“ There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.”
― Erma Bombeck
Most of the time, comedy and tragedy are treated as two separate entities, but I think, they are deeply connected to one another. The existence of one depends on another. They complete each other as only death can complete life.
Psychology says that people who are considered as funny, who crack jokes between peers, do mimicries to amuse the gatherings are generally the most broken ones. History also alludes to the very fact that sheer comedy comes from the most devastating scenarios. One of the greatest comedians of all time, Sir Charlie Chaplin is a living example of how tragedy brews the best comedy out of a man. Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. His father was absent and his mother struggled financially. He was sent to a workhouse twice before age nine. When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. His mother's inability to earn a living pushed him to do stage acts.
Consider the example of another British comedian, who had a stammering problem, who got rejected by many shows and films because of not having a heroic charm however ultimately managed to make the world laugh by barely speaking any word. Most of us know him by his stage name, Mr. Bean aka Rowan Atkinson. These mentions are merely scratching the surface, dig deep and you will be astonished that how tragedy is the base on which the comedy thrives.
Have you ever noticed that comic and tragic scenes are mainly different from each other by what type of music is used in the background? Imagine some tragic scene in your mind and replace the background music with comic sounds. Suddenly the act over which you were to burst into tears, becomes an act of comedy. This is the same neurological process that makes you laugh when someone slips over a banana peel.
Remember the lines from the 2019 movie Joker, where Arthur Flake says, " I used to think that my life was a tragedy, but now I realize, it’s a comedy. " Not heeding his destructive philosophy, just focus on how beautifully he demonstrates the relation between comedy and tragedy.
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