All very true rigsy - Lee's story is comedic and touching. I'm not sure of what women are in history - it's so skewed towards tragedy and old wives' tales told by men.
On 30 Nov, 03:20, rigsy03 <[email protected]> wrote: > Aristotle's theory of comedy was lost along with other great works- > probably burned in the fire that destroyed the library at Alexandria. > And lost plays might have cast a different light on your summation of > tragedy and comedy. As it is, you seem to skip over the females- what > about Antigone, for instance, along with many other notable Greek > female characters and goddesses- also Roman? What about the strong > women of the Old Testament? Perhaps it was Christianity that usurped > female virtues and powers along with the secular tides that followed. > > At any rate, tragedy views man as nobler than usual and comedy views > man as ignoble but there are many variations. Probably pure laughter > is based in delight and is positive in nature, The other extreme would > be cruelty, as you say. But the absurd can be cruel as it diminishes > hope. Wit is used to show off intelligence/education. Mockery is > probably an offshoot of conquests. Lewd humour often masks fear. So on > and so forth... > > On Nov 24, 12:51 pm, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > While there is only speculation about how humor developed in early > > humans, we know that by the 6th century BCE the Greeks had > > institutionalized it in the ritual known as comedy, and that it was > > performed with a contrasting dramatic form known as tragedy. Both were > > based on the violation of mental patterns and expectations, and in > > both the world is a tangle of conflicting systems where humans live in > > the shadow of failure, folly, and death. Like tragedy, comedy > > represents life as full of tension, danger, and struggle, with success > > or failure often depending on chance factors. Where they differ is in > > the responses of the lead characters to life's incongruities. > > Identifying with these characters, audiences at comedies and tragedies > > have contrasting responses to events in the dramas. And because these > > responses carry over to similar situations in life, comedy and tragedy > > embody contrasting responses to the incongruities in life. > > > Tragedy valorizes serious, emotional engagement with life's problems, > > even struggle to the death. Along with epic, it is part of the Western > > heroic tradition that extols ideals, the willingness to fight for > > them, and honor. The tragic ethos is linked to patriarchy and > > militarism—many of its heroes are kings and conquerors—and it > > valorizes what Conrad Hyers (1996) calls Warrior Virtues—blind > > obedience, the willingness to kill or die on command, unquestioning > > loyalty, single-mindedness, resoluteness of purpose, and pride. > > > Comedy, by contrast, embodies an anti-heroic, pragmatic attitude > > toward life's incongruities. From Aristophanes' Lysistrata to Charlie > > Chaplin's The Great Dictator to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, > > comedy has mocked the irrationality of militarism and blind respect > > for authority. Its own methods of handling conflict include deal- > > making, trickery, getting an enemy drunk, and running away. As the > > Irish saying goes, you're only a coward for a moment, but you're dead > > for the rest of your life. In place of Warrior Virtues, it extols > > critical thinking, cleverness, adaptability, and an appreciation of > > physical pleasures like eating, drinking, and sex. > > > Much humour is cruel - but try and read cruelty in to 'Doctor, doctor, > > I've lost an electron'. 'Are you sure'? 'Yes, I'm positive'. > > > What do we think humour is? --
