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Are there differences between "black comedy" and "dark comedy?" (subgenre keyword questions)
Just five days ago, IMDb revised its guidelines for keywords to make a few changes.
One of the changes involves subgenre keywords. The phrase "accepted values" for subgenre keywords was changed to "suggested values." I support this change 100% -- in fact I have been recommending exactly that change for a long time.
Other new language involves the subgenre keywords "dark-comedy" and "black-comedy." Some language that was previously in the guidelines has been retained:
A comedy that has one joke about death should not necessarily have the subgenre "dark-comedy."
And here is the new language, with the language pertaining to "dark-comedy" and "black-comedy" bolded:
It is possible to contribute other values not listed below, however please only contribute another value if an equivalent suggested value does not exist. For example, please use the suggested keyword "dark-comedy" instead of "black-comedy," and use the keyword "disaster-action" instead of "disaster" for a disaster movie/series belonging to the action genre.
I am curious how IMDb staff chose "dark comedy" over "black comedy." Also, are we sure these refer to the same thing?
About four months ago I commented on this forum that there may actually be differences between "dark comedy" and "black comedy." I don't necessarily take a position on that, but I linked to postings on the Internet where people have argued there are in fact differences between "dark comedy" and "black comedy" as subgenres. You can read my full comment here.
To summarize people's views, the gist is that black comedy involves more serious topics than dark comedy, primarily the topic of death. In other words, some people equate "black comedy" with "gallows humor."
In contrast, plenty of other sources equate black comedy and dark comedy as the same thing. For those who do believe these two terms mean the same thing, "black comedy" is typically the preferred term.
The Wikipedia article indicates that the term "black humor" was coined in 1940 in reference to the writings of Jonathan Swift.
As used on IMDb, do the following keywords all mean the same thing? If not, how do they differ?
dark-humor (471 titles)
dark-humour (34 titles)
dark-comedy (2644 titles)
darkcomedy (4 titles)
darkly-comedic (5 titles)
black-humor (400 titles)
black-humour (8 titles)
black-comedy (3966 titles)
morbid-humor (1 title)
gallows-humor (43 titles)
Is there a distinction between the "-humor" and "-comedy" keywords, in that the "-humor" keywords are describing a plot element, while the "-comedy" keywords are describing a subgenre?
And is there a distinction between the "dark-" and "black-" keywords?
Should any (or all) of these keywords be merged? Which keyword(s) should be the preferred keyword(s)?
What are the reason(s) why the IMDb staff have chosen "dark-comedy" over "black-comedy?"
Accepted Solution
Peter_pbn
Champion
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14.4K Messages
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329.7K Points
2 years ago
You can't actually add a keyword with the subgenre category if it isn't in the predefined list, so this language is currently meaningless.
(edited)
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Accepted Solution
bradley_kent
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23.4K Points
2 years ago
I have come across a few titles where "black comedy" was incorrectly used to designate a comedy with black actors. A comedy with black actors CAN be a "black-comedy," but NOT because of the color of an actor's skin.
Also, "black-comedy" and "dark-comedy" seem to be applied very subjectively and very inconsistently. Definitions may be needed, but I doubt if many contributors will know those distinctions, and will probably just continue to "go their merry way."
And, a thorough and precise audit would be needed to separate "black-comedy" from "dark-comedy," which may well be an impossibility.
P.S. Peter Shaffer's play Black Comedy (which I once directed) literally involved the lights going out! Despite its title, it is NOT a black-comedy!
(edited)
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Accepted Solution
Bethanny
Employee
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5.5K Messages
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58.2K Points
2 years ago
Hi @keyword_expert -
In this case we have opted to use the terminology of 'dark-comedy' for the kinds of reasons that @bradley_kent points out.
Cheers!
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Accepted Solution
keyword_expert
2.7K Messages
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47K Points
2 years ago
Based on @Bethanny's response, it sounds like IMDb considers the "dark-" and "black-" keywords to be synonyms/duplicates, with the "dark-" keywords preferred. If I have that correctly, then it would seem that a mass merger and auto-conversion along these lines would be in order:
black-comedy (3966 titles) --> darkcomedy (4 titles) --> darkly-comedic (5 titles) --> dark-comedy (2644 titles)
black-humor (400 titles) --> black-humour (8 titles) --> dark-humour (34 titles) --> morbid-humor (1 title) --> dark-humor (471 titles)
The "dark-comedy" keyword would be considered a subgenre keyword, while the "dark-humor" keyword would be considered a plot detail keyword.
And the keyword gallows-humor could probably be left alone and separate from the others.
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keyword_expert
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47K Points
2 years ago
I will paste my full comment from that other thread here, just in case the other thread ever goes missing.
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Most sources on the Internet would agree that "dark comedy" and "black comedy" mean the same thing. However, some sources suggest that "black comedy" involves more tragic plot points, such as death. I don't know if this is correct, but some people on the Internet do believe there is a distinction. Here are some examples:
What is the difference between black and dark humor?
How is black comedy different from dark comedy?
What Is Black Comedy? Our Definitive Guide
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