Changes

The next major change was the medium of films changing the nature of comedy. Naturally, film and television became different because it could reach a much larger audience. However, initially, it also changed the nature of comedy from something that was spoken to something that was unspoken, as early movies had no sound. This led to innovators such as Charlie Chaplin, Stan Laural, and Dan Leno to develop a new form of comedy that would depend on actions or acts that would include pranks, tricks, or actions making fun of the intelligence of the actor. However, the delivery was important as it had to be timed to coincide with a sequence of events. This influenced early 20th century humor that relied more on surreal or unreal situations that would lead to a series of comedic events. This also reflected early 20th century art that was also being affected by the surrealism movement. As sound became developed, first in raidoradio, and then later in television and films, comedy acts such as Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis became well known. The sit-com and standup routines also developed during the mid-20th century and have continued to be influential in comedy today.<ref>For more on 20th century developments in comedy, see: Mundy, J., & White, G. (2012).<i> Laughing matters: understanding film, television and radio comedy</i>. Manchester University Press. </ref>