MAIN Post 6: History of your chosen genre

The history of comedy films has varied as the technology has involved. Ever since movies gained popularity in the early 1900s, filmmakers realised we love to laugh just as much as we love on-screen drama. Early comedy films were silent and relied upon the actors' talents with timing and physical theatre to get a rise out of the viewers. Technology involved allowing the film makers to get across comedy in a different way, they can now do it through animations and also through more props.

Comedy has grown into a vital genre that people enjoy. Below are the most common sub-genres of the comedy.

• Comedy of manners - A satire on the lifestyles of the social class

• Dark comedy - Based on taboo subjects such as murder or war.

• Fish out of water - The main character finds himself in a strange environment, such as gender-swapping roles or a rural chap in the big city (Crocodile Dundee).

• Gross-out films - Another popular style of comedy film in recent years, these movies focus on toilet humour and are often aimed at younger audiences.

• Parodies and spoofs - One of the most common types of comedies, these films satirise other genres or classic films with sarcasm and mockery.

• Romantic comedy - A comedy centred around a developing relationships.

• Screwball comedy - Most popular in the early days of films, screwball comedies are the most difficult sub-genre to define. They usually involve wacky, almost unbelievable situations and include lots of physical humour.

In addition to the above sub-genres, comedy is often merged with other types of film to produce sci-fi comedies, action comedies, by doing this they can attracted a different audience.