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1%% Trope was declared Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease via crowner by the Real Life Maintenance thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/crowner.php?crowner_id=mtmpjzzl
2%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1298881067061900100
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4[[quoteright:320:[[Series/ArrestedDevelopment https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bdaybhumor_8246.jpg]]]]
5[[caption-width-right:320: "That is ''wicked''..."]]
6
7->''"Always look on the bright side of death,\
8Just before you draw your terminal breath.\
9Life's a piece of shit,\
10When you look at it.\
11Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.\
12You'll see it's all a show--\
13Keep 'em laughing as you go,\
14Just remember that the last laugh is on you!"''
15-->-- ''Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian'', "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"
16
17Black comedy, also known as black humor, dark comedy, dark humor or gallows humor, is a SubGenre of {{comedy}} and {{satire}} where topics and events that are usually treated seriously are treated in a satirical manner, while still being portrayed as the negative events that they are. Typical targets are death, violence, crime, murder, suicide, insanity, disability, paraphilias, environmental disasters, political corruption, poverty, famine, disease, drug abuse, child abuse, domestic abuse, animal abuse, rape, pedophilia, castration, cannibalism, necrophilia, war, terrorism, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, stereotypes, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking line-cutting]].
18
19Black comedy usually derives humor from such topics either through cartoonish exaggeration (without entering the domain of uncomfortable realism) or sheer bluntness. A stellar example of the former is a scene in which an animal-loving assassin accidentally runs over an old woman's dog in ''Film/AFishCalledWanda''; the reveal of the dead dog was originally filmed with realistic gore effects, which audiences found uncomfortable and unfunny. The scene was then altered to have the dog simply be flattened a-la [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Wile E. Coyote]], which removes the disturbing realism and becomes darkly hilarious instead (said animal-loving assassin's inevitably horrified reaction to the event further aids in this).
20
21It is neither ToiletHumour, which seeks to gross out the audience, nor VulgarHumor, since black humor can be delivered without swearing. It oftentimes takes the form of RefugeInAudacity, while incorporating elements of the aforementioned forms of humor. What makes it different is that the theme of the comedy gravitates towards topics that are considered to be "dark" and/or taboo (such as depression, death, atrocities, racism, poverty, etc.) This form of humor will usually go beyond the mere act of telling jokes, some works focusing instead on situational comedy, ''Film/DrStrangelove'' being one example. Movies that alternate between comedy and tragedy, like ''Film/FullMetalJacket'', are not black comedy, since by definition Black Comedy draws humor from the tragic parts. To sum it up, black humor is a type of comedy that deals with negative aspects of life, deriving humor due to it being shocking and unexpected, ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' having dead babies singing for example, being shockingly cruel (and thus unexpected), and in part because it often reflects a truth that might be too grim to state seriously, something quite common for example in [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Russia]], and quite abundant in political humor.
22
23A joke might revolve around, for example, a homeless man committing a string of murders so that he will get sentenced to death, a state that, properly tied up in appeals, is ''better than'' his former life expectancy and quality. Delivered correctly, it can be very funny, yet at the same time more than a little disturbing. If done wrong, however, the audience may be extremely offended, [[DudeNotFunny which is often used as an in-universe result]]. Black Comedy, however, ''doesn't necessarily'' have to involve death or violence; anything that's [[NightmareFuel horrific]], [[TearJerker tragic]], or otherwise [[CynicismTropes dark and cynical]] can be fodder for it.
24
25This trope is [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant not to be confused]] with BlackSitcom ([[WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks though overlap is]] [[WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow not unheard of]]) or UncleTomfoolery. It's also not exactly about comedians with the surname "Black" (such as Creator/JackBlack and Creator/LewisBlack), or comedians who have Black African ancestry (e.g. Creator/RichardPryor, Creator/EddieMurphy, or Creator/ChrisRock), although they all may occasionally engage in some dark humor.
26
27'''Since this is an occasional {{Death Trope|s}}, all spoilers will be unmarked ahead. Beware.'''
28----
29!!Examples:
30[[index]]
31* BlackComedy/{{Advertising}}
32* BlackComedy/AnimeAndManga
33* BlackComedy/{{Comedy}}
34* BlackComedy/ComicBooks
35* BlackComedy/ComicStrips
36* BlackComedy/FanWorks
37* [[BlackComedy/AnimatedFilms Films — Animation]]
38* [[BlackComedy/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
39* BlackComedy/{{Jokes}}
40* BlackComedy/{{Literature}}
41* BlackComedy/LiveActionTV
42* BlackComedy/{{Music}}
43* BlackComedy/TabletopGames
44* BlackComedy/{{Theatre}}
45* BlackComedy/VideoGames
46* BlackComedy/VisualNovels
47* BlackComedy/WebAnimation
48* BlackComedy/{{Webcomics}}
49* BlackComedy/WebOriginal
50* BlackComedy/WesternAnimation
51* BlackComedy/OtherMedia
52[[/index]]
53----
54!!{{Subtrope}}s:
55[[index]]
56* AnimatedShockComedy: A popular genre of cartoons aimed at adults and teenagers, featuring tons of black (and/or {{vulgar|Humor}}) comedy to ensure that it's as family-unfriendly as possible.
57* BlackComedyAnimalCruelty: When the [[BadPeopleAbuseAnimals abuse and mistreatment of animals]] is played for laughs.
58** BestialityIsDepraved: Jokes about zoophilia and people engaging in [[BlackComedyRape perverse sexual acts]] with non-human animals.
59** BlackComedyPetDeath: Jokes about domestic pets [[DeathAsComedy dying]].
60* BlackComedyBurst: When an otherwise lighthearted comedy suddenly starts using darker jokes.
61* BlackComedyCannibalism: Jokes about [[ImAHumanitarian cannibals eating other people]].
62* BlackComedyRape: Jokes about [[SexualHarassmentAndRapeTropes rapists and people suffering from sexual violence]].
63** ComedicLolicon: Jokes involving [[PaedoHunt pedophilia]] and {{ephebophilia}}.
64* BloodyHilarious: When the humor is based on [[{{Gorn}} explicit blood, gore, and violence]].
65* BritishHumour: Dark humour that surrounds itself in surrealism to provide a confusing joke whose punchline is incredibly sardonic.
66* ComedicSociopathy: When a {{Jerkass}} character's LackOfEmpathy and callous mistreatment of others is played for laughs.
67** HeroicComedicSociopath: One of the ([[NominalHero so-called]]) "[[SociopathicHero good guys]]" is inclined toward hilariously offensive behavior.
68** LaughablyEvil: A bad guy is depicted in a humorous manner, despite (or perhaps ''because of'') their villainous actions against others.
69*** AdolfHitlarious: Jokes which revolve around mocking UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler and ThoseWackyNazis.
70*** EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor: Some villains possess a ''very'' sick and twisted sense of humor to complement their evil deeds.
71** UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: The main character is a bad person, but that's okay. The fun is in seeing them get screwed.
72* ComedicStrangling: When strangling somebody is played for laughs.
73* CrossesTheLineTwice: When a joke contains so much shock value that it becomes funny instead.
74** DudeNotFunny: Or instead, an attempt at black comedy falls short on the "comedy" part and comes across as just offensive.
75* DarkParody: A darkly humorous {{parody}} that's far more disturbing than the work it's spoofing.
76** SubvertedKidsShow: A common variant is to make a [[SubvertedInnocence twisted parody of a]] [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids work of children's media]]; filling it up with adult content such as uncensored profanity, graphic depictions of sexuality, and very gruesome acts of violence.
77** SubvertedSitcom: A parody of a classic sitcom that usually plays it for dark laughs.
78* DeathAsComedy: Someone's death is treated as a joke.
79** AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: [[AssholeVictim Someone dies]], and the people around them react with happiness.
80** BondOneLiner: A hero or villain makes a joke about someone they just killed in a gruesome manner.
81*** PreMortemOneLiner: A similar kind of joke made just ''before'' killing someone.
82** TheFunInFuneral: {{Funeral|Tropes}}s are supposed to be somber, serious ceremonies; but not in this one.
83** GallowsHumor: Coping with imminent death or other dire situations by joking about them.
84** GraveHumor: A humorous epitaph written on a dead person's tombstone.
85** MisplacedSorrow: Someone mourns another's death not because they're upset that their friend has died, but because of a very selfish reason (such as the deceased owing them money and never paying them back prior to their demise).
86** SuicideAsComedy: Jokes revolving around [[ChoosingDeath people killing themselves]].
87*** BaitAndSwitchSuicide: A gag where it looks like a character is about to kill themselves, but they really weren't.
88** TheyKilledKennyAgain: When someone gets [[DeathIsCheap repeatedly killed and inexplicably resurrected multiple times]].
89** UndignifiedDeath: Somebody dies in an embarrassing way.
90* HorrorComedy: The hybrid sub-genre of both {{comedy}} and {{horror}}. There can be some overlap between this trope and black comedy, if the more disturbing {{horror tropes}} (especially the ones pertaining to {{death|Tropes}} and {{violence|Tropes}}) are parodied for humor.
91* KafkaKomedy: A form of dark comedy where the humor is based more on people's constant misery and misfortune, rather than death or violence.
92** TheChewToy: Especially if an [[BornUnlucky unfortunate]] [[ButtMonkey loser]]'s suffering is taken to extreme levels, and played more often for laughs than drama.
93** HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: Jokes about children suffering from {{parental abuse}} or other traumatic experiences.
94** PovertyForComedy: [[PovertyTropes Being poor]] is funny.
95** SadistShow: If ''everybody'' in the story gets treated like shit for the audience's amusement.
96* MeatgrinderSurgery: A surgeon uses surgical tools or procedures on his patient that no sane doctor would ever attempt, and has a questionable regard for the patient's wellbeing.
97[[/index]]

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