I don't believe in comedy as a TV genre - I think there's drama that is funny. Because beyond the laughs, there has to be cost, and there has to be heart.
Interpretation
Comedy should have depth and emotional weight beyond just making people laugh.
Michaela Coel's quote highlights the idea that true comedy incorporates elements of drama and emotional impact. It suggests that the most effective comedic works resonate on a deeper level, revealing truths about life and humanity, rather than simply providing surface-level entertainment. The interplay of humor and heart can create a more profound connection with the audience, making the experience richer and more meaningful.
In practice
This quote can be used to emphasize the importance of emotional depth in a comedy film discussion.
In Britain, we need to start presenting the option of being a writer in front of black women. We need to present the idea of being a writer into poorer communities because the majority of black people in this country are working class. We need to let working-class people know that their voices are important.
I wanted to write a show about an estate that wasn't sad or morbid, like a lot of shows portray working class life to be.
When you've got African parents, you go to uni, do finance, and go into accounting. But I'm not good with systems. I dropped out in my final year of college to become a Christian poet. Then went back to do my A-levels and went to uni in Birmingham to do political science and theology. I lasted 12 weeks.
Growing up on our estate, we were all different colours, but we were all really poor. I never really realised that black was a problem for some people.
We live in a world where if you're white, an upper-class male of extreme privilege, and able-bodied, and you're nothing that takes you away from that norm, then you're going to have - then the world will not assign you problems because of what you are. That is actually the world we live in.
Where I grew up, in Aldgate, east London, one of the poorest boroughs in the country, I saw lots that was real - the bankers with their briefcases, the man next door with five wives, the illegal immigrants in Flat 5. I'm from a world you rarely see on screen, and I want to show it off.
I can hardly forbear hurling things at him.
The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.
I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person.
Whoever named it necking was a poor judge of anatomy.
This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps one in a continual state of inelegance.
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