Arts & Culture

Joan Acocella: A festival for everyone.
Joan Acocella Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0000
For anyone who doesn’t know about it by now, the Fall for Dance Festival is a two-week series that takes place every September, at City Center, and has a notable entry fee: ten dollars a seat, every seat. City Center was once a Shriners auditorium. After our municipality bought . . .
Goings on About Town: Movies
Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0000
OPENING AUGUST EVENING A drama, directed by Chris Eska, about several generations of Latino migrant workers in Texas. Opening Sept. 5. (Village East Cinemas.) BANGKOK DANGEROUS Reviewed this week in The Current Cinema. Opening Sept. 5. (In wide release.) EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE ITALIAN Jason Todd Ipson directed this romantic . . .
Goings on About Town: Art
Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:00:00 -0000
MUSEUMS AND LIBRARIES METROPOLITAN MUSEUM Fifth Ave. at 82nd St. (212-535-7710)--“J. M. W. Turner.” Through Sept. 21. | “Landscapes Clear and Radiant: The Art of Wang Hui (1632-1717).” Opens Sept. 9. | “Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe.” Through Sept. 21. | “Jeff Koons . . .

Christian Science Monitor | Arts & Entertainment

Review: 'Trouble the Water'
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Documentary follows the human drama of hurricane Katrina through the eyes of a young married couple from the Lower Ninth Ward.
Review: 'Ping Pong Playa'
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Comedy about a basketball star who gets roped into the family table tennis business is fitfully amusing.
Review: 'I Served the King of England'
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 01:00:00 -0500
Chaplinesque fable has an airiness that masks its tragic undertow.

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