Comedy, according to Aristotle, originated from the Phallic Processions of the Dionysian festival during which men would celebrate by dressing up as Satyrs with large erect phalluses insulting each other and telling jokes at their expense.
The Comedies of Aristophanes parodied the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides and critiqued sophistry by lampooning the person of Socrates.
Moliere the Hypochondriac depicts an eccentric protagonist who routinely requests enemas and drinks his own urine based on the advice doctors give him in exchange for his money in an effort to ridicule the businesslike operations of medical professionals.
Chaplin also made movies like Modern Times and The Great Dictator which despite their reliance on slapstick actually satirized issues relating to capitalism and fascism respectively.
Examples of high comedy include Arrested Development, The Marx Brothers, Woody Allen, Seinfeld, The Larry Sanders Show and The Office.