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According
to Aristotle, comedy attempts to present people as worse than
they actually are, contrary to tragedy that aims to the opposite:
to present people as better than in reality.
In
comedy "the prince turns out to be a swineherd",
but in a serious drama "the swineherd turns out to be
a prince".
As
the film progresses tension arises making the viewer attentive:
The viewer is anxious about what will happen to the character
next.
The tension is released in a different manner in a comedy and
in a serious drama.
- In
a comedy the character suddenly loses his dignity: this
leads to the viewer laughing or smiling at the
turn.
-
In a serious drama the character's dignity is preserved
and not lost. The tension is released by other means.
Cf.
Drama, genre
IMDb [100 All Time Greatest Comedy Films - IMDb]
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