Exploring Dark Comedy

Okay, so I realize that I've been continuously calling our film a dark comedy, but I still have yet to explain what the conventions of this genre are.  Dark comedy, also known as black comedy, is characterized by poking fun at stereotypically "taboo" subjects.  Films that fall under this genre tend to make light of dramatic events, or find humor in the absurdity of their morbidity.

In film, dark comedy movies typically tend to revolve around violence, sexuality, or discrimination.  Jokes that would otherwise be considered offensive tend to perform well in these movies, which leads to a plethora of criticisms.  For example, comedians often express their true opinions under this category, and hide their bigoted beliefs behind the veil of humor.  This is not what we are aiming to accomplish at all.  Instead, a good dark comedy will be able to make fun of serious topics while at the same time acknowledging that these are, in fact, serious topics.

Jojo Rabbit (2019)

In recent years, one of the best examples I have seen of dark comedy has been Taika Waititi's Jojo Rabbit (2019).  The film revolves around a young German boy at the peak of World War II who has just discovered that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in the attic, but is divided by his strong nationalist beliefs and pro-Nazi ideology.  The boy, who has only a semblance of an idea about what the war is about, is accompanied only by his imaginary friend, who is none other than Hitler himself.  When described in this manner, the film seems like a piece of neo-Nazi propaganda bullshit, but the film is really much more complex than that.  In actuality, the movie proceeds to show how the boy's warped perception of the authority figures came to be and how he quickly discovers the true horrors of war, and the film is ultimately a very touching and heartfelt commentary on kindness and love.

This is something we wish to accomplish in our own production, as the short film's subject matter is unarguably dark and morbid.  We're all well aware of the consequences of making a film that surrounds bestiality, and it's something that we all have the emotional intelligence and rationale to understand.  The absolute last thing we want to do is offend anybody.  However, our story begs for shock value.  In order to make a commentary on the dangers of misogyny and incel culture, it is imperative that we demonstrate just how these minds work.  This is always going to be uncomfortable and push boundaries, regardless of genre.  Yet, by taking on such a dark subject matter, we need to keep the tone light and comedic.  If not, we'd be creating an extremely heavy and disturbing film that will make audiences uneasy.  The key is in finding the perfect balance.