Blog # 7---Option 3

Slapstick comedy is a special type of comedy that involves a lot of action and activities even to the point of exaggerated physical violence. Some of the actions are pratfalls, throwing custard pies, and a character hitting someone else in the head with a frying pan. The term slapstick refers to the flat stick clowns used to hit one another in the more physical forms of theatrical pantomine. The beginning of slapstick comedy was during the Renaissance and was at least somewhat present in almost all comedic genres since the rejuvenation of theatre in church liturgical dramas in the middle ages. They would beat the devil off the stage in religious plays. There is also slapstick comedy in Shakespeare plays. Even though it was popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, it gained even more popularity in the Golden Era of black and white, silent films. Some of the major directors of it were Mack Sennett and Hal Roach. They had great actors such as Buster Keaton, Charles Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Marx Brothers, Keystone Kops, and the Three Stooges. Today, there is slapstick comedies in the cartoons we watch, such as Tom and Jerry and Looney Toons.

Charles Chaplin was one of the most creative and influential personalities in the silent film era. He acted in, directed, scripted, produced, and eventually scored his own films. He was known as a tramp, a vagrant with the refined manners and dignity of a gentleman who wears a tight coat, over sized trousers and shoes, a bowler hat, carries a bamboo cane, and has a signature toothbrush moustache. His character was based on an archetype American hobo. He couldn't settle down or hold a job due to the fact that he loved change and moving around. Some of the best work he is known for takes place with machines such as a revolving door, escalator, or a folding Murphy bed. He rejected the modern world. The Circus is one of Chaplin's famous films.

Buster Keaton was a popular and influential American silent film comic actor and filmmaker. His trademark was physical comedy with a stoic, deadpan expression on his face, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face."Unlike Chaplin, he embraced the modern world. He also relied on uniquely American virtues of common sense, ingenuity, and know-how. He adapted himself to whatever the world around him did. This enabled him to move with modern times. Keaton's character was more middle class based. Some of his famous films are Seven Chances, The Navigator, and Sherlock Jr.

Harold Lloyd also played a middle class character.He was an American film actor and director, most famous for his silent comedies. The difference between him and Keaton though, was that Lloyd was worried about his status in the community and had to impress those around him. He had an obsession with success. He is best known for his "Glasses Character", a resourceful, success-seeking go-getter who was perfectly in tune with 1920s era America. Some of his famous films are The Freshman, Safety Last, and Mad Wednesday.

I would say that slapstick comedy was such a success because even the lower and middle class people could really relate to it. Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd were acted like just regular guys and they were funny. The lower and middle class people needed a laugh once in a while so the slapstick comedy became very popular. Most people enjoy seeing silly comedy where people are violently getting hurt but there's no blood or pain. They just get right back up and do another joke.