| Because I Tell a Joke or Two: Comedy, Politics and Social Difference Contributor(s): Wagg, Stephen (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0415129206 ISBN-13: 9780415129206 Publisher: Routledge OUR PRICE: $152.00 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: February 1998 Annotation: "Because I Tell a Joke or Two" explores the complex relationship between comedy and social difference. In provocative essays, the contributors consider issues of class, ethnicity, age, gender, and sexuality and reveal the ways comedy has been used to sustain, to challenge and to change power relationships in society. Spanning a wide range of genres, texts, and performers, from the Marx Brothers to Lea DeLaria, and from "Ozzie and Harriet" to "Friends," "Because I Tell a Joke or Two" promises to make you think the next time you laugh along with a joke. Contributors: Maggie Andrews, Frances Gray, Dave Huxley, C.P. Lee, Jane Littlewood, John McCallum, Mike Pickering, Laraine Porter, Mark Simpson, Stephen Small, Stephen Wagg, Paul Wells, and Frances Williams. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Popular Culture - Humor - Social Science | Media Studies |
| Dewey: 700.417 |
| LCCN: 97023653 |
| Physical Information: 1.14" H x 6.36" W x 9.5" (1.54 lbs) 336 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Because I Tell a Joke or Two explores the complex relationship between comedy and the social differences of class, region, age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and nationhood. It shows how comedy has been used to sustain, challenge and to change power relationships in society. The contributors, who include Stephen Wagg, Mark Simpson, Stephen Small, Paul Wells and Frances Williams, offer readings of comedy genres, texts and performers in Britain, the United States and Australia. The collection also includes an interview with the comedian Jo Brand. Topics addressed include: * women in British comedies such as Butterflies and Fawlty Towers * the life and times of Viz, from Billy the Fish to the Fat Slags * queer readings of Morecambe and Wise, the male double act * the Marx brothers and Jewish comedy in the United States * black radical comedy in Britain * The Golden Girls, Cheers, Friends and American society. |