Comedy and humor has been a big part of peoples’ lives since the beginning of time. Be it an inside joke known only to some or a performance broadcasted to the entire world. Here is a list of a few genres of comedy.
Anecdotal Humor
Anecdotal humor is when the comedian tells a funny personal story with elements that are exaggerated. My favorite example is “The Machine” by Bert Kreischer, a story about the Russian Mafia.
Black/Dark Comedy
Black or dark comedy deals with more disturbing topics like death, drugs, and war. They often take tragic, devastating events and make them comedic. In movies, the purpose is often to either provide the audience with a cathartic experience, or to simply let them laugh at the absurdit of the situation portrayed in the media.
Blue Comedy
Blue comedy tends to be more sexual in nature. It also uses more profane language
Character Comedy
Character comedy is comedy derived from a character made by the performers. This character often follows extreme stereotypes.
Comedy Music
Comedy music is a type of comedy where the humor comes from music. Bo Burnham is a very popular example of this.
Heritage Comedy
Heritage comedy is when a comedian talks about funny traits from their culture. They can also talk about common stereotype about the culture. One example of this is Jimmy O. Yang.
Improvisational Humor
Improvisational humor is self-explanatory: comedic performances that aren’t planned out. Some television shows that focus on improvisational humor are Thank God You’re Here and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Insult Comedy
Insult comedy is a form of comedy where the comedian insults their audience and/or other comedians. Some popular insult comedians are Don Rickles and Lisa Lampanelli.
Parody/Spoof
Parodies, or spoofs, are recreations of media that are made to be humorous. They can sometimes be used to make fun of the production.
Word Play
Word plays are subtle manipulations of languages. The most well known type of word plays come in the form of puns.
