Slapstick Comedy

Slapstick comedy is a type of comedy that is physical. Gags would quickly spiral into mix-ups and lead to physical rowdiness. Slapstick refers to the sticks that clowns would use to hit each other in theatrical pantomime. The 1920s brought out three heroes. The three major stars of the slapstick comedy genre during this time were Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. Charlie Chaplins's character was a tramp that was odd and an outcast from society. He was a rebel who could not keep a job that had a daring nature. Chaplin hated many things in society and rebeled against it. Buster Keaton was unlike Chaplin in that he accepted the modern world. Most of his comedies consisted of him and a machine. Harold Lloyd was similar to Keaton because of his role as a middle-class worker, but he was devoted to impressing people and making it in his community. I think that the genre of slapstick comedy was a successful movie vehicle because the American people could relate to these heroes. I'm sure many people felt the way that Chaplin did and felt as if they were outcasts. Then there were people who accepted what was going on in society and embraced it as Keaton did. Lloyd represented the uncertainties that many people probably have had at one time or another. There was a little of something for everyone to relate to in their own lives, which is probably why these comedies were so successful.