Heathers, an 80s dark comedy classic.

COMEDY (!) Discussion

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Screening Options:
  • As usual, read the watch list in this module to see your choices.
• Deadlines:
  • Thursday night by 11:59pm: Respond to my prompts; follow the instructions below.
  • Sunday night by 11:59pm. Respond to another student in a substantive way. Go far beyond “I agree” or “great post.” Engage with someone else’s ideas by doing something like asking a question, comparing posts, applying her/his example to your own post, come up with an alternative perspective, or similar. The goal is to expand the conversation.
• Use The Readings:
  • The entire purpose of these discussions is to synthesize the readings (and lectures) with the film. Use quotations, bring in terms or concepts… find ways to illuminate the film by way of applying the readings.
• Images:
  • Embedded images are really important for film discussions. See instructions below as to how you can easily capture and embed images from the film. If you choose not to include images there will be a small but not catastrophic point deduction.

Answer one or more of the following questions appropriate for the film you chose (screwball or dark comedy).

Screwball Screening Questions:

• Prompt: Write a substantive paragraph in response to one or more of the following. Feel free to combine questions.
  • What were the slapstick elements of the film?
  • How is it also a comedy of manners?
  • How is the upper class mocked? (“There probably are portable bath houses for people like you.”)
  • How is sexuality presented in the film?
  • How are gender roles brought up? Masculinity? Femininity? When did they function normally?
  • How does the ending deal with the metaphorical leopard? What is caged or resolved? What is left out of the cage?
  • When were taboos sources of humor? (gender roles, sex, sexual orientation) Which of those are wrapped up at the end? Which are left unresolved? Is social order restored in the 3rd act?

Dark Comedy Screening Questions:

• Prompt: Write a substantive paragraph in response to one or more of the following. Feel free to combine questions.
  • How are serious things taken lightly or made fun of in the film? Taboo topics as sources of humor?
  • How is it grim, gloomy?
  • What are some examples of irony and sarcasm in the film’s depiction of the characters?
  • Satire: Who/what is satirized?
  • Parody: What other types of movies or books are parodied?
  • Irony: This is a tricky concept but the lecture should help. Explain how your film uses irony to express comedic crititque.
  • These films usually broach the taboo in these modes for the purpose of a social (i.e., ridiculing class folly) or political (commentary on politicized issues) critique. What social/cultural/technological criticisms are evident in this film?

IMAGES REQUIRED! Yes we’ve arrived at the part of the class where a post without a picture is like Star Wars without R2D2 (unthinkable!). CLICK HERE to view my screenshot collecting guide. I also highly recommend making use of the EMBEDDING SANDBOX discussion. Canvas might make this process unnecessarily challenging but we can prevail!