Essays on Comedies

In the introduction to Hunter's Shakespeare and the Comedy of Forgiveness, the author announces his intention to combat oversimplifications that have arisen over the past few decades with regards to the scholarship of Shakespeare, wherein the attitude of Shakespeare itself at the time of his writing would actually reflect the politics and intent of the work itself (e.g. King Lear having a sad ending indicating Shakespeare being despondent at the time of its composition). "This study...will be an attempt to investigate one feature - the denouement in forgiveness - which is common to five of the later comedies" (Hunter 2). ...

- COMEDIES OF FORGIVENESS - humanum genus: The 'oppressor,' one who requires forgiveness by the end of the play - inherent evil of humanity/possibility for good a constant presence in these plays - Originates from medieval dramas, pre-Shakespearean plays and desire for forgiveness in drama - Christians seek forgiveness from God; Shakespeare extends that to receiving forgiveness from family/loved ones/humanity - Shakespeare's comedies of forgiveness underline the inherent evil of humanity as well as their need for forgiveness; as man will always sin, they will always need to be forgiven

- SIX COMEDIES ...

Description

Romantic comedies are a specific film genre that includes productions made in America and elsewhere. They have been a staple in the film industry at least since the introduction of sound, and possibly before. They are consistently popular, usually feature well-liked actors and actresses, and are generally considered formula projects, not art. The topic of romantic comedies is usually characters who have not yet fallen in love and married, who fall in love during the course of the film. These films use humor to make the circumstance of being lonely less painful for the lonesome characters while they journey on their ...

Television comedies come in all shapes and sizes; there are a wide variety of audiences to appeal to and draw in through the use of comedy on television (Mills 1). To that end, television comedies are found in different configurations, with distinguishing factors being the type of comedy, the length of the show, the way each show is filmed, etc. (Mills 33). From The Simpsons to The Office, there are thousands of different comedy shows that have been or are currently on the airwaves, but many of them have several defining attributes to them that set themselves apart from each ...

In Douglas Rushkoff’s article “Bart Simpson: Prince of Irreverence,” he refers to the FOX sitcom The Simpsons as “the closest thing in America to a national media literacy program.” (Graff et al, p. 241) Within this program, the Simpson family deconstructs memes and cultural landmarks of television at a breakneck pace, holding a lantern up to the way that media works and displaying it for all to see. The Simpsons educates its viewers to view media with a more critical eye due to its irreverence and ability to recognize and lampoon the structure and politics of the media industry. This is accomplished ...

In the year 1878, Muybridge Eadweard exhibited the photography power to capture movement. In the 1894, the initial commercial motion image display in the world took place in New York City, by use of Kinetoscope of Thomas Edison. The United States of America was in the cutting edge of development of movie film in the decades that followed. Since the early periods of the 20th century, the film industry of the United States of America has predominately been located in and around Los Angeles, Hollywood and California. The Picture City was a well a designed location for a production center of movie ...

And what should you have to speed away like this” This is a mockery of them to make a fool out of me, to make me scared."(3.1.99) This is a saying that is derived from the well-known Shakespearean play called “A Midsummer Night's Dream." In the reading of A Midsummer Night's Dream, in addition to in class, the researcher has been discovering the way that Shakespeare has been able to bring the subject of humor to his play. She researcher started to examine passages in the play in order to magnify to get a better understanding of what makes the play so ...

You Can’t’ Take it Without You

The play ‘You Can’t Take it Without You’ by Kauffman and Hart is a Pulitzer Prize winning play. Originally fashioned in the year 1936, while the Great Depression was still in its fullest swing, this play is about a family that is supported by passive earnings, whose primary life objective was to just carry on with life while being happy in the best way possible. Martin Vanderhof, Grandpa, role played by James Earl Jones, quits his job in 1901 and makes up his mind to relax and wait for life to meet him. When this play was first played, ...

Facilitator’s Name

Introduction Shakespeare is regarded as the greatest writer in the history of English Literature. The literary piece by Shakespeare is still regarded as masterpieces and myriad playwright takes the major inspiration from him. In the initial days of his efforts, he mainly focused on comedies and histories, but later his focus was on tragedies. Othello, King Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth were his finest works on tragedies (Gielgud & McEvoy 187). Later in his career, he focused on tragic comedies that can also be titled as romances. He wrote numerous manuscripts. Among them, only those were survived which were in ...

Analysis of Selections from Nagel, What Does It All Mean?

Thomas Nagel’s 1987 book, What’s It All Mean?, offers an introduction to philosophical thought. He directs this book toward a person who has never studied philosophy before. He bases his introduction not in the writings of the great philosophers or great thinkers, but instead he offers nine categories of questions for his reader to think about. As he puts it, “The main concern of philosophy is to question and understand very common ideas that all of us use every day without thinking about them” (Nagel 5). By laying out these problems and his ideas about them, Nagel encourages ...

Introduction

Advancements in technology have revolutionized the entertainment industry. Many people have for instance switched from reliance on analogue cable signals to digital transmission technology. Set-top boxes have been instrumental in facilitating digital migration and they are currently in very high demand in both developed and developing countries. These devices are perfect for the market since they avail more TV channels to customers, high-quality pictures, Digital Video Recording (DVR) among other fantastic and revolutionary features. As such, a business dealing in such gadgets would be viable at the present and in the future. In India for instance, the sale of Set ...

This is one of the most interesting Shakespeare’s comedies, including many characters, witty remarks and happy ending. The love as the central motive and the obstacles created by the main characters are here just to amuse the reader and make funny circumstances. The play takes place in one small Sicilian village Messina in Italy where Don Pedro and his illegitimate brother Don John come after finished war along with their friend and companion in war Claudio. They are all the guests of the town’s governor Leonato who has a lovely daughter, Hero. Here, under the sun of ...

Feminism in Movies: Just Wright

Introduction

Decades after Mary Wollstonecraft began the suffrage movement, women’s liberation is in its third wave and has changed its style with feminists shedding the image of bra-burning activists to one of “the woman on the top” (Britannica Encyclopedia). According to prolific feminist studies writer Susan J. Douglas, as advocated by the British female pop group, Spice Girls, feminism has become a dirty word, and girl power has become the acceptable way to think and speak of strong women (2010). Feminists are no longer women clad in baggy clothes striving for better recognition and respect for their gender. In the ...

With reference to movies, horror and comedy are two well-known genres. A walk around a cinema foyer will be enough to convince most people of this.

Perhaps the most obvious contrast between the two is the range of emotions that each is designed to evoke.

Comedies feature light-hearted plots and subject matter. They are designed to amuse viewers and provoke laugher. They achieve this aim by using humorous language, including jokes and one-liners and exaggerating situations, sometimes with over the top action. There are many different types of comedy, some of which include slapstick, spoofs, parodies and black comedy.

Horror ...

The ideal and real roles of women depicted in the plays The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare and The Rivals by Richard Brinsley Sheridan Women have been the subject of greater literary interest since times immemorial. They frequently serve as the means to replicate contemporary society. During the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, women were largely portrayed as the victims of a patriarch society. Modern feminism was nonexistent until the 19th century and female voice was completely subdued. “Feminists’ scholars regarded the 18th century author Mary Wollstonecraft as the original harbinger of feminism, a ...

Describe how NBC’s programming, economic incentives, business strategies, foreign and domestic distribution, and use of technology changed from 1980-2010.

Introduction – Boom of Television The 1970’s was the era of exploration, but then in the 1980’s a boom of television began. The cable television gave replaced the limited amount of traditional channels and brought out more channels. The three channels were replaced with sixty and later two hundred channels. The rapid growth of the channels compelled the channel owners to think hard about what they were going to show to the people, as television was gaining immense attention of the audience on a daily basis . Their main purpose had to be to show something so engaging that it ...

French comedy, like comedy of any specific region, has a wide range of subjects and styles from which to draw – some comedies rely more on the physical and slapstick, while others relate more to character-based humor and the everyday absurdity of human interaction. Two French comedies from the 90s and early 2000s encapsulate this divide quite well – 1993’s Les Visiteurs and 2000’s Le Gout des Autres (The Taste of Others). Visiteurs is a goofy, fantastical fish-out-of-water story about a knight and his squire (played by Jean Reno and co-writer Christian Clavier), who find themselves transported from 1123 to 1993 France ...

Literary Criticism

15th of December Beautiful Minds Literal analysis is crucial elements that help in critical analysis of the works of literature. In the context of the play ‘Goodnight Desdemona, good morning Juliet' is an indication of a play that can be applied with the help of the theories. A vindication of the right of women according to Mary is evident in the play. Critically, we seek to understand the cries of women in the play and their seeking to find out the root causes of their problems and the best way to curb them. Her thought indicates that women ...

[Author Name(s), First M. Last, Omit Titles and Degrees] [Institutional Affiliation(s)] [Include any grant/funding information and a complete correspondence address.] “There’s Something About Mary”, one of the best romantic comedies that released in 1998, offers the loudest and audacious laughs and consistently entertains by consistently mocking an idea above criticism. The film successfully mixes affection for the myths of courtship and the trials of lovers with a frontal assault on tender sentiment . The movie makes the audience laugh at the fake classics and shabby scripts of romantic comedy, and still enjoy the flexible uplift of ...

“The Ladies Man” is one of the most famous transgressive comedies produced by filmmaker Jerry Lewis in the year 1961. The movie proved to be a great success for Lewis in both technique and ambition. The Ladies Man is an episodic film, which involves script with a series of gags that include everything from crude comedy to a ballroom dance with George Raft. The greatest fame of the film rests not only in the script but in the inventive set, which occupied two soundstages in the Paramount studio . As a director, Lewis presents noteworthy patience as he exposes the magnificent construction to the ...

The Would-Be Gentleman by Moliere

Molière’s The Would-Be-Gentleman is a comical satire that reveals the various facets of human emotions and behaviour of seventeenth century Europe. Most of his comedies critique the pompous artificiality of French high society during the middle- and late seventeenth century. The characters portray farce to serious comedies of manners. France, during his time, had two distinct sections of society; the nobility or the rich, and the bourgeoisie; the middle class. Molière produced a number of satires that criticised the lifestyle of the rich and famous in France. In particular, Molière looked to tease the extravagant manner, style, ...

With the advent of the Internet, Netflix, instant video, and home video, at any given moment we have a dizzying array of things to do or watch. If you are in the mood for a movie, you may also be stuck between a million different choices of film, all dependent on varying factors that you have to keep in mind. When deciding what kind of movie to watch, you have to consider several different things: the genre of the film, its pedigree, its length, and your particular mood. If you are able to successfully navigate these choices, it is possible to make a ...

Flannery O, Connor, born Mary Flannery O’ Connor, is the author of two novels but is best known for her short stories. The most popular of these is thought to be A Good Man Is Hard to Find. She is considered a southern writer, who often used the south as a setting. She was not known for using characters that were easy to relate to, yet she is considered one of the most important voices in literary history, according to Harold Bloom’s “Flannery O’ Connor.” Bloom also commented that she used her stories to reflect her own religious values, which ...

When it comes to celebrating heroes, people will always regard individuals who have made impact to the society. The same effect applies when considering their likeable characters in movies and comedies. The relevance of characters in the movies is what brings on board the different views held by people. Things that support the position held by people with regard to heroes depend on ; How well the character has represented a relevant phenomenon in the movie, character traits assumed by the character, the interactions of the character and other characters, the essence of what the character brings on board and value ...

Childhood and Education of Moliere

Molie was born in the year 1622 and was the eldest child of a merchant. He lost his mother at a very early age. After the death of his mother, the father of Moliere married another woman and moved to another house, located in Paris. In order to pursue education, Moliere was sent to the Jesuit College of Clermont. In the year 1641, Moliere became a notary. The family background, education and profession of Moliere allowed him to pursue a promising future. The information about Moliere’s childhood shows that his childhood was comfortable. He pursued education in one of the finest ...

GENDER REPRESENTATIONS IN BOLLYWOOD CINEMA: exploring heterosexuality in Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) and queerness in Dostana (2008)

Introduction

In India’s populist film industry, mostly known as Bollywood, male sexual friendships and depictions are still fairly new. usually, the female is the primary focus of lust and sexual attention (resulting in an extremely male gaze), but since the arrival of handsome, chiseled actors like Amitebh Bachchan in the 1990s this has started to change. The concepts of yaar and yaari now play an important role in the fabric of Bollywood buddy comedies; the yaari is a kind of relationship that ...

Ideological Film Theory in The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) Movies by definition, toy with us, but few films actually admit this. Movies frequently propose stories as real, and subsequently we are obliged to take them seriously. Some films genre’s can break these rules, comedies for instance, most of Luis Bunuel’s films are more or less comedies which I imagine is so that he can get around and/or play with film structure and essentially do whatever he wants. On the other hand his comedy is not wet; it’s very dry and stark. In The ...

Ideological Film Theory in The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) Movies by definition, toy with us, but few films actually admit this. Movies frequently propose stories as real, and subsequently we are obliged to take them seriously. Some films genre’s can break these rules, comedies for instance, most of Luis Bunuel’s films are more or less comedies which I imagine is so that he can get around and/or play with film structure and essentially do whatever he wants. On the other hand his comedy is not wet; it’s very dry and stark. In ...

Television can be and has always been a powerful tool for social change. It provides a channel for the transfer of ideas and also acts as a source of entertainment. Politics and religion have been advanced quite successfully through the use of television and as technological advancements are made, so does television advance, with the developments now on 3D television and intelligent televisions, which offer the highest quality of viewer experience. Television is used for a wide range of purposes, from educative to informative. It however continues to be a source of entertainment for millions of viewers worldwide and offers an array of selection ...

Shakespeare's tragedy Antony and Cleopatra tells the tale of the titular characters, the historical figures Mark Antony and Cleopatra, as they navigate their life and rule of Rome and Egypt, respectively. The play is replete with historical and political intrigue, as the various rules and political figures attempt to wrest power from each other; also, it is a tale of war and the consequences thereof. At the center of it, however, seems to be the love story of Antony and Cleopatra, two leaders of distinctly different nations who find a common bond in each other. The character of Cleopatra, in particular, ...

Pride is the essential hallmark of tragedy - the best tragedies involve someone who is well-intentioned or honorable who are undone by their own assumptions and delusions of grandeur. This fatal flaw is understandable and tangible, and yet it allows us to see the inevitable downfall of people we relate to and wish to do good. The titular character from Shakespeare's play Macbeth suffers from immense pride, which is often inspired and egged on by various cultural and social factors, pressuring him to do things that are simply outside his capabilities. The result is a feeling of disappointment, and abject ...

Introduction

Films under the “teen romance” genre have continued to attract a large young audience especially in the modern society. Most films under this category have attained the best seller category over the past few years. There have been divided views concerning these films particular on their impact on the younger generation. Most of these films explore romantic aspects that affect teenagers on a daily basis. Teen movies have not been granted much consideration yet they showcase significant issues such as politics, gender, psychology and many others that affect the modern society.

Politics

The book, “The Hollywood Sign: The Culture of American Film ...

Western civilization or the western culture is basically referred to as the modern society and includes the Western Europe and North America. The impacts of the ancient Greek and Rome on Western Civilization lasts to date. In real sense, the Western culture owes its roots to the Greek and the Rome. As the Greek and Rome expanded their associated emperors, there was a massive spread of their ideas and cultures to other countries, as they also borrowed other cultures. During this time period, both the Greek and the Rome made significant and lasting contributions to the Western culture, in terms ...

Genre and ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’.

The 2004 film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind raises the question of ‘if you could erase the memories of your ex-lover, would you?’ As a film, its genre is seemingly quite ambiguous: it switches back and forth between memories and reality; love and un-love in a non-linear fashion that also skips between romance and science fiction. The genre of a film is traditionally seen as being a form of classification; it refers to a number of factors that go some way to defining it: “type of presentation (epic/lyric/dramatic), relation to reality (fiction/non-fiction), level of style (epic/novel), kind of plot (comedy/tragedy), nature of content ( ...