Comedy and Critical Thought

Comedy and Critical Thought PDF Author: Iain MacKenzie
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1786604086
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 246

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Book Description
Throughout history, comedians and clowns have enjoyed a certain freedom to speak frankly often denied to others in hegemonic systems. More recently, professional comedians have developed platforms of comic license from which to critique the traditional political establishment and have managed to play an important role in interrogating and mediating the processes of politics in contemporary society. This collection will examine the questions that arise when of comedy and critique intersect by bringing together both critical theorists and comedy scholars with a view to exploring the nature of comedy, its potential role in critical theory and the forms it can take as a practice of resistance.

Comedy and Critical Thought

Comedy and Critical Thought PDF Author: Iain MacKenzie
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1786604086
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 246

Get Book

Book Description
Throughout history, comedians and clowns have enjoyed a certain freedom to speak frankly often denied to others in hegemonic systems. More recently, professional comedians have developed platforms of comic license from which to critique the traditional political establishment and have managed to play an important role in interrogating and mediating the processes of politics in contemporary society. This collection will examine the questions that arise when of comedy and critique intersect by bringing together both critical theorists and comedy scholars with a view to exploring the nature of comedy, its potential role in critical theory and the forms it can take as a practice of resistance.

A Comedian and an Activist Walk into a Bar

A Comedian and an Activist Walk into a Bar PDF Author: Caty Borum Chattoo
Publisher: University of California Press
ISBN: 0520299760
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
Comedy is a powerful contemporary source of influence and information. In the still-evolving digital era, the opportunity to consume and share comedy has never been as available. And yet, despite its vast cultural imprint, comedy is a little-understood vehicle for serious public engagement in urgent social justice issues – even though humor offers frames of hope and optimism that can encourage participation in social problems. Moreover, in the midst of a merger of entertainment and news in the contemporary information ecology, and a decline in perceptions of trust in government and traditional media institutions, comedy may be a unique force for change in pressing social justice challenges. Comedians who say something serious about the world while they make us laugh are capable of mobilizing the masses, focusing a critical lens on injustices, and injecting hope and optimism into seemingly hopeless problems. By combining communication and social justice frameworks with contemporary comedy examples, authors Caty Borum Chattoo and Lauren Feldman show us how comedy can help to serve as a vehicle of change. Through rich case studies, audience research, and interviews with comedians and social justice leaders and strategists, A Comedian and an Activist Walk Into a Bar: The Serious Role of Comedy in Social Justice explains how comedy – both in the entertainment marketplace and as cultural strategy – can engage audiences with issues such as global poverty, climate change, immigration, and sexual assault, and how activists work with comedy to reach and empower publics in the networked, participatory digital media age.

Laughter and Ridicule

Laughter and Ridicule PDF Author: Michael Billig
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 9781412911436
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
From Thomas Hobbes' fear of the power of laughter to the compulsory, packaged "fun" of the contemporary mass media, Billig takes the reader on a stimulating tour of the strange world of humour. Both a significant work of scholarship and a novel contribution to the understanding of the humourous, this is a seriously engaging book' - David Inglis, University of Aberdeen This delightful book tackles the prevailing assumption that laughter and humour are inherently good. In developing a critique of humour the author proposes a social theory that places humour - in the form of ridicule - as central to social life. Billig argues that all cultures use ridicule as a disciplinary means to uphold norms of conduct and conventions of meaning. Historically, theories of humour reflect wider visions of politics, morality and aesthetics. For example, Bergson argued that humour contains an element of cruelty while Freud suggested that we deceive ourselves about the true nature of our laughter. Billig discusses these and other theories, while using the topic of humour to throw light on the perennial social problems of regulation, control and emancipation.

All You Need to Teach

All You Need to Teach PDF Author: Jeni Mawter
Publisher: Macmillan Education AU
ISBN: 9781420204858
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 86

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Book Description
"Developing critical thinking skills using humorous textsThis fabulous resource provides engaging activities that teach students essential critical thinking skills.It provides all you need, including:teaching tips and essential background informationassessment rubricshumorous text models to photocopy and use with lesson ideasBLM worksheets12 thinking skills are coveredSocial ThinkingParodical ThinkingImaginative ThinkingCreative ThinkingSuspending DisbeliefJudgemental ThinkingC

Immortal Comedy

Immortal Comedy PDF Author: Agnes Heller
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 9780739112465
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
This book is the first attempt to think philosophically about the comic phenomenon in literature, art, and life. Working across a substantial collection of comic works author Agnes Heller makes seminal observations on the comic in the work of both classical and contemporary figures. Whether she's discussing Shakespeare, Kafka, Rabelais, or the paintings of Brueghel and Daumier Heller's Immortal Comedy makes a characteristic contribution to modern thought across the humanities.

Comedy, Seriously

Comedy, Seriously PDF Author: D. Nikulin
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9781349490516
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
Comedy, Seriously provides a philosophical interpretation of comedy and argues that comedy displays a particular kind of rationality that reflects philosophical thinking. In particular, that comedy is defined not so much by laughter or jokes, but rather the structure of its plot, which is isomorphic with that of the philosophical argument. Comedy allows for the resolution of a conflict and the achievement of well-being and equality through action that follows the comic plot. Moreover, such action is propelled by the 'thinker on stage,' who, as socially and politically oppressed, contributes to the liberation of all and the achievement of the good life. Comedy, therefore, establishes the universal pattern for justice and well-being and allows us to rethink the notion of subjectivity not as the modern isolated subject, but rather as integrated with others through shared action and dialogical involvement.

Satire, Comedy and Mental Health

Satire, Comedy and Mental Health PDF Author: Dieter Declercq
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
ISBN: 1839096683
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 149

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Book Description
Satire, Comedy, and Mental Health examines how satire helps to sustain good mental health in a troubled socio-political world. Through an interdisciplinary dialogue and a close analysis of satire in various media, the book argues that satire helps us cope in a sick world through its ambiguous combination of critique and entertainment.

The Punk Turn in Comedy

The Punk Turn in Comedy PDF Author: Krista Bonello Rutter Giappone
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319728415
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Book Description
This book examines the interconnections between punk and alternative comedy (altcom). It explores how punk’s tendency towards humour and parody influenced the trajectory taken by altcom in the UK, and the punk strategies introduced when altcom sought self-definition against dominant established trends. The Punk Turn in Comedy considers the early promise of punk-comedy convergence in Peter Cook and Dudley Moore’s ‘Derek and Clive’, and discusses punk and altcom’s attitudes towards dominant traditions. The chapters demonstrate how punk and altcom sought a direct approach for critique, one that rejected innuendo, while embracing the ‘amateur’ in style and experimenting with audience-performer interaction. Giappone argues that altcom tended to be more consistently politicised than punk, with a renewed emphasis on responsibility. The book is a timely exploration of the ‘punk turn’ in comedy history, and will speak to scholars of both comedy and punk studies.

Humour and Politics in Africa

Humour and Politics in Africa PDF Author: Daniel Hammett
Publisher: Policy Press
ISBN: 152921971X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
Analyses of humour often focus primarily on the Global North, with little consideration for examples and practices from elsewhere. This book provides a vital contribution to humour theory by developing a Global South perspective. Taking a wide-ranging view across the whole of the continent, the book examines the relationship between humour and politics in Africa. It considers the context of the production and reception of humour in African contexts and argues that humour is more than just symbolic. Moving beyond the idea of humour as a mode of resistance, the book investigates the 'political work' that humour does and explores the complex entanglements in which the politics, practices and performances of humour are located.

Comedic Nightmare

Comedic Nightmare PDF Author: Marcel Danesi
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004535861
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 121

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Book Description
The presidency of the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, impacted many sectors of society. One of these was comedy, which became obsessed with Trump, who was himself a comedic figure. This book looks at this impact, called the Trump Effect, on American comedy—an effect that has changed its historical forms drastically.