Charlie Chaplin

Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated physical violence or activities which exceed the boundaries of common sense, such as a character being hit in the face with a heavy frying pan or running into a brick wall. Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and These hyperbolic depictions are often found in children's cartoons 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.

Origins

The phrase comes from the battacchio—called the 'slap stick' in English—a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte. In music a whip is a type of Musical instrument played by a percussionist that is used in modern orchestras bands and percussion ensembles Commedia dell'Arte ( Italian: "the comedy of artists" is a form of Improvisational theatre that began in Italy in the 16th century 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 that could be carried on one's person. Flatulence humor refers to any type of Joke, Practical joke device, or other Humor related to Flatulence. The illusions used in the Film, Television, Theater, or Entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called

History

The Three Stooges' trademark was exaggerated, though perfectly executed, slapstick comedy.

While the object from which the genre is derived dates from the Renaissance, 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. The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere (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. A comedic device is used in Comedy to write humor in a common structure Shakespeare also incorporated many chase scenes and beatings into his comedies. William Shakespeare ( baptised Building off its later popularity in the nineteenth and early twentieth-century ethnic routines of the American vaudeville house, the style was explored extensively during the "golden era" of black and white, silent movies directed by figures Mack Sennett and Hal Roach and featuring such notables as Mabel Normand, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, the Keystone Kops, and the Three Stooges. Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s Mack Sennett ( January 17, 1880 &ndash November 5, 1960) was an Academy Award -winning director and was known as the innovator Harold Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr ( January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and Mabel Normand ( November 9, 1892 - February 23, 1930) was an American Film actress and the most popular Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle ( March 24 1887 &ndash June 29 1933) was an American Silent film Comedian Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton ( October 4 1895 &ndash February 1 1966) was an Academy Award -winning American Laurel and Hardy were the popular American -based comedy team of thin British-born Stan Laurel (1890-1965 and heavy American-born Oliver Hardy (1892-1957 The Marx Brothers were a popular team of sibling Comedians who appeared in Vaudeville, stage plays film and television The Keystone Cops was a series of Silent film comedies featuring a totally incompetent group of Policemen produced by Mack Sennett for his 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 Slapstick is also common in animated cartoons such as Tom and Jerry and Looney Tunes. The word cartoon has various meanings based on several very different forms of Visual art and Illustration. Tom and Jerry is a series of theatrical Short subjects (cartoons created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros Animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969 Cartoonist Brendon Small considers the gory violence in his late-night cartoon, Metalocalypse, a form of Slapstick. Brendon Small (born February 15, 1975 in Springfield, Illinois) is an American stand-up comedian, actor composer and Metalocalypse is an American Animated television series on Adult Swim created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha.

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 ( AAP) is an organization of Pediatricians physicians trained to deal with the medical care of infants children and adolescents [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 and action films. A video game is a Game that involves interaction with a User interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Action movies are a Film genre where action sequences such as fights, Shootouts Stunts Car chases or explosions either take precedence Slapstick continues to maintain a presence in modern comedy that draws upon its lineage, running in film from Buster Keaton to Mel Brooks to the Farrelly Brothers, and in live performance from Weber & Fields to Jackie Gleason to Rowan Atkinson. Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton ( October 4 1895 &ndash February 1 1966) was an Academy Award -winning American Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American director, Writer, Composer, Lyricist The Farrelly brothers, Peter (b December 17 1956 and Bobby (b Herbert Walton Gleason Jr, baptized John Herbert "Jackie" Gleason ( February 26, 1916 – June 24, 1987) was an Rowan Atkinson (born 6 January 1955 is an English Comedian, actor and writer famous for his title roles in the British television comedies Blackadder

See also

• Laughter
• Slapstick film
• Wacky Comedy film
• Physical comedy
• Stage combat

External links

• "What's the origin of 'slapstick'?" (from The Straight Dope)
• www.answers.com/topic/slapstick
• www.filmsite.org/comedyfilms2.html
• www.mook-productions.com