Slapstick comedy has been around since the middle ages. It has been one of the oldest and simplest forms of entertainment that tries to reach people by the most plain and simple forms- physical comedy. It involves extreme physical violence that usually doesn’t make sense but makes us laugh, nonetheless. Slapstick comedy is adapted in plays, films and even in children’s cartoons. It became well liked during the era of black and while films when they were incredibly popular.

What characterizes slapstick comedy?

Slapstick is humor based on ridiculous and absurd situations. It is derived from a paddle-like device used by comedians in the 16th century. It usually poke fun at outlandish circumstances of a pie in the face, pratfalls, practical joes, accidents, water soakings, being sprayed at by pepper spray, or being hit by a shock gun, wild chanse scenes with trains, cars and automotives, as well as dangerous situations. We even get to laugh at someone being run over by a bus. Slapstick comedy gives us a type of entertainment that many can understand without words. In most cases all it necessitates is perfect timing and a practiced performance.

Physical comedy often depends upon an audience’s silent pleasure of seeing someone’s misfortunes and mishaps. An expert once said that there are only six types of jokes—falls, blows, surprise, knavery, mimicry, stupidity. All of them play an important role, yet when it comes to comedy to be taken as slapstick it only requires the blow and fall.

The most popular slapstick comedian of all times is Charlie Chaplin. He created the famous tramp character. The Three Stooges also did some of the well known slapstick routines of today. The Three Stooges took their slapstick routines to an additional level by physically and verbally abusing each other. They were constantly seen exchanging slaps at the face, poking each other’s eyes, throwing pies at each other, plus slamming each other with hammers, and yet the list goes on. Children’s cartoons have also been known to introduce numerous slapstick acts. The Tom and Jerry series for example featured severe physical activities. The Looney Tunes also incorporated slapstick comedy into the acts of Bugs Bunny, Tasmanian devil, and the Roadrunner, among others. Comedian Jim Carrey is popular for his numerous slapstick films which include The Mask, Ace Ventura, Liar Liar, and Dumb and Dumber.

Comedies such as this slapstick genre are specially crafted to amuse, entertain, please and incite enjoyment. It humorously overstresses the situation, the action and the characters. In a way they provide the frustrations of life through an amusing way.

Watching an individual get slapped, trip over something or fall down has been an extremely popular form of entertainment for any age. Regardless of the fact that slapstick comedy has waned off since the silent era, many resources on this classic entertainment continue to exist and appear in shows and movies. Television and movie directors will sporadically pay homage to the masters of slapstick comedy by adapting physical comedy in their shows.

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