That note about comedy and melancholy being tied together is really salient.
The best sad stories are also the most funny. The arc of a sad story is the same as the arc of a funny one: there’s the tension, often like some introspective tension, that is built up and built up, and then finally released. And the relationship between audience and character in a sad story is the same as in a funny one — some deep connection between audience and character must exist in order for the release (crying or laughing) to pay off.
It's also interesting to notice how often comedies are also tragedies.
My favorite modern example is Dumb and Dumber. If you remove the comedic timing and absurdity, it's a depressing story! By the end, Harry and Lloyd are destitute and stranded halfway across the country. They have no hopes and no prospects. Everything they tried to accomplish ended in failure. Neither got the girl in the end; the girl, in fact, was never available to be got in the first place. And in the closing scene, they reject their final lifeline because they're too dumb to recognize it.
That note about comedy and melancholy being tied together is really salient.
The best sad stories are also the most funny. The arc of a sad story is the same as the arc of a funny one: there’s the tension, often like some introspective tension, that is built up and built up, and then finally released. And the relationship between audience and character in a sad story is the same as in a funny one — some deep connection between audience and character must exist in order for the release (crying or laughing) to pay off.
Took me quite a while to notice this.
It's also interesting to notice how often comedies are also tragedies.
My favorite modern example is Dumb and Dumber. If you remove the comedic timing and absurdity, it's a depressing story! By the end, Harry and Lloyd are destitute and stranded halfway across the country. They have no hopes and no prospects. Everything they tried to accomplish ended in failure. Neither got the girl in the end; the girl, in fact, was never available to be got in the first place. And in the closing scene, they reject their final lifeline because they're too dumb to recognize it.
https://archive.is/1SHti