How to Write Funny Characters: The Complete List of the 40 Character Archetypes of Comedy and How to Use Them to Craft Funny Dialogue and Captivate Audiences by Dikkers Scott

Author:Dikkers, Scott [Dikkers, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SD Books
Published: 2021-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

How to use the Cool Cat:

Create a character who keep their cool and remains relaxed in all situations to a comical degree .

Comedy Character Archetype #39: the Parent

The Parent is a simple Archetype used interchangeably between Moms and Dads in comedy. The parent is a dorky, overly caretaking embarrassment to their children. Although they try to be “with it,” they’re hopelessly uncool with their shows of genuine emotion and their bad jokes. The children of the Parent usually take on the Everyperson Archetype so the audience can identify with them, making the two-dimensional Parent(s) a laughing stock.

It’s a good feeling and an important life transition to establish our independence from our parents, especially for teens and young adults, who are likely just emerging from some two decades of living under parental tyranny. This makes for fertile ground in comedy. We may have at one time thought of our parents as near god-like, and mocking them provides a much-needed release valve on the stress of growing up .

“Dad jokes” and the Parent in general have been overused in recent years as entertainers have discovered just how popular this Archetype is. One way to make it unique is to assign different Archetypes to characters who are parents. While Jerry’s parents fit the Parent Archetype on Seinfeld , George’s mom was a Kook-Parent hybrid, and his dad was just a Kook. Elaine’s dad was a Psycho-Tough. All of these supporting-characters’ parents had elements of the Drill Sergeant. Another way is to apply the Parent Archetype to a character who isn’t a parent. Whether it’s a boss, lover, friend, or enemy, the audience will recognize the tropes of the Parent Archetype and you’ll get laughs by using the Analogy Funny Filter. In a lot of comedies, especially body-switching comedies, the kids take on the Parent Archetype while the parents become the Grown-up Child. This is such a successful formula we’ve seen this movie dozens of times

Other examples of the Parent:

Chevy Chase in National Lampoon’s Vacation

Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler in The House ( they proceed to transform into Toughs, a novel way to update this Archetype)

Jon Arbuckle in Garfield

Richard Belding in Saved by the Bell

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