In times of economic distress, comedies often become the mainstream of film, stage, and other forms of popular culture. For example, during the Great Depression in the US in the 1930s, movies in the genre of "screwball comedies" really hit the big time, because people who were crushed by the weight of daily life needed comedies to give themselves something to smile about, however temporarily.
在不景氣中，「喜劇片」常是電影、戲劇等大眾文化作品的主流，例如在 1930 年代美國經濟大蕭條時期，瘋狂喜劇（Screwball Comedy）的類型電影就曾大行其道，因為在現實生活中被壓得喘不過氣的觀眾，需要喜劇為自己帶來短暫的歡笑。