Throughout the ages the exact definition of comedy has evolved greatly. The Greeks and Roman called all plays that had a happy-ending “comedy.” In the Middle Ages, any work that had a happy-ending and an overall lighter tone was deemed a comedy. It was, of course, during this time period that Dante Alighieri wrote his famous La Divinia Commedia, or The Divine Comedy. Finally, as more time passed, comedy has arrived at its current form, any type of work that induces laughter. There are numerous types of comedy as well; one being satire, such as “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. In this type of comedic satire, where social criticism is the greater purpose, the “government” weakens everyone through the use of absurd handicaps so no one citizen is better than the other in any way. Another type of comedy is the sketch comedy. Examples of sketch comedy would be Monty Python’s Flying Circus and Saturday Night Live. Sketch comedy is made up of numerous comedic “sketches.” A sketch is different from a skit, where one joke is the center, in that a sketch explores a character, concept, or situation. Another type of comedy, with which almost everyone is familiar, is stand-up comedy. In stand-up comedy, a comedian talks directly to the audience. Examples of stand-up comedians would be Robin Williams, Adam Sandler, etc. Some stand-up comedians use props. When Carrot Top was actually popular and people went to see his shows, he would use props, as would the comedian Gallagher. Another type of physical, or miming, comedy would be clowns. Clowns are known for their costumes, hilarious acting to entertain adults and children alike, and for not speaking. Comedy can be used in numerous ways as well; one way would be to ease the tension in a drama or tragedy. Another use of comedy is to be cerebral and make the reader/audience think. An example of this would be Jonathan Swift’s Modest Proposal, which, superficially, is an essay about how to help the Irish during their economic troubles, but upon further analysis proves to be a scathing essay against the mistreatment of the Irish at English hands. Another use of comedy is to be a form of relief from another element of a story. One example of comedy being used as a relief is in William Shakespeare Othello, with Iago’s gulling of Roderigo to give him all his cash.
Comedy can be very easy to work with, if one is given the right tools and is quick-witted and makes use of the situation; or, it can be hard to work with and may take years to perfect, such as stand-up comedy. It is hard to interlace all the uses and forms of comedy with one another, therefore, most comedians interlace one or two together. Throughout their movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the Coen brothers weave satire, situational, comedic relief and elements of the Odyssey into their movie and, overall, achieve success.
Comedy in O Brother, Where Art Thou? is used as a relief for the audience, as a way of portraying the similarities between the Odyssey and the movie, and a way to make the audience think. One example of comedic relief would be when Baby-Face Nelson decides to kill cows while being chased simply because, “[he] hate[s] cows” (O Brother, Where Art Thou?). The Coen brothers placed this comedy in the movie to link to when Odysseus’ men slaughtered Helios’ cows. Another part of the movie that paralleled the Odyssey is the part about “Big” Dan Teague and his cyclopean view; although here the directors decided to go another route and let Ulysses and Delmar receive an “advanced tutorial” on how to make money. Another time when comedy is used to parallel the Odyssey is when the three men stumble upon the “sirens”. Here the women sing and dance, luring them closer and to let their guard down, by pouring a jug of “XXX” alcohol down one of their throats. The sirens are known through mythology as beautiful women who sing and lure ships to their demise. The Coen brothers also wanted to make their audience think with the “FOP” hair gel; fop being a synonym for idiot.
The Coen brothers use comedy as a way of pulling elements from Homer’s Odyssey, and placing them into a format of today’s view that go along with their movie. From the slaughtering of cows by Baby-Face Nelson and the “sirens” that convinced Delmar Pete’s a toad, to Soggy Bottom Boys donning beards and dressing like old men to sneak into the theater to rescue his wife from a “bona fide” suitor. Anyone who’s read a summary of the Odyssey should be able to pick up the parallels between film and poem, and how comedy ties them, loosely, together.
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