Let’s Talk about ‘Black Comedy,’ Darlings
Few days ago, on the recommendation of my TikTok mutual, Jane, I sat down to watch the 2022 Bollywood Netflix movie ‘Darlings.’ She had given me some heads up on what to expect, with the movie dealing on the subject matter of domestic violence. However, when I saw the movie, I was pleasantly surprised with the approach the filmmakers employed in telling the story. The movie was dark, it was messy, it was funny—and it made me think about things I normally would not want to think about. Domestic violence. The pain of living under someone’s cruelty. The shame, the fear, the silence. And yet, through all of that, the movie made me laugh.
Sounds a bit odd right? Yet it happened, because ‘Darlings’ used the black comedy subgenre to make a point about a subject that usually would make one uncomfortable to sit through.
Black comedy is strange. It takes things that are serious, tragic, or taboo and twists them in a way that makes you laugh while also making you think. While shock value is one of the traits that spices up black comedy, what defines the subgenre is the fact that it reveals truth through absurdity. In the movie, Darlings, you see moments so exaggerated that you can’t help but laugh, but behind that laughter is a mirror reflecting society’s failure to protect those who are vulnerable. As such it is a way of the writers saying: “We know it is terrible but if we can’t even talk about it honestly, nothing will change.”
This is why black comedy is so important in writing. It allows you to explore human cruelty, injustice, and absurdity without drowning your readers with sorrow or despair. It is a way to make uncomfortable truths easier for your readers without scarring them with the tragedy of the truth you wish them to see.
Nigerian storytelling has used black comedy brilliantly over the years. Think of Lola Shoneyin’s ‘The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives,,’ where the absurdity of societal traditions, sexism and paternity fraud are hilarious, yet haunting. Or Cyprian Ekwensi’s ‘Jagua Nana,’ where the humor in Jagua’s misadventures exposes societal hypocrisies, gender politics, and moral ambiguity. Even in Chinua Achebe’s satirical prose ‘A man of the People,’ exposed the blatant corruption, extortion and political shenanigans rife in Nigeria all while making the readers laugh.
For writers, black comedy is like a scalpel. It cuts through denial, gets under the skin of characters and society, and delivers truth, which ultimately is its end game.
So my dear writer, when the subject matter of your story seems so heavy and uncomfortable, consider injecting black comedy into it. It will make your readers laugh, but when they close the last page of your work that laughter will haunt them just enough that they remember the truth behind it.
‘Darlings’ did it, Ekwensi did it, Achebe did it.
You too can do it!
