The three layers of comic ignorance.

[Jemahl]

Here's an article what I did about Will Hay. One of his ideas about comedy is the three layers of ignorance. It's a concept Im thinking about for a short story (with maybe gothic influences) Im just wondering what fellow cloggers think of the concept and if it can work in book form rather than film or stage

https://jemahlevans.wixsite.com/jemah...

[Rob]

Start to think in those terms, and you see the pattern in all sorts of comedies / farces. Father Ted would be another good example. I don't see why the same dynamic wouldn't work in book form.

Interesting article, by the way. I haven't had a chance to view the videos yet, but I will.

[Jemahl]

I hadn't thought of Father Ted, but yes that's a perfect example of the dynamic Hay was talking about.

Im not sure about the long form, if it can hold together a whole novel - unless it's pure comedy or a closed situation like prison. Reading up on Hay and the way he tried to disect comedy as a form was quite interesting though.

The two clips are very short but I think they still work, esp for a British audience(perhaps only for a brit audience with the train). he was quite a thinker about the art of comedy. Here's him talking about the sense of relief in custard pies, and I always love a custard pie gag.

"Why does every one of us laugh at seeing somebody else slapped in the face with a large piece of cold custard pie? Is it because we're all naturally cruel? Or is it because there's something inherently funny in custard pies? Or in faces? Or in throwing things? No. No. and no!

The real reason why we laugh is because we are relieved. Because we are released from a sense of fear. Wherever we may happen to be – in the cinema, theatre, or music-hall – we tend to identify with the actors we are watching. So that when a custard pie is thrown we fear for a moment that it as been thrown at us. And then, immediately we realise that it hasn't hit us, we experience a feeling of relief, and we laugh"

I do think sometimes I spend time worrying about whether a scene or line is funny or not, but I should wonder more about why they are funny. If that makes sense.

[Corben]

Nice article, Jemahl. I reckon TV/Film comedy has a massive advantage over books. Plebs is a good example ... would we laugh if we read Grumio's script? Maybe, but only because we can imagine the character's gormless look, his daft haircut and his funny voice. I notice that the latest series makes Grumio more of the focus of the plots.

That 3 idiot routine works very well on screen because we can see them and it's obvious from their appearance what type of idiot they are. More difficult to make it work in a short story because you'll need to develop 3 separate characters sufficiently to make the gags work. It might be simpler to use 2 idiots.

That's all.

As you were.

Keep up the good work.

[Jemahl]

Yeah I sort of think you're right corbs. It depends on the setup I guess and differentiating the characters. Something to ponder. Its also a good procrastination technique... I am at least thinking about writing :)