The Joke Is on Us

The Joke Is on Us

Author: Julie A. Webber

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2018-12-11

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 1498569854

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This edited volume brings together scholars of comedy to assess how political comedy encounters neoliberal themes in contemporary media. Central to this task is the notion of genre; under neoliberal conditions (where market logics motivate most actions) genre becomes “mixed.” Once stable, discreet categories such as comedy, horror, drama and news and entertainment have become blurred so as to be indistinguishable. The classic modern paradigm of comedy/tragedy no longer holds, if it ever did. Moreover, as politics becomes more economic and less moral or normative under neoliberalism, we are able to see new resistance to comedic genres that support neoliberal strategies to hide racial and gender injustice such as unlaughter, ambiguity, and anti-comedy. There is also an increasing interest with comedy as a form of entertainment on the political right following both Brexit in the UK and the election of Trump in the U.S. Several essays confront this conservative comedy and place it in context of the larger humor history of these debates over free speech and political correctness. For comedians too, entry into popular media now follows the familiar neoliberal script of the celebration of self-help with the increasing admonishment of those who fail to win in market terms. Laughter plays an important role in shaming and valorizing (often at the same time!) the precarious subject in the aftermath of global recession. Doubling down on austerity, self-help policies and equivocation in the face of extremist challenges (right and left), politics foils the critical comedian’s attempt to satirize and parody its object. Characterized by ambiguity, mixed genre and the increasing use of anti-humor, political comedy mirrors the social and political world it mocks, parodies and celebrates often with lackluster results suggesting that the joke might be on us, as audiences.


Book Synopsis The Joke Is on Us by : Julie A. Webber

Download or read book The Joke Is on Us written by Julie A. Webber and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2018-12-11 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume brings together scholars of comedy to assess how political comedy encounters neoliberal themes in contemporary media. Central to this task is the notion of genre; under neoliberal conditions (where market logics motivate most actions) genre becomes “mixed.” Once stable, discreet categories such as comedy, horror, drama and news and entertainment have become blurred so as to be indistinguishable. The classic modern paradigm of comedy/tragedy no longer holds, if it ever did. Moreover, as politics becomes more economic and less moral or normative under neoliberalism, we are able to see new resistance to comedic genres that support neoliberal strategies to hide racial and gender injustice such as unlaughter, ambiguity, and anti-comedy. There is also an increasing interest with comedy as a form of entertainment on the political right following both Brexit in the UK and the election of Trump in the U.S. Several essays confront this conservative comedy and place it in context of the larger humor history of these debates over free speech and political correctness. For comedians too, entry into popular media now follows the familiar neoliberal script of the celebration of self-help with the increasing admonishment of those who fail to win in market terms. Laughter plays an important role in shaming and valorizing (often at the same time!) the precarious subject in the aftermath of global recession. Doubling down on austerity, self-help policies and equivocation in the face of extremist challenges (right and left), politics foils the critical comedian’s attempt to satirize and parody its object. Characterized by ambiguity, mixed genre and the increasing use of anti-humor, political comedy mirrors the social and political world it mocks, parodies and celebrates often with lackluster results suggesting that the joke might be on us, as audiences.

Only a Joke Can Save Us

Only a Joke Can Save Us

Author: Todd McGowan

Publisher: Northwestern University Press

Published: 2017-09-15

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 0810135825

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Only a Joke Can Save Us presents an innovative and comprehensive theory of comedy. Using a wealth of examples from high and popular culture and with careful attention to the treatment of humor in philosophy, Todd McGowan locates the universal source of comedy in the interplay of the opposing concepts lack and excess. After reviewing the treatment of comedy in the work of philosophers as varied as Aristotle, G. W. F. Hegel, Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson, and Alenka Zupancic, McGowan, working in a psychoanalytic framework, demonstrates that comedy results from the deployment of lack and excess, whether in contrast, juxtaposition, or interplay. Illustrating the power and flexibility of this framework with analyses of films ranging from Buster Keaton and Marx Brothers classics to Dr. Strangelove and Groundhog Day, McGowan shows how humor can reveal gaps in being and gaps in social order. Scholarly yet lively and readable, Only a Joke Can Save Us is a groundbreaking examination of the enigmatic yet endlessly fascinating experience of humor and comedy.


Book Synopsis Only a Joke Can Save Us by : Todd McGowan

Download or read book Only a Joke Can Save Us written by Todd McGowan and published by Northwestern University Press. This book was released on 2017-09-15 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Only a Joke Can Save Us presents an innovative and comprehensive theory of comedy. Using a wealth of examples from high and popular culture and with careful attention to the treatment of humor in philosophy, Todd McGowan locates the universal source of comedy in the interplay of the opposing concepts lack and excess. After reviewing the treatment of comedy in the work of philosophers as varied as Aristotle, G. W. F. Hegel, Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson, and Alenka Zupancic, McGowan, working in a psychoanalytic framework, demonstrates that comedy results from the deployment of lack and excess, whether in contrast, juxtaposition, or interplay. Illustrating the power and flexibility of this framework with analyses of films ranging from Buster Keaton and Marx Brothers classics to Dr. Strangelove and Groundhog Day, McGowan shows how humor can reveal gaps in being and gaps in social order. Scholarly yet lively and readable, Only a Joke Can Save Us is a groundbreaking examination of the enigmatic yet endlessly fascinating experience of humor and comedy.

March of the Lemmings

March of the Lemmings

Author: Stewart Lee

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Published: 2019-09-03

Total Pages: 423

ISBN-13: 0571357040

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As a Metropolitan Elitist Snowflake, Stewart Lee was disappointed by the Brexit referendum result of 2016. But he knew how to weaponise his inconvenience. He would treat all his subsequent writing, until we left the EU, as interrelated episodes of a complete work. The cast of characters include Lemming-obsessed Michael Gove, violent tanning-salon entrepreneur Tommy Robinson and Boris Piccaninny Watermelon Bumboys Letterbox Cake Disaster Weightloss Haircut Bullshit Johnson. A dramatic chorus is made up of online commenters and Kremlin bots. And Lee himself would play the defeated, unreliable narrator-hero, whose resolve and tolerance would gradually unravel as the horror show dragged on. Until the 29 March, 2019, when it would all definitely be over Drawing on three years of newspaper columns, a complete transcript of the Content Provider stand-up show, and Lee's caustic footnote commentary, March of the Lemmings is the scathing, riotous record the Brexit era deserves.


Book Synopsis March of the Lemmings by : Stewart Lee

Download or read book March of the Lemmings written by Stewart Lee and published by Faber & Faber. This book was released on 2019-09-03 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a Metropolitan Elitist Snowflake, Stewart Lee was disappointed by the Brexit referendum result of 2016. But he knew how to weaponise his inconvenience. He would treat all his subsequent writing, until we left the EU, as interrelated episodes of a complete work. The cast of characters include Lemming-obsessed Michael Gove, violent tanning-salon entrepreneur Tommy Robinson and Boris Piccaninny Watermelon Bumboys Letterbox Cake Disaster Weightloss Haircut Bullshit Johnson. A dramatic chorus is made up of online commenters and Kremlin bots. And Lee himself would play the defeated, unreliable narrator-hero, whose resolve and tolerance would gradually unravel as the horror show dragged on. Until the 29 March, 2019, when it would all definitely be over Drawing on three years of newspaper columns, a complete transcript of the Content Provider stand-up show, and Lee's caustic footnote commentary, March of the Lemmings is the scathing, riotous record the Brexit era deserves.

Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall

Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall

Author: Gordon Korman

Publisher: Apple

Published: 2000-09-01

Total Pages: 198

ISBN-13: 9780590255226

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Just as the Headmaster of Macdonald Hall is on the verge of retirement, a wave of practical jokes hits the school, and roommates Bruno and Boots become prime suspects.


Book Synopsis Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall by : Gordon Korman

Download or read book Something Fishy at Macdonald Hall written by Gordon Korman and published by Apple. This book was released on 2000-09-01 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Just as the Headmaster of Macdonald Hall is on the verge of retirement, a wave of practical jokes hits the school, and roommates Bruno and Boots become prime suspects.

The Joke's on Me

The Joke's on Me

Author: Laurie Boris

Publisher:

Published: 2020-04-22

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 9781723741289

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When a mudslide plummets her hopes, her home, and her entire collection of impractical footwear into the Pacific, former actress and stand-up comic Frankie Goldberg takes the only possession she has left - a cherry red Corvette convertible - and drives east to her family's bed and breakfast in Woodstock, New York. This begins a journey into the family she left behind, the family she joked about in her act. But the joke's on Frankie. While she was doing impressions of her slightly menopausal Jewish mother and her sister the serial divorcee, her family was slowly leaving her. And maybe that joke is just too new to be funny. Travel along with fearless Frankie as she puzzles through that eternal dilemma of coming back home to find that nothing is where you left it.


Book Synopsis The Joke's on Me by : Laurie Boris

Download or read book The Joke's on Me written by Laurie Boris and published by . This book was released on 2020-04-22 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When a mudslide plummets her hopes, her home, and her entire collection of impractical footwear into the Pacific, former actress and stand-up comic Frankie Goldberg takes the only possession she has left - a cherry red Corvette convertible - and drives east to her family's bed and breakfast in Woodstock, New York. This begins a journey into the family she left behind, the family she joked about in her act. But the joke's on Frankie. While she was doing impressions of her slightly menopausal Jewish mother and her sister the serial divorcee, her family was slowly leaving her. And maybe that joke is just too new to be funny. Travel along with fearless Frankie as she puzzles through that eternal dilemma of coming back home to find that nothing is where you left it.

Macdonald Hall #7: The Joke's On Us

Macdonald Hall #7: The Joke's On Us

Author: Gordon Korman

Publisher: Scholastic Canada

Published: 2013-11-01

Total Pages: 192

ISBN-13: 1443128074

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Gordon Korman's classic, bestselling series celebrates its 35th anniversary! Macdonald Hall's ivy-covered buildings have housed and educated many fine young Canadians. But Bruno Walton and Boots O'Neal are far from being fine young Canadians. The roommates and best friends are nothing but trouble! Together they've snuck out after lights-out, swapped flags, kidnapped mascots . . . and that's only the beginning. There is nothing new about practical jokes at Macdonald Hall. The latest round includes water in the swimming pool being turned blue, the statue of Sir John A. getting a snazzy new outfit, and extra soap being snuck into the dishwasher just for fun. Of course, all fingers point to the usual suspects — Bruno Walton and Boots O'Neal. The funny thing — they are not the ones pulling the pranks this time! But they are unsure just who the new prankster is, and they have to prove they're innocent before they get expelled. Join two of Gordon Korman's most memorable characters in seven side-splitting, rip-roaring adventures! Macdonald Hall is the series that started it all, and thirty-five years later it remains a must-read for old fans and new, the young — and the young at heart.


Book Synopsis Macdonald Hall #7: The Joke's On Us by : Gordon Korman

Download or read book Macdonald Hall #7: The Joke's On Us written by Gordon Korman and published by Scholastic Canada. This book was released on 2013-11-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gordon Korman's classic, bestselling series celebrates its 35th anniversary! Macdonald Hall's ivy-covered buildings have housed and educated many fine young Canadians. But Bruno Walton and Boots O'Neal are far from being fine young Canadians. The roommates and best friends are nothing but trouble! Together they've snuck out after lights-out, swapped flags, kidnapped mascots . . . and that's only the beginning. There is nothing new about practical jokes at Macdonald Hall. The latest round includes water in the swimming pool being turned blue, the statue of Sir John A. getting a snazzy new outfit, and extra soap being snuck into the dishwasher just for fun. Of course, all fingers point to the usual suspects — Bruno Walton and Boots O'Neal. The funny thing — they are not the ones pulling the pranks this time! But they are unsure just who the new prankster is, and they have to prove they're innocent before they get expelled. Join two of Gordon Korman's most memorable characters in seven side-splitting, rip-roaring adventures! Macdonald Hall is the series that started it all, and thirty-five years later it remains a must-read for old fans and new, the young — and the young at heart.

The Cosmic Jest: The Joke’s On Us

The Cosmic Jest: The Joke’s On Us

Author: Mark Romel

Publisher: Magus Books

Published:

Total Pages: 877

ISBN-13:

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Salman Rushdie wrote, "DC: Washington is being taken over by DC: Comics." The world is increasingly understood as a comic story, involving superheroes and supervillains. Confusingly, they are often one and the same. Donald Trump is the superhero for conservatives and the supervillain for liberals. Heroes and villains are now shapeshifters. They no longer reflect a common narrative. Their heroism or villainy depends on where you stand in the culture wars. Next time you go to watch a superhero movie, imagine what it would be like if the superhero kept "flickering" into his opposite – the supervillain. Would you be able to follow the story? Whom would you be rooting for? Wouldn't the plot be all over the place? You wouldn't understand anyone's motivation. The story would be pure chaos. Welcome to the Cosmic Jest. Read this book if you don't want the joke to be on you.


Book Synopsis The Cosmic Jest: The Joke’s On Us by : Mark Romel

Download or read book The Cosmic Jest: The Joke’s On Us written by Mark Romel and published by Magus Books. This book was released on with total page 877 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Salman Rushdie wrote, "DC: Washington is being taken over by DC: Comics." The world is increasingly understood as a comic story, involving superheroes and supervillains. Confusingly, they are often one and the same. Donald Trump is the superhero for conservatives and the supervillain for liberals. Heroes and villains are now shapeshifters. They no longer reflect a common narrative. Their heroism or villainy depends on where you stand in the culture wars. Next time you go to watch a superhero movie, imagine what it would be like if the superhero kept "flickering" into his opposite – the supervillain. Would you be able to follow the story? Whom would you be rooting for? Wouldn't the plot be all over the place? You wouldn't understand anyone's motivation. The story would be pure chaos. Welcome to the Cosmic Jest. Read this book if you don't want the joke to be on you.

The Great American Joke Book

The Great American Joke Book

Author: Victor H. Royer

Publisher: America Star Books

Published: 2013-05-01

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 9781627095419

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Many years ago, I went looking for a Book of Jokes. There were none. Years later, I tried again-online, and everywhere else, and although I found many books about humor, containing humor, and written by famous people and comics, and even scholastic books analyzing humor-and what exactly it is-what I did not find was an actual Book of Jokes. So, I decided to write one. This one. The Great American Joke Book. A wise man once said: If we can't laugh at ourselves, at the way we live, or at our deepest and darkest convictions and secrets, then we are taking ourselves far too seriously and are denying to ourselves God's greatest gift-that gift being the uniquely human sense of humor. Divided into two parts. Part 1 is rated G, for general audiences-with true and amazing stories and great jokes for the whole family. Part 2 is Adult Humor, rated R, for those whose humorous tastes are a little more contemporary. Both sections are full of incredible laughter. Even now, as we are producing this book, I am still laughing at these stories, true tales, and great jokes. So take a few minutes-Laugh a few minutes-Let go of the rat race, and relax. It will lengthen your life. And remember the weighty words of that great Bard of Laughs, Ms. Lily Tomlin, as she so prophetically prognosticated some years ago: ""The trouble with the Rat Race is that even if you win, you're still a Rat."" So it's time for a piece of cheese, some wine, and some wit. Read on...


Book Synopsis The Great American Joke Book by : Victor H. Royer

Download or read book The Great American Joke Book written by Victor H. Royer and published by America Star Books. This book was released on 2013-05-01 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many years ago, I went looking for a Book of Jokes. There were none. Years later, I tried again-online, and everywhere else, and although I found many books about humor, containing humor, and written by famous people and comics, and even scholastic books analyzing humor-and what exactly it is-what I did not find was an actual Book of Jokes. So, I decided to write one. This one. The Great American Joke Book. A wise man once said: If we can't laugh at ourselves, at the way we live, or at our deepest and darkest convictions and secrets, then we are taking ourselves far too seriously and are denying to ourselves God's greatest gift-that gift being the uniquely human sense of humor. Divided into two parts. Part 1 is rated G, for general audiences-with true and amazing stories and great jokes for the whole family. Part 2 is Adult Humor, rated R, for those whose humorous tastes are a little more contemporary. Both sections are full of incredible laughter. Even now, as we are producing this book, I am still laughing at these stories, true tales, and great jokes. So take a few minutes-Laugh a few minutes-Let go of the rat race, and relax. It will lengthen your life. And remember the weighty words of that great Bard of Laughs, Ms. Lily Tomlin, as she so prophetically prognosticated some years ago: ""The trouble with the Rat Race is that even if you win, you're still a Rat."" So it's time for a piece of cheese, some wine, and some wit. Read on...

The Joke's on Us

The Joke's on Us

Author: Morwenna Banks

Publisher: Unwin Hyman

Published: 1987

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 9780863581199

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Book Synopsis The Joke's on Us by : Morwenna Banks

Download or read book The Joke's on Us written by Morwenna Banks and published by Unwin Hyman. This book was released on 1987 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Joke and Its Relation to the Unconscious

The Joke and Its Relation to the Unconscious

Author: Sigmund Freud

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2003-06-24

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 1101644796

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Why do we laugh? The answer, argued Freud in this groundbreaking study of humor, is that jokes, like dreams, satisfy our unconscious desires. The Joke and Its Relation to the Unconscious explains how jokes provide immense pleasure by releasing us from our inhibitions and allowing us to express sexual, aggressive, playful, or cynical instincts that would otherwise remain hidden. In elaborating this theory, Freud brings together a rich collection of puns, witticisms, one-liners, and anecdotes, which, as Freud shows, are a method of giving ourselves away. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.


Book Synopsis The Joke and Its Relation to the Unconscious by : Sigmund Freud

Download or read book The Joke and Its Relation to the Unconscious written by Sigmund Freud and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2003-06-24 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do we laugh? The answer, argued Freud in this groundbreaking study of humor, is that jokes, like dreams, satisfy our unconscious desires. The Joke and Its Relation to the Unconscious explains how jokes provide immense pleasure by releasing us from our inhibitions and allowing us to express sexual, aggressive, playful, or cynical instincts that would otherwise remain hidden. In elaborating this theory, Freud brings together a rich collection of puns, witticisms, one-liners, and anecdotes, which, as Freud shows, are a method of giving ourselves away. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.