Technique and Style
Chapter 5 delves into the practical side of comedy. It sifts through the many how-to books for comedy writers and performers as well as the advice of comedy practitioners for insights into the art and craft of making people laugh. Comedy is viewed here as a literary device, a social barometer, a clue to psychological understanding, a career, and a big business. The chapter begins by analyzing a scene from Waking Ned Divine to raise questions about cinematic jokes and concludes with a recent Belgium comedy, demonstrating how many of the academic descriptions and professional prescriptions can be applied to an actual film.