How to write comedy - Jodie Houlston-Lau

389,500 views ・ 2021-11-16

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

Translator: H.M. Remi Reviewer: Thomas Tam
00:06
A World War II veteran processes the devastation he’s witnessed
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一個二戰老兵回憶起 佢被困喺星際動物園裏便
00:10
from the confines of an intergalactic zoo.
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目睹滿目瘡痍嘅景象
00:13
As an estranged parent and child meet at a fraught family reunion,
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一對關係疏離嘅父子 卻喺家庭聚會中重遇
00:17
a little girl mumbles, “How do you do?” from behind a dirty curtain.
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小女孩喺邋遢窗簾布後面 細聲講:「幸會」
00:23
After the death of his best friend,
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孤獨國王喺至友死後
00:25
a lonely king travels to the end of the world in search for answers and...
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隻身去到世界盡頭尋找答案
然後
00:30
walks into a bar.
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佢走入咗間酒吧
00:32
It may seem counterintuitive, but comedy is often key to a serious story.
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聽落有啲怪,但喜劇元素 對嚴肅嘅故事嚟講係關鍵
00:38
As a writer, you need your audience to experience a range of emotions,
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身為作家,你需要 俾讀者感受到連串嘅情緒
00:42
no matter what your genre.
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唔理係咩類型故事
00:44
Whether you want to evoke fear, grief, or excitement,
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唔論你想營造嘅係 恐懼呀、哀痛定興奮
00:47
when people are exposed to one emotion for too long,
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當人感受一種情緒太耐
00:50
they become desensitized to it.
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感覺就會麻木
00:53
Comic relief is a tried-and-true way of creating the varied emotional texture
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喺經驗呢講,喜劇調劑 能夠製造唔同嘅情感紋理
00:58
a compelling story needs.
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令故事扣人心弦
01:00
So how can you create this effect in your own stories?
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噉點樣先至喺故事 製造到呢啲效果呀?
01:03
Whether you use characters, situations, language, or any combination of the three,
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無論你係利用角色、場景、語言 定係混合呢三種元素
01:08
timing and contrast are crucial.
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最重要嘅係掌握好對比同時機
01:11
Take the “Epic of Gilgamesh.”
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以《吉爾伽美什史詩》為例
01:14
This ancient Mesopotamian tale is possibly the oldest known work of literature,
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呢個美索不達米亞古代故事 係已知最古老嘅文學作品
01:19
and yet the story remains compelling today.
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但時至今日 依然係動人心弦
01:21
As King Gilgamesh approaches the end of the world,
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當吉爾伽美什王 快到達世界盡頭嘅時候
01:25
he walks into a bar.
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佢走入咗間酒吧度
01:26
We think we’re reaching the climax of his story—
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我哋以為故事快要進入高潮
01:30
only to have our expectations subverted.
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但劇情顛覆咗我哋嘅預期
01:33
That brief respite allows the tension to build even higher
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暫時緩和緊張嘅感覺
有助喺製造隨後而來 更緊湊嘅高潮
01:37
to a later, true climax.
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01:40
It both relieves and creates tension.
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噉樣做就可緩和咗氣氛 同製造張力
01:43
This lesson also applies to modern stories:
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現今嘅作家仍然採用呢種技巧
01:46
by briefly lightening the mood,
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只要輕輕緩和氣氛
01:48
you can build tension in your stories exactly when it’s needed.
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就可以喺適當嘅時機 為故事製造張力
01:52
The moment at the bar doesn’t just amplify the audience’s emotional response—
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喺酒吧嘅情節唔單止 加強咗觀眾嘅情緒反應
01:57
it also complicates it.
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仲使故事更複雜化
01:59
The wise bartender questions the purpose of Gilgamesh’s quest—
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睿智嘅酒保質疑國王 踏上旅途嘅原因
02:03
setting the stage for the final, more nuanced resolution.
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為最後嘅情節鋪路 令結局變得更細膩
02:07
You can use comic relief not only to create contrast with graver moments,
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喜劇唔單止緩和氣氛 與刻骨铭心嘅劇情形成對比
02:12
but to comment on them.
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仲用嚟做評論嘅工具
02:14
Sidekicks are one of the most common and direct ways to do this:
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一般都會直接利用主角身邊嘅同伴
02:18
they can supply sneakily perceptive commentary on the main action,
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去為主線劇情提出 不經意又富有洞察力嘅睇法
02:22
often while simultaneously serving as blundering, hapless punchlines.
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卻經常同時充當笨拙同倒霉嘅妙語
02:28
Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” takes a different approach:
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Kurt Vonnegut 寫嘅《第五號屠宰場》 就用咗另一種方法
02:32
the story continuously alternates between horrific war scenes
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故事不斷喺駭人戰爭嘅場面
02:36
and wacky science fiction moments.
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同滑稽科幻情景之間切換
02:38
These scenes provide comic relief,
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提供咗喜劇情景做調節
02:40
but also open a dialogue about what’s usually unspeakable,
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並為難以啟齒嘅話題 打開咗對話嘅窗口
02:44
highlighting the arbitrary nature of human suffering
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強調人生苦難係無常
02:48
in a way that makes it more impactful.
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令故事更有影響力
02:50
Arundhati Roy’s “The God of Small Things”
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Arundhati Roy 寫嘅《微物之神》
02:53
takes yet another approach to comic relief.
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用咗唔同嘅喜劇場面緩和氣氛
02:56
The narrative style draws upon the perspective of children
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故事透過小朋友嘅角度
02:59
to infuse a tragic story with poignant humor.
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泡製咗喺悲劇故事裏便 注入凄美嘅幽默
03:03
When the adults funnel decades of tensions over race, class, and family dynamics
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當大人將種族、階級、家族之間 幾十年嘅愛恨情仇
03:08
into their expectations for their children’s behavior,
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轉化為對孩子行為嘅期望
03:11
you can’t help but chuckle with recognition when,
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你有種似曾相識嘅感覺而偷笑
03:14
at the moment she’s expected to put on a perfect performance of politeness,
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當七歲嘅 Rahel 被期待 扮演完美嘅禮貌女孩
03:19
7-year-old Rahel “[ravels] herself like a sausage into the dirty airport curtain
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「佢[纏住] 自己就好似係 條香腸塞咗落骯髒嘅機場窗簾度
03:26
and [won’t] unravel.”
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[唔會]掙脫走甩。」
03:30
At the same time, you know her failure to behave will only add to the tension.
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與此同時,佢嘅反常行為 只會添加張力
03:36
Afterward, she thinks, “the play had gone bad.
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之後女孩諗:「呢嗰表演衰咗……
03:40
Like Pickle in a monsoon.”
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就好似喺雨季中嘅泡菜因為潮濕會發毛。」
03:44
This punchline underscores the reality of the situation:
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呢句對白講出咗現實嘅情況
03:48
the reunion is so forced and formal,
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人人被迫參加呢個正式嘅團聚
03:51
Rahel feels like her family are actors in a play,
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Rahel 覺得家人變成咗戲劇演員
03:54
and she feels powerless in the storm of what’s happening.
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佢自己對正置身喺風暴中 感到無能無力
03:58
To make the most of comic relief, think not only about what moment in your story
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為了發揮喜劇調節嘅作用
唔單止考慮到女孩幾時出現 先至營造出強烈嘅情緒對比
04:02
would most benefit from a splash of contrasting emotion,
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04:05
but also: what message you’d like to convey that you can’t say directly?
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更要諗清楚嘅係
有咩唔可以直接噉講 要透過呢啲場景帶出嚟
04:11
Which of your readers’ assumptions would you like to call into question?
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你仲想質疑讀者邊啲嘅假設呢?
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