Comedy

Comedy has a classical meaning and a popular one . In the theater, its Western origins are in ancient Greece, like tragedy, a genre characterised by a grave fall from grace by a protagonist having high social standing. Comedy, in contrast, portrays a conflict or agon between a young hero and an older authority, a confrontation described by Northrop Frye as a struggle between a "society of youth" and a "society of the old".

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Timeline

1668 First performance of Molière's comedy, ''Tartuffe''

1929 The radio comedy show ''Amos and Andy'' makes its debut starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll.

1939 ''The Philadelphia Story'', a comedy by Philip Barry starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts at the Shubert Theater in New York City.

1985 The sci-fi comedy ''Back To The Future'' is released in the U.S. It becomes the year's biggest box office hit, earning $210,000,000.

Encyclopedia

Comedy has a classical meaning and a popular one . In the theater, its Western origins are in ancient Greece, like tragedy, a genre characterised by a grave fall from grace by a protagonist having high social standing. Comedy, in contrast, portrays a conflict or agon between a young hero and an older authority, a confrontation described by Northrop Frye as a struggle between a "society of youth" and a "society of the old".