Black comedy, also known as black humour is a sub-genre of comedy and satire where topics and events that are usually treated seriously (death, mass murder, suicide, domestic violence, disease, insanity, fear, drug abuse, rape, war, terrorism, etc.) are treated in a humorous or satirical manner. Synonyms include dark humour and morbid humour. Although very similar, it is not to be confused with gallows humour and Off-color humour.
Black comedy should be contrasted with obscenity, though the two are interrelated. In obscene humour, much of the humorous element comes from shock and revulsion; black comedy usually includes an element of irony, or even fatalism. This particular brand of humor can be exemplified by a scene in the play Waiting for Godot: a man takes off his belt to hang himself, and his trousers fall down. Another example comes from a scene in the play "Grandma's in the Wedding Cake": the recently deceased Grandmother's ashes continually get accidentally moved around, ending in the Wedding Cake at the Wedding.
Black humour is also parodied. A common gag is the humorous reaction to something that is supposedly serious but clearly is not. One example of this are Kenny's deaths on South Park.
The Numbers - Box Office History for Black Comedy Movies
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