Do you prefer comedy or drama?

As a general proposition, I vastly prefer comedy to drama. Not just any comedy, though: I am quite discriminating. I accept only the finest in risible productions. I'm also selective about the type of humor employed: pointless lewdness and crude slapstick simply will not do. No, I demand satire, surrealism, observation, and sophisticated wordplay.

Give me Mystery Science Theater 3000, Walt Kelly's Pogo, and Rocky and Bullwinkle, and you can keep your The Sopranoses, your Breaking Bads, and your Game of Throneses—quite frankly, they bore me.

I prefer tragedies to dramas and comedies. As in the ones that make you feel terrible afterwards.

If a movie, show or video game somehow manages to get some genuine tears out of me, then surely what I have just witnessed was the accumulation of a compelling but heart-wrenching story coupled with a sense of attachment towards likeable, relatable, and/or believable character(s) in a setting that one could only surmise was at the very least engrossing.

Wow dude. There was a discussion of sorts about this very thing last night on facebook. A friend of mine was all "omg anyone who says Family Guy or South Park is their favorite show(s), i immediately think less of them." While the wording of her post was like kinda ehhh, i totally understood where she was coming from. CUZ I HATE THAT STUFF! Seriously, i cannot stand low brow humor. I cant. I just cant...

Cant~

You are probably thinking, oh reader of this post, "why, Florina? Why do you not love the Seth MacFarlane or the Trey Parkers and the Matt Stones of the world. Why you hatin'? Its funny!"

Cuz, dear reader, it is not funny. Its actually really unfunny. I sat through this trailer for that Dumb and Dumber sequel. Without cracking a smile. My friend was all "lighten up." Im like "How can i when im not finding it funny!" So yeah. The trailer for that new Disney movie coming out like this holiday season came on. Its like, i forgot what it was called, but its animated and looks like an anime spoof. The trailer's gags were much funnier to me. (theres this scene with this robot thing and sellotape thats just...adorably hilarious.)

I cant handle really offensive humor. Usually, women are the butts of the jokes here or its really not subtle toilet humor. I like toilet humor depending on delivery and when it is dropped. But if its dropped in all willy-nilly, its just gonna look like something is insulting my intelligence.

Whats funny to me?
Satire
Dry wit
Wry delivery
Cleverly placed snark
Absurdism
Bathos humor
Historical in-jokes
Mythology gags
Stealth puns
Meta humor
Punching Sideways (it exists.)
etc.

Im hard to please when it comes to comedy, and its why i dont like the genre. I can tell you the last comedy film i enjoyed. It was Tower Heist. Yeah that should give you an idea. I hate stuff like the Hangover. If lewd humor is going to happen, im a fan of wry innuendo and double entendre. Not outright genital jokes and sex stuff. Meh.

and your Game of Throneses—quite frankly, they bore me.

Dude, youre missing out. There's hella intelligent humor in that show if you pay attention. (Tyrion Lannister is often the one delivering it. We need more Stannis jokes in the show holy crap.)

---------- Post added at 04:56 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:55 PM ----------

I actually like dramas a lot and vastly prefer them.

I'm in the middle, I think. I enjoy both good comedy and drama, and I wouldn't say I have a preference over one or the other.

Regarding comedy, I think my favorite is... surrealism? 'Gross' humor? If it can even be called that. I've enjoyed shows like Ren and Stimpy, Cow and Chicken as well as several Adult Swim shows. They can get dumb sometimes though.

Xeno wrote:

I prefer tragedies to dramas and comedies. As in the ones that make you feel terrible afterwards.

Have you seen the documentary Dear Zachary? Sounds right up your alley - ruined me for like three days.

Florina Laufeyson wrote:

Wow dude. There was a discussion of sorts about this very thing last night on facebook. A friend of mine was all "omg anyone who says Family Guy or South Park is their favorite show(s), i immediately think less of them." While the wording of her post was like kinda ehhh, i totally understood where she was coming from. CUZ I HATE THAT STUFF! Seriously, i cannot stand low brow humor. I cant. I just cant...

Cant~

You are probably thinking, oh reader of this post, "why, Florina? Why do you not love the Seth MacFarlane or the Trey Parkers and the Matt Stones of the world. Why you hatin'? Its funny!"

Not for nothing, but South Park is one of the most satirical scripted comedies to ever be on television. It does mix low-brow with high-brow, but that's part of what makes it brilliant. Though I can easily understand why not everyone responds to it.



Anywho, I like both comedy and drama equally when they're done well. Comedy can be arguably be seen as more difficult, because on top of having to tell a good story, it also has to be funny. And being funny is not only hard at the best of times, since there's so many different ways to be funny, and people have such individual senses of humour.

The best way I've heard it described was just this past week - in drama, the stakes are literally life and death, so those stories are often grabbing, intense, and easy to get sucked into. In comedy, the stakes aren't life and death, but still have to feel that way for the characters, so that the audience by proxy can still have that level of involvement and investment.

I'm a fan of both, generally, but I don't care for most "American" comedy. If it's low-brow, slapstick (unless it's incredibly well choreographed), or needs a laugh track then I don't get it. This means that I like some South Park jokes, but for the most part just think it's just throwing around bodily fluids and calling it funny.


I'm also not a fan of constantly-depressing drama. I used to be, but now I just don't get the point. Have characters suffer loss, die, and have bittersweet endings, by all means, but no more of this "everything is pointless in the end and the protagonists are just as bad as/worse than the villains". It's not entertaining, it's not "deep", it's not even realistic. It's just pointless meanness for its own sake.

Galedeep wrote:

Have you seen the documentary Dear Zachary? Sounds right up your alley - ruined me for like three days.

I just did. It didn't quite bring me to tears. I was probably too distracted and shocked by the questionable Canadian legal system at the time.

A very moving documentary nonetheless. Thanks for the recommendation.

The thing about comedy is that it takes on different attempts.

Most things that shows take on the form of comedy is "stupidity", believing that kids will love shows that focus on a character that is mindless. Granted, I have watched shows with these kinds of characters, or how the humor is formatted for a show's theme. Most of which occurs more in cartoons today. Not only does it sting, but the comedy tends to be a conflict in a plot, or is just flat out pointless. Due to that, I tend to dislike a character due to their atmospheric presence.

This can also apply to a live action show made for families and kids.

Now, what I might be describing is more or less sitcoms, and those are common like roaches. Sitcoms are typically the best of both worlds; drama and comedy, but there's an unbalance at times. Where comedy outweighs the drama. However, too much drama or too much comedy can be a bad thing. It depends on the purpose, motivation or addition to the show's story. More or less, its underwhelming or pointless.

Overall, I say shows today tend to try too hard in comedy. As it seems that its what kids today seem to prefer.

From an acting prospective, the general belief is that over-exaggerated acting is easy, while subtle acting, (especially drama) is hard. For comedy, exaggerated acting usually makes it all the funnier while subtle drama lets you connect more to the characters. That's not to say the exaggerated drama or subtle humor is not entertaining, because I like both aspects of the two. What I like at the moment usually comes from what I haven't seen in a while, so it is constantly switching.

John wrote:

I'm a fan of both, generally, but I don't care for most "American" comedy. If it's low-brow, slapstick (unless it's incredibly well choreographed), or needs a laugh track then I don't get it. This means that I like some South Park jokes, but for the most part just think it's just throwing around bodily fluids and calling it funny.

I'm not accusing you of anything, but I've always found the dismissal of "American comedy" as low-brow or unsophisticated to be unfair. Yes, there are American comedies like that, but there are comedies like that anywhere. I'm not opposed to criticizing cheap comedy, but to characterize it as "American" is an injustice when there are American comedies like Mystery Science Theater 3000, Scrubs, and Green Acres, to name but a few.

I'm also not a fan of constantly-depressing drama. I used to be, but now I just don't get the point. Have characters suffer loss, die, and have bittersweet endings, by all means, but no more of this "everything is pointless in the end and the protagonists are just as bad as/worse than the villains". It's not entertaining, it's not "deep", it's not even realistic. It's just pointless meanness for its own sake.

I never could get into the new Battlestar Galactica. For all its supposed depth, a lot of it made no sense. They can go faster than light, but they can't make that guy a new eye? And how is banning abortion to increase the population a good idea in an extremely resource-deprived society? It will just decrease their odds of survival until they can find a home.

Not for nothing, but South Park is one of the most satirical scripted comedies to ever be on television. It does mix low-brow with high-brow, but that's part of what makes it brilliant. Though I can easily understand why not everyone responds to it.

South Park is satirical, yes. It makes a lot of meta and pop culture jokes right when its relevant. But i also feel like this is also its greatest weakness in some ways. Its just like how internet memes work, when the relevance and cultural impact moves on, the joke becomes stale and even really unfunny for most people. Its one of the reasons why watching earlier seasons of that show can be pretty excruciating. Its like "omg that is so not even hilarious anymore. It was hilarious in 2002, but not now.." Ya know? Kinda like the whole Seinfeld Is Unfunny effect and thats...
For what its worth, i can tolerate South Park much more than i can Family Guy. I do think in SP's case, if they didnt rely so much on (literal) shit humor and cursing and being as politically incorrect as humanly possible just for shock value, the show would be a lot more solid.

I'm not accusing you of anything, but I've always found the dismissal of "American comedy" as low-brow or unsophisticated to be unfair. Yes, there are American comedies like that, but there are comedies like that anywhere. I'm not opposed to criticizing cheap comedy, but to characterize it as "American" is an injustice when there are American comedies like Mystery Science Theater 3000, Scrubs, and Green Acres, to name but a few.

I strongly agree with this. Its not the fact its "American" thats the issue at all. Its the fact its aiming for the Lowest Common Denominator. So putting the American label on it basically says "Americans are the Lowest Common Denominator by default" and thats icky. The Coen brothers are Americans. The film Being John Malkovich is also American. Dana Carvey and Harold Ramis were also American.

Those guys are fucking fantastic at comedy and the kind of comedy i like to see. While i am more partial to British humor, theres a lot of hilarity to be had in the US of A. (come on, the Oatmeal webcomic is also American. That shits funny.)

As for drama that tries too hard, theres gritty and then theres gritty gone horribly wrong. I like it when gritty goes horribly right. Personally, things dont even have to be super gritty. I just found i enjoy dramas and situations in stories, where characters face the consequences of their actions.

Vulpes wrote:

I'm not accusing you of anything, but I've always found the dismissal of "American comedy" as low-brow or unsophisticated to be unfair. Yes, there are American comedies like that, but there are comedies like that anywhere. I'm not opposed to criticizing cheap comedy, but to characterize it as "American" is an injustice when there are American comedies like Mystery Science Theater 3000, Scrubs, and Green Acres, to name but a few.

Note the scare quotes.

That said, it's not a totally-inaccurate stereotype, either. For a long, long, time US comedy was almost nothing but lowest-common-denominator nonsense.

I never could get into the new Battlestar Galactica. For all its supposed depth, a lot of it made no sense. They can go faster than light, but they can't make that guy a new eye?

Eh, advancement in one area of technology does not guarantee advancement in other areas. If we ever meet aliens they'll doubtless be astounded by the fact that we have cell phones but have never discovered slood.

And how is banning abortion to increase the population a good idea in an extremely resource-deprived society? It will just decrease their odds of survival until they can find a home.

That's a sign of just how much the BSG reboot was trying too hard. Rather than giving a serious look at the socio-political ramifications of being a small group on the run in enemy territory they threw in as many "serious" political issues as they could.

I give it a lot of credit for helping re-popularize Sci-Fi and serial storytelling in US media, but it's frustrating because it came *so close* to being good, but managed to always choose the wrong option when it came down to it.

I'm not sure if there's one I prefer over the other. I enjoy shows like Game of Thrones and Mad Men that are much more about drama than comedy (whenever funny things are tossed in). But I'm also a big fan of comedy.

While I can enjoy simple stuff like The Hangover movies, I would prefer to watch something with satirical elements in it. For example, The Colbert Report. Or comedians such as Bill Hicks or George Carlin. Those sorts of comedy are funny but at the same time the comedians are taking punches at things and critiquing them. There's not really any sort of lesson or wisdom to be gained from a movie like The Hangover, I see it as the sort of thing you'd grab a beer and just turn yourself off for it.

Then there are things like Dane Cook, Daniel Tosh, South Park (for the most part, I find South Park occasionally does good things), and Family Guy that just aren't funny to me.

"British comedy is subtle" trope

Its not subtle as much as dry. So people think its subtle. Its kinda hilarious.

Oh man, black comedy/dark humor is a thing with me. I love that stuff so much!

I don't have a preference. I'll watch either or if it's done well. If I had to choose I'd probably choose comedy over drama for the simple fact I'd rather feel happy than sad. I'm also getting kind of burnt out on all the drama shows on TV lately. They're everywhere now. Then some of them try to pose as "action" and it's just hard to watch.

Lately I've found shows like Bill Cosby, Sanford and Son, All in the Family, and Maude funnier than a lot of the comedies (sitcoms mainly) that are on now. All in the Family was really intelligent with the issues they brought up and is still shocking today. The Cosby Show is still able to get a laugh out of me and I wasn't even alive when it first came on. Comedy works better when it's timeless.

To those of you that scorn low-brow comedy, I bite my thumb at thee.

Bottom is comedy genius. It's not a "sitcom" in the traditional sense, there's no overarching plot, no message, no heartwarming moments or deep lessons at the end of each episode. No, it's a show about two sad old middle-aged men beating each other up while attempting to tolerate each others' existence (and evidently failing). And as much as I love any other comedies, it will forever be funnier than any Frasier, or Scrubs, or How I Met Your Mother, because it exists as comedy and comedy alone. It is pure comedy, and the day that Rik Mayall was taken from this world before his time was a sad day not only for comedians and the British TV industry, but for all mankind.

I like it when comedy of all kinds is mixed with tragedy and drama,it's easy to be completely dramatic or just generic funny stuff, but when you can mix genuinely funny stories with tragedies, dramas and so on, THEN you have a real story. Black comedy is amazing in that regard, but it doesn't HAVE to be black comedy. Good example would be Final Fantasy IX. You can mix everything and make it epic.

although it's not what I always gravitate to, it seems like (as Lord Zero said) there's a sort of purity to old school three stooges type slapstick comedy. A blanket dismissal of slapstick as crude i think is unfair. It can be really brilliantly incorporated into a sketch.

then, of course, there is the duality of a Gallagher sketch.

I like farce, like Father Ted or Garth Marenghi's Darkplace or Italian Spiderman. Stupid fun is stupid fun.
However generally I like a mix of both. To take two superhero movies from 2008 as an example, The Dark Knight was drama with a pinch of comedy (usually via Alfred or Lucius), and Iron Man was comedy with a pinch of drama, and both were excellent films.

i guess i'm a simple man. As long as the comedy makes me laugh, i'll be cool with said movie/T.V./Internet show.
Because at the end of the day, i'm not looking for comedy just to see if the jokes are good. I'm there just to laugh