Not sure how to answer this question. I think dark comedy is the venue of choice these days for topics that are otherwise too taboo or too sensitive for genres. There is an "anything goes" attitude in the dark comedies I've seen in the last few years that provides, well, a freedom of sorts. One good example at the moment is the HBO series "True Blood."

I am a bit like Erik on this one. I think it is more about taste and enjoyment. If it has appeal to some and not harmful overall, then it has value.

I saw a piece of an odd sort at La Jolla Playhouse this weekend, the world premiere of Charles Busch's "The Third Story," overtly three stories interwoven with Busch, a famous drag performer, playing Baba Yaga the witch in the fairy tale and the overprotective, dying mother of a thug in the other. The themes that lurked beneath the surface were as follows: our fears of science, specifically cloned human beings; the sexual frustration of women who go into fields such as science; our inability to let our children lead their own lives; and their fear of abandonment. It was big time codependency all wrapped up in one jolly and intricate tale with a guy dressed like a woman. Where else can you see all those issues so covertly adorned? Dark comedy, farce, melodrama, film noir all wrapped together. Juicy and delicious!

Hi Hal,

The traditional argument is that comedy (and tragedy) allow us catharsis. We are able to experience our more disturbing emotions in a "safe" setting and thereby vent them.

I think, for example, that I'm drawn to zombine movies because it helps me confront my worst personal demon--helplessness.

I love the idea you present that we don't have to know the "why" of our enjoyment of some things. Just that the experience serves us.

Cindy,

I really like the idea of dark comedy sneaking in necessary jolts of reality through the back door. Or the cellar. Or through the cracks in the attic.