Humor has been appreciated at all times. People who knew how to make others laugh could use their talent either for direct earnings or to persuade others. "Black" humor exploits a gap in the values of society, living at the "junction" of good and evil.
Origin history
Jokes on "forbidden" topics: about religion, death, disease, divided society into two "camps" - laughing and offended. The very concept of "black" humor was introduced by the French surrealist writer André Breton. Breton is considered by many to be the "father of black humor." So, in the pamphlet "Corpse" Breton rejoiced at the death of Anatole France, calling him "the last old man of French literature."
"Black" humor in literature
Foreign literary traditions of "black" humor go back to a number of stories by Jerome K. Jerome, O. Henry. Experiments in this complex genre were also staged by two completely dissimilar American writers - Mark Twain and Edgar Poe. Twain in his essay "A Letter to Commander Vanderbilt" presents the last (the richest man in the United States at that time) a complete curmudgeon and offers a few dollars out of his own pocket.
In Russia, Demyan Bedny, Mikhail Zoshchenko, Arkady Averchenko, Teffi turned to black humor. Some critics attribute Chekhov's play "The Cherry Orchard" to the works of "black" humor. Indeed, the stupidity and despair of the old owners of the garden knows no bounds, and sadness at the end leads even the sophisticated Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko to a tragic perception of comedy and its staging as a drama.
Cinema and "black" humor
One of the most popular directors of our time using "black" humor is Tim Burton. The films "Corpse Bride", "The Nightmare Before Christmas" include a lot of mockery of death, the institution of marriage, and religion.
"Black" humor is close to the famous writer, humorist and director Woody Allen. In the story "Goering's hairdresser" he writes with an abundance of "black" jokes about the absurdity of Nazism, in the film "Vika Cristina Barcelona" he openly mocks the institution of marriage and the "American dream".
The boundaries of humor
Not all people can understand "black" jokes, they can infuriate some, hurt to the depths of their souls. Unsuccessful, inappropriate humor can quarrel even with the closest person. The ability to balance on the brink is the most important quality of stand-up comedians, actors, politicians and all public figures.
It is not customary to joke about the fallen heroes, martyrs; society can condemn jokes about victims of repression. Some jokes can be perceived as inciting ethnic / religious hatred. Therefore, before using especially sharp "black" humor, it is better to be guided by the principle "measure seven times, cut once."
