Comparison Of High Comedy And High Satire

Comedy is a means of communicating that can convey thoughts and ideas in an unarming way or can be a tool to connect to others through laughter. Comedy has many subcategories, such as high, low, and satire. Low comedy takes minimal complex thinking to understand and is straightforward. On the other hand, high comedy takes more thought to understand and can use techniques like clever wordplay. Satire (considered high comedy) is a form of comedy that often uses sarcasm to poke at/bring attention to certain topics or make fun of the stupidity of others. While the comedic techniques may stay consistent in their usage, the topics used depend on the time and current events. In the 2000s, many issues like the Housing Market Crash have been subjects

The 2000s are no different. During this decade, sitcoms were a very popular genre of entertainment. While in years past sitcoms were also quite popular, they illustrated an unrealistic life, mainly highlighting the “perfect” or good aspects of it. Later on, sitcoms began to tackle real issues and more realistic situations. For instance, in the show “Boy Meets World”, one of the main characters, Topanga, is visited by her professor in her dorm room, and they are left alone together. He uses discussing her assignment to flirt with her, and after she tells him that she is uncomfortable and wants him to leave, he says, “That’s not what you want.” (Boy Meets World S6 E7). He only leaves after Topanga’s boyfriend, Cory, walks in. While the details of the situation may vary, many people have been in a similar situation like this in their lives. It is a prevalent issue, and Topanga’s uncomfortableness with the professor's unwanted advances is relatable to many. TV shows that only show the positive side of life can be used as an escape from the troubles of reality but cannot connect to the people watching in the same way these do. Another example of real-life situations represented in sitcoms is in another episode of “Boy Meets World” where Shawn informs Cory that a girl named Claire is being physically abused by her father and that she needs to stay at his house for the night. He says, “At night, sometimes, he yells a lot and beats her up.” (Boy Meets World S4 E8) At first, Cory is confused, as he is not expecting Claire's father (the Vice President of a Bank) to be abusive but is ultimately understanding and agrees to let her stay at his house. He is concerned and wants to go to the police, but Shawn doesn’t think they will listen to him over Claire’s father because of his position of influence. This (which is sadly another real thing that happens) can connect to