A Decade of Dark Humor

A Decade of Dark Humor

Author: Ted Gournelos

Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi

Published: 2011-08-01

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1617030074

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A Decade of Dark Humor analyzes ways in which popular and visual culture used humor-in a variety of forms-to confront the attacks of September 11, 2001 and, more specifically, the aftermath. This interdisciplinary volume brings together scholars from four countries to discuss the impact of humor and irony on both media discourse and tangible political reality. Furthermore, it demonstrates that laughter is simultaneously an avenue through which social issues are deferred or obfuscated, a way in which neoliberal or neoconservative rhetoric is challenged, and a means of forming alternative political ideologies. The volume's contributors cover a broad range of media productions, including news parodies (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, The Onion), TV roundtable shows (Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher), comic strips and cartoons (Aaron McGruder’s The Boondocks, Jeff Danzinger’s editorial cartoons), television drama (Rescue Me), animated satire (South Park), graphic novels (Art Spiegelman’s In the Shadow of No Towers), documentary (Fahrenheit 9/11), and other productions. Along with examining the rhetorical methods and aesthetic techniques of these productions, the essays place each in specific political and journalistic contexts, showing how corporations, news outlets, and political institutions responded to-and sometimes co-opted-these forms of humor.


Book Synopsis A Decade of Dark Humor by : Ted Gournelos

Download or read book A Decade of Dark Humor written by Ted Gournelos and published by Univ. Press of Mississippi. This book was released on 2011-08-01 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Decade of Dark Humor analyzes ways in which popular and visual culture used humor-in a variety of forms-to confront the attacks of September 11, 2001 and, more specifically, the aftermath. This interdisciplinary volume brings together scholars from four countries to discuss the impact of humor and irony on both media discourse and tangible political reality. Furthermore, it demonstrates that laughter is simultaneously an avenue through which social issues are deferred or obfuscated, a way in which neoliberal or neoconservative rhetoric is challenged, and a means of forming alternative political ideologies. The volume's contributors cover a broad range of media productions, including news parodies (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, The Onion), TV roundtable shows (Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher), comic strips and cartoons (Aaron McGruder’s The Boondocks, Jeff Danzinger’s editorial cartoons), television drama (Rescue Me), animated satire (South Park), graphic novels (Art Spiegelman’s In the Shadow of No Towers), documentary (Fahrenheit 9/11), and other productions. Along with examining the rhetorical methods and aesthetic techniques of these productions, the essays place each in specific political and journalistic contexts, showing how corporations, news outlets, and political institutions responded to-and sometimes co-opted-these forms of humor.


Laughing in the Dark

Laughing in the Dark

Author: Laurie Stone

Publisher:

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13:

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Over the last ten years, a new generation of daring and thoughtful stand-up comics and performance artists has emerged--innovators with the courage to take a bead on our latest herd of sacred cows. "Laughing in the Dark" brings together a decade of Stone's best essays, reviews, and interviews from "The Village Voice", featuring a cutting-edge look at the seismic changes in American comedy via the impressions of such comedic stars as Dennis Miller, Tim Allen, Rose O'Donnell, and Tracey Ullman.


Book Synopsis Laughing in the Dark by : Laurie Stone

Download or read book Laughing in the Dark written by Laurie Stone and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last ten years, a new generation of daring and thoughtful stand-up comics and performance artists has emerged--innovators with the courage to take a bead on our latest herd of sacred cows. "Laughing in the Dark" brings together a decade of Stone's best essays, reviews, and interviews from "The Village Voice", featuring a cutting-edge look at the seismic changes in American comedy via the impressions of such comedic stars as Dennis Miller, Tim Allen, Rose O'Donnell, and Tracey Ullman.


The Golden House

The Golden House

Author: Salman Rushdie

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2017-09-05

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 0399592814

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A modern American epic set against the panorama of contemporary politics and culture—a hurtling, page-turning mystery that is equal parts The Great Gatsby and The Bonfire of the Vanities ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, PBS, Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire, Financial Times, The Times of India On the day of Barack Obama’s inauguration, an enigmatic billionaire from foreign shores takes up residence in the architectural jewel of “the Gardens,” a cloistered community in New York’s Greenwich Village. The neighborhood is a bubble within a bubble, and the residents are immediately intrigued by the eccentric newcomer and his family. Along with his improbable name, untraceable accent, and unmistakable whiff of danger, Nero Golden has brought along his three adult sons: agoraphobic, alcoholic Petya, a brilliant recluse with a tortured mind; Apu, the flamboyant artist, sexually and spiritually omnivorous, famous on twenty blocks; and D, at twenty-two the baby of the family, harboring an explosive secret even from himself. There is no mother, no wife; at least not until Vasilisa, a sleek Russian expat, snags the septuagenarian Nero, becoming the queen to his king—a queen in want of an heir. Our guide to the Goldens’ world is their neighbor René, an ambitious young filmmaker. Researching a movie about the Goldens, he ingratiates himself into their household. Seduced by their mystique, he is inevitably implicated in their quarrels, their infidelities, and, indeed, their crimes. Meanwhile, like a bad joke, a certain comic-book villain embarks upon a crass presidential run that turns New York upside-down. Set against the strange and exuberant backdrop of current American culture and politics, The Golden House also marks Salman Rushdie’s triumphant and exciting return to realism. The result is a modern epic of love and terrorism, loss and reinvention—a powerful, timely story told with the daring and panache that make Salman Rushdie a force of light in our dark new age.


Book Synopsis The Golden House by : Salman Rushdie

Download or read book The Golden House written by Salman Rushdie and published by Random House. This book was released on 2017-09-05 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A modern American epic set against the panorama of contemporary politics and culture—a hurtling, page-turning mystery that is equal parts The Great Gatsby and The Bonfire of the Vanities ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, PBS, Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire, Financial Times, The Times of India On the day of Barack Obama’s inauguration, an enigmatic billionaire from foreign shores takes up residence in the architectural jewel of “the Gardens,” a cloistered community in New York’s Greenwich Village. The neighborhood is a bubble within a bubble, and the residents are immediately intrigued by the eccentric newcomer and his family. Along with his improbable name, untraceable accent, and unmistakable whiff of danger, Nero Golden has brought along his three adult sons: agoraphobic, alcoholic Petya, a brilliant recluse with a tortured mind; Apu, the flamboyant artist, sexually and spiritually omnivorous, famous on twenty blocks; and D, at twenty-two the baby of the family, harboring an explosive secret even from himself. There is no mother, no wife; at least not until Vasilisa, a sleek Russian expat, snags the septuagenarian Nero, becoming the queen to his king—a queen in want of an heir. Our guide to the Goldens’ world is their neighbor René, an ambitious young filmmaker. Researching a movie about the Goldens, he ingratiates himself into their household. Seduced by their mystique, he is inevitably implicated in their quarrels, their infidelities, and, indeed, their crimes. Meanwhile, like a bad joke, a certain comic-book villain embarks upon a crass presidential run that turns New York upside-down. Set against the strange and exuberant backdrop of current American culture and politics, The Golden House also marks Salman Rushdie’s triumphant and exciting return to realism. The result is a modern epic of love and terrorism, loss and reinvention—a powerful, timely story told with the daring and panache that make Salman Rushdie a force of light in our dark new age.


Genre-Busting Dark Comedies of the 1970s

Genre-Busting Dark Comedies of the 1970s

Author: Wes D. Gehring

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2016-03-09

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 1476622515

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This examination of dark comedies of the 1970s focuses on films which concealed black humor behind a misleading genre label. All That Jazz (1979) is a musical...about death--hardly Fred and Ginger territory. This masking goes beyond misnomer to a breaking of formula that director Robert Altman called "anti-genre." Altman's MASH (1970) ridiculed the military establishment in general--the Vietnam War in particular--under the guise of a standard military service comedy. The picaresque Western Little Big Man (1970) turned the bluecoats vs. Indians formula upside-down--the audience roots for the Indians instead of the cavalry. The book covers 12 essential films, including Harold and Maude (1971), Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Being There (1979), with notes on A Clockwork Orange (1971). These films reveal a compounding complexity that reinforces the absurdity at the heart of dark comedy.


Book Synopsis Genre-Busting Dark Comedies of the 1970s by : Wes D. Gehring

Download or read book Genre-Busting Dark Comedies of the 1970s written by Wes D. Gehring and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2016-03-09 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This examination of dark comedies of the 1970s focuses on films which concealed black humor behind a misleading genre label. All That Jazz (1979) is a musical...about death--hardly Fred and Ginger territory. This masking goes beyond misnomer to a breaking of formula that director Robert Altman called "anti-genre." Altman's MASH (1970) ridiculed the military establishment in general--the Vietnam War in particular--under the guise of a standard military service comedy. The picaresque Western Little Big Man (1970) turned the bluecoats vs. Indians formula upside-down--the audience roots for the Indians instead of the cavalry. The book covers 12 essential films, including Harold and Maude (1971), Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Being There (1979), with notes on A Clockwork Orange (1971). These films reveal a compounding complexity that reinforces the absurdity at the heart of dark comedy.


Around the Clock

Around the Clock

Author: Roz Chast

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2015-01-13

Total Pages: 32

ISBN-13: 1442496894

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This wacky romp from New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast includes entertaining antics for every hour, on the hour. Counting time has never been so fun! From 12 to 1, Lynn eats baloney With her imaginary friend, Tony. From 1 to 2, in his fanciest pants, Don is digging a hole to France. Do you ever wonder what your friends, enemies, brothers, sisters, and children are doing in the hours when you’re not there? This kooky twenty-four-hour tour of a day in the life of twenty-three different children will reveal answers from the absurd…to the hilarious…to the absurdly hilarious! Beloved New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast is at her finest in this picture book brimming with her trademark stamp of zany humor.


Book Synopsis Around the Clock by : Roz Chast

Download or read book Around the Clock written by Roz Chast and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-01-13 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This wacky romp from New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast includes entertaining antics for every hour, on the hour. Counting time has never been so fun! From 12 to 1, Lynn eats baloney With her imaginary friend, Tony. From 1 to 2, in his fanciest pants, Don is digging a hole to France. Do you ever wonder what your friends, enemies, brothers, sisters, and children are doing in the hours when you’re not there? This kooky twenty-four-hour tour of a day in the life of twenty-three different children will reveal answers from the absurd…to the hilarious…to the absurdly hilarious! Beloved New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast is at her finest in this picture book brimming with her trademark stamp of zany humor.


Oreo

Oreo

Author: Fran Ross

Publisher: New Directions Publishing

Published: 2015-07-07

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 081122323X

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A pioneering, dazzling satire about a biracial black girl from Philadelphia searching for her Jewish father in New York City Oreo is raised by her maternal grandparents in Philadelphia. Her black mother tours with a theatrical troupe, and her Jewish deadbeat dad disappeared when she was an infant, leaving behind a mysterious note that triggers her quest to find him. What ensues is a playful, modernized parody of the classical odyssey of Theseus with a feminist twist, immersed in seventies pop culture, and mixing standard English, black vernacular, and Yiddish with wisecracking aplomb. Oreo, our young hero, navigates the labyrinth of sound studios and brothels and subway tunnels in Manhattan, seeking to claim her birthright while unwittingly experiencing and triggering a mythic journey of self-discovery like no other.


Book Synopsis Oreo by : Fran Ross

Download or read book Oreo written by Fran Ross and published by New Directions Publishing. This book was released on 2015-07-07 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A pioneering, dazzling satire about a biracial black girl from Philadelphia searching for her Jewish father in New York City Oreo is raised by her maternal grandparents in Philadelphia. Her black mother tours with a theatrical troupe, and her Jewish deadbeat dad disappeared when she was an infant, leaving behind a mysterious note that triggers her quest to find him. What ensues is a playful, modernized parody of the classical odyssey of Theseus with a feminist twist, immersed in seventies pop culture, and mixing standard English, black vernacular, and Yiddish with wisecracking aplomb. Oreo, our young hero, navigates the labyrinth of sound studios and brothels and subway tunnels in Manhattan, seeking to claim her birthright while unwittingly experiencing and triggering a mythic journey of self-discovery like no other.


Popular Culture and the Future of Politics

Popular Culture and the Future of Politics

Author: Ted Gournelos

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2009-09-30

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 0739137220

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Popular Culture and the Future of Politics: Cultural Studies and the Tao of South Park argues that progressives should conceive the connections between media, policy, and culture beyond the limits of 'politics' and 'news.' With sustained analyses of groundbreaking contemporary examples of what has become known as 'convergence culture,' Ted Gournelos brings together a wide range of media without sacrificing depth. His examples, such as South Park, The Simpsons, The Onion, The Daily Show, Chappelle's Show, and The Boondocks, are chosen for their political scope and social impact and demonstrate the ways in which what we know as 'politics' is rapidly changing. The book's forays into established fields like feminist, race, and queer theory are combined with perspectives drawn from political economy and rhetoric to demonstrate the power of irony, humor, and cultural dissonance in modern approaches to dissonant cultural politics.


Book Synopsis Popular Culture and the Future of Politics by : Ted Gournelos

Download or read book Popular Culture and the Future of Politics written by Ted Gournelos and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2009-09-30 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Popular Culture and the Future of Politics: Cultural Studies and the Tao of South Park argues that progressives should conceive the connections between media, policy, and culture beyond the limits of 'politics' and 'news.' With sustained analyses of groundbreaking contemporary examples of what has become known as 'convergence culture,' Ted Gournelos brings together a wide range of media without sacrificing depth. His examples, such as South Park, The Simpsons, The Onion, The Daily Show, Chappelle's Show, and The Boondocks, are chosen for their political scope and social impact and demonstrate the ways in which what we know as 'politics' is rapidly changing. The book's forays into established fields like feminist, race, and queer theory are combined with perspectives drawn from political economy and rhetoric to demonstrate the power of irony, humor, and cultural dissonance in modern approaches to dissonant cultural politics.


Totally MAD

Totally MAD

Author: The Editors Of Mad Magazine

Publisher: Liberty Street

Published: 2012-10-30

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781618930309

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For the past six decades (that's 60 years-we did the math so you don't have to) MAD Magazine has keenly observed the American landscape and promptly made fun of everything in sight. Unwavering in their commitment to high quality stupidity, MAD's legendary artists and writers, long known as "The Usual Gang of Idiots," have brilliantly satirized politics, celebrities, sports, media, cultural trends, and more. Totally MAD (originally titled The New American Cookbook until cooler heads prevailed) is the ultimate collection of MAD's most idiotic material, including such classics as Spy vs. Spy, The MAD Fold-in, A MAD Look At..., The Lighter Side of, Horrifying Clichés and The Shadow Knows, plus modern MAD classics including The MAD Strip Club and The Fundalini Pages. Whether you grew up with MAD in the 50s, 60s, or 70s, reading it with a flashlight under the covers so your parents wouldn't catch you, or in the 80s, 90s and beyond, reading it while watching the MADtv sketch comedy show or the more recent animated series on the Cartoon Network, this book will bring back fond memories and also provide a great introduction to MAD for new readers. Then again, maybe not. SPECIAL BONUS! Includes "The Soul of MAD," 12 classic cover prints, ten featuring Alfred E. Neuman, MAD's gap-toothed grinning idiot mascot. These beautiful reproductions are suitable for framing or wrapping fish.


Book Synopsis Totally MAD by : The Editors Of Mad Magazine

Download or read book Totally MAD written by The Editors Of Mad Magazine and published by Liberty Street. This book was released on 2012-10-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the past six decades (that's 60 years-we did the math so you don't have to) MAD Magazine has keenly observed the American landscape and promptly made fun of everything in sight. Unwavering in their commitment to high quality stupidity, MAD's legendary artists and writers, long known as "The Usual Gang of Idiots," have brilliantly satirized politics, celebrities, sports, media, cultural trends, and more. Totally MAD (originally titled The New American Cookbook until cooler heads prevailed) is the ultimate collection of MAD's most idiotic material, including such classics as Spy vs. Spy, The MAD Fold-in, A MAD Look At..., The Lighter Side of, Horrifying Clichés and The Shadow Knows, plus modern MAD classics including The MAD Strip Club and The Fundalini Pages. Whether you grew up with MAD in the 50s, 60s, or 70s, reading it with a flashlight under the covers so your parents wouldn't catch you, or in the 80s, 90s and beyond, reading it while watching the MADtv sketch comedy show or the more recent animated series on the Cartoon Network, this book will bring back fond memories and also provide a great introduction to MAD for new readers. Then again, maybe not. SPECIAL BONUS! Includes "The Soul of MAD," 12 classic cover prints, ten featuring Alfred E. Neuman, MAD's gap-toothed grinning idiot mascot. These beautiful reproductions are suitable for framing or wrapping fish.


Sabrina Online a Decade in Black and White

Sabrina Online a Decade in Black and White

Author: Eric W. Schwartz

Publisher: United Publications & Distribution

Published: 2012-04

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 9780953784752

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Popular Internet comic strip following Sabrina (World's favorite net-surfing skunk girl) and gang of characters as they experiment with romance, real life and the Internet, to explain a few facts of life. Special 164 pages 8.5x11 Hardback Edition. Collection covering first 10 years/issues of Sabrina online comic, plus extra features including "Sabrina at See-CAD," "Amy's Wedding," Out-takes & many more not covered on Internet version. Created, written, and drawn by Eric W. Schwartz with extra artwork from many other talented guest artists.


Book Synopsis Sabrina Online a Decade in Black and White by : Eric W. Schwartz

Download or read book Sabrina Online a Decade in Black and White written by Eric W. Schwartz and published by United Publications & Distribution. This book was released on 2012-04 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Popular Internet comic strip following Sabrina (World's favorite net-surfing skunk girl) and gang of characters as they experiment with romance, real life and the Internet, to explain a few facts of life. Special 164 pages 8.5x11 Hardback Edition. Collection covering first 10 years/issues of Sabrina online comic, plus extra features including "Sabrina at See-CAD," "Amy's Wedding," Out-takes & many more not covered on Internet version. Created, written, and drawn by Eric W. Schwartz with extra artwork from many other talented guest artists.


Cruelty and Laughter

Cruelty and Laughter

Author: Simon Dickie

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2014-04-14

Total Pages: 381

ISBN-13: 022614254X

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A rollicking review of popular culture in 18th century Britain, this text turns away from sentimental and polite literature to focus instead on the jestbooks, farces, comic periodicals, variety shows and minor comic novels that portray a society in which no subject was taboo and political correctness unimagined.


Book Synopsis Cruelty and Laughter by : Simon Dickie

Download or read book Cruelty and Laughter written by Simon Dickie and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2014-04-14 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A rollicking review of popular culture in 18th century Britain, this text turns away from sentimental and polite literature to focus instead on the jestbooks, farces, comic periodicals, variety shows and minor comic novels that portray a society in which no subject was taboo and political correctness unimagined.