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Vaudeville's Impact On The Evolutio Comedy

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Vaudeville Vaudeville rose to prominence in America from the 1880’s until the 1920’s. A vaudeville show is composed of different acts or segments such as animal acts, magic acts, singing acts, and comedy acts. However, there is much more meaning behind vaudeville than the types of acts it is made up of. Vaudeville encompassed originality, creativity, and rebellion. The shows served as an avenue to introduce things that were not commonly seen by audiences. Eva Tanguay for example, portrayed herself as primitive, a concept opposite to female societal norms at the time. Another example was Frank Fay, who originated improvised interactions with the audience. Vaudeville also exhibits transcendence, while many claim its fame ended in the late …show more content…

Vaudeville’s impact is still felt in today’s comedy, film, television, and radio; however, the primary focus will be to analyze and understand the elements of vaudeville present in today’s comedy and vaudeville’s impact on the …show more content…

The stand-up routines today have evolved a lot from the structure used in vaudeville comedy acts. Stand-up routines are much more storytelling, something which was introduced during the vaudeville era. In addition, the jokes are spaced apart so there is rhythm and good timing which allows for the audience to have consistent amusement over the course of the show. Sarah Silverman’s stand-up is an example of how today’s comedy has evolved from vaudeville. Also, “crowd working” and improv have evolved exponentially from their origins in vaudeville. Both where introduces during the vaudeville era and have now become important and widespread aspects of comedy today. Today’s comedy has evolved in many ways due to the people who were apart of vaudeville and continued on in cinema, radio, and comedy. Bob Hope, who performed comedy during the vaudeville era, became one of the first people who worked with writers to create new material. Saturday Night Live exemplifies an evolution of the work of Bob Hope tenfold with head writers, and upwards of twenty writers working on different

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In early 1900, Patrick “Pat” Chappelle founded The Rabbit’s Foot Company (or, The Rabbit Foot Minstrels) as a roaming, tented minstrel company. Chappelle, equipped with a strong entrepreneurial spirit and notable talent as a banjo guitarist, was to become the figurehead of one of the most successful vaudevillian entities in U.S. history, and, perhaps most importantly, the first exclusively black-owned and operated traveling variety shows in the country. Despite this evolution to “variety show,” The Rabbit’s Foot Company “came forth in the unmistakable form of a minstrel show.” To define, minstrel shows oft manifested as sketch, musical, and variety performances that targeted and mocked black people using blackface and exaggerated stereotypes

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Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton were both comedic geniuses that rose to fame at an early age. Both known for their outstanding slapstick comedy films, it is still debated which of the two is the greater comedic genius of his time. While the two shared many similarities, their movie styles differed from one another quite a bit. Their acting, storylines, and on-screen personalities has their own vey distinct styles.

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According to Kennedy and Gioia, comedy is rooted “from the Greek komos, a reveal, thought to be originated in festivities to celebrate spring, ritual performances in praise of Dionysus” (882). The term comedy can refer to an entire work or simply only parts. Comedy, which can range from romantic (the guy gets the girl and they live happily ever after) to satiric, which is when “human weakness or folly is ridiculed from a vantage point of supposedly enlightened superiority” (Kennedy and Gioia 882). There are many other forms that can be found everywhere. High comedy “relies more on wit and wordplay than physical action for its humor”, while Low comedy tends to “explore the opposite extreme of humor”

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Alain de Botton would argue the opposite, claiming that humorists are vital to society because they can talk about topics that no one else can through the use of humor. De Botton was correct in his assessment of the role of humorists; for without them, important matters, whether they be social, political, or economical, wouldn 't be brought to the attention of the masses in an educational yet understandable manner. Comedy is a useful tool when it comes to teaching a large group of people. It isn 't just the best treatment for the common cold; comedy can break down the social or educational

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Angelou's memoir also addresses the battle African Americans underwent in order to fulfill Civil Rights in the 20th century. The Civil Rights Movement worked for equal rights for all people, in particular African Americans. The movement demanded equal rights in the workforce, housing, government, and education (Richard). A major event that illustrated the momentum of the Civil Rights Movement was Little Rock Nine. Little Rock Nine occured when a group of nine African American students were nominated on account of their grades to attend Little Rock Central High School, the first school to desegregate.

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The comic by Jim Sizenmore provokes comedy. The comic is used to flip the gender roles in the workplace and make men the joke instead of women. “the phrase girl talk- uttered here by a female executive- gets transformed into a sly joke” (434). Women are usually made a joke in the workplace because many assume they cannot do the job a man can, but this comic made the woman the executive in a meeting, and turned it into her making a joke about the men. “…gets transformed into a sly joke, one that inverts conventional gender hierarchies by making men the object of humor.”

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Television help to develop many cultural norms that societies experience in everyday life. In the 1970’s viewers are introduced to a revolutionary change that became popularized and broadcast in most American homes. That type of television discusses civil issues that focus on topics that influence media dissimilarities such as racism, poverty, sexuality to sexism. These particular television shows pave the way for any show that one can view today that exudes diversity. Family Situational Comedies introduce an interesting, unique and unbiased point of view that presented the lives of different families you could actual find in America who weren’t perfect and face real struggles.

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Comedy has been a form of entertainment since ancient Greece. Comedy often reflects society, so as technology became more advanced it also became more accessible to the public. Leaving the house to see a play transitioned to leaving the house to see a film, which transitioned to staying at home and watching television, and then transitioned to watching videos on an iPhone. Technological accessibility broadened comedy as genre and created notable characters, distinctive styles, and has influenced modern comedians.   Bo Burnham began to gain popularity through YouTube.

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The use of a vaudeville tune, a type of entertainment featuring a mixture of specialty acts such as burlesque comedy song and dance, recalls Sherlock Jr to be an early cinematic comedy. By using a vaudeville tune the director of the film, Buster Keaton, guaranteed for his audience to always be laughing. Keaton also uses continuity in his film to

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Humorists, such as cartoonists, satirical writers, and stand-up comics, often base their work on current events and issues. They never fail to put a twist on their subject, making it easier to digest and understand; therefore, they make the subject more appealing to otherwise uninterested or repulsed people. Albeit the fact that a large part of the public may be misinformed in response to the humorist’s twist on the message, humorists are able to state directly what news articles cannot by shedding light on a subject, by talking about controversial issues, or by merely giving busy people the ability to catch up on current eventualities in the short window of time they have. Many humorists shed light on heavy subjects by making them more pleasing and entertaining for the audience; whilst doing so, they can also often provide the audience with valuable information. The cartoonists that work for Charlie Hebdo often use satirical cartoons to convey a deep message.

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The best comedy is derived organically from characters and their quirks or flaws, as well as physical and visual comedy. Good, witty one-liners will also enhance the comedy. Avoid trying to force a joke about the “pimples,” as this isn’t naturally funny.

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One of the most valuable aspects of personality is humor – we value one’s sense of humor and make friends often based on finding certain things funny. But how and why do we consider things to be funny at all? Human beings have strived to uncover fundamental truths about human nature for centuries – even millennia – but humor itself is still yet to be pinpointed. Henri Bergson is only one of many who has attempted this feat, and his essay Laughter: an essay on the meaning of the comic from 1911 breaks down comedy into what he believes to be its essential forms and origins. While Bergson makes many valid points, Charlie Chaplin’s film Modern Times that was brought to screens only twenty years later seems to contradict many of Bergson’s theories, while Bergson seems to contradict even himself over the course of his essay.

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Major elements of the minstrel groups of the late 19th century, such as tap dancing, large group numbers, singing, and singing while dancing, led to the development of the grandiose world of Broadway acting. Brooks McNamara mentions in his article “A Theatre Historian’s Perspective” that Broadway served the general public as a source of entertainment only. He

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“Life is a mixing of all kind of things: comedy and tragedy going together” (Alejandro Jodorowsky). Comedy and tragedy have been two popular forms of entertainment for people throughout the ages. From Greek performances to contemporary plays, the art of theatre is well and thriving. While the styles of playwrights and the way theatre is experienced changes through time, the messages these plays gaves have more or less stayed the same. Drama can, for the most part, be classified as either tragedy or comedy.

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