ABSTRACT
One of the more outrageous sub-genres of comedy must be the reductio ad absurdum, which is often realized as black comedy and farce. In this odd category one follows or applies an idea, theme, or trait to its logically absurd conclusion. A biblical paradigm of reductio ad absurdum appears in narratives like Nebuchadnezzar being turned into an ass or the slavish adherence to the Preacher Koheleth's summation of all life as vanity in the Book of Ecclesiastes. In his view even laughter becomes madness, like the crackling of burning thorns. The quintessential reductio ad absurdum film comedy plays on the notion that a human can play God. Tom Shadyac's Bruce Almighty explores the outlandish speculation of what would happen if God bestowed His "powers" on a mere mortal. When Bruce finally does discover that he has the ability to help people, he neglects it.
