A National Joke

Popular Comedy and English Cultural Identities

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, General Art, Popular Culture, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book A National Joke by Andy Medhurst, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Andy Medhurst ISBN: 9781134702558
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: September 18, 2007
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Andy Medhurst
ISBN: 9781134702558
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: September 18, 2007
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

Comedy is crucial to how the English see themselves. This book considers that proposition through a series of case studies of popular English comedies and comedians in the twentieth century, ranging from the Carry On films to the work of Mike Leigh and contemporary sitcoms such as The Royle Family, and from George Formby to Alan Bennett and Roy 'Chubby' Brown.

Relating comic traditions to questions of class, gender, sexuality and geography, A National Joke looks at how comedy is a cultural thermometer, taking the temperature of its times. It asks why vulgarity has always delighted English audiences, why camp is such a strong thread in English humour, why class influences what we laugh at and why comedy has been so neglected in most theoretical writing about cultural identity. Part history and part polemic, it argues that the English urgently need to reflect on who they are, who they have been and who they might become, and insists that comedy offers a particularly illuminating location for undertaking those reflections.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Comedy is crucial to how the English see themselves. This book considers that proposition through a series of case studies of popular English comedies and comedians in the twentieth century, ranging from the Carry On films to the work of Mike Leigh and contemporary sitcoms such as The Royle Family, and from George Formby to Alan Bennett and Roy 'Chubby' Brown.

Relating comic traditions to questions of class, gender, sexuality and geography, A National Joke looks at how comedy is a cultural thermometer, taking the temperature of its times. It asks why vulgarity has always delighted English audiences, why camp is such a strong thread in English humour, why class influences what we laugh at and why comedy has been so neglected in most theoretical writing about cultural identity. Part history and part polemic, it argues that the English urgently need to reflect on who they are, who they have been and who they might become, and insists that comedy offers a particularly illuminating location for undertaking those reflections.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book The Adelphi Players by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book Making Places in the Prehistoric World by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book Stepparenting by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book Dance Therapy and Depth Psychology by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book The Green Fiscal Mechanism and Reform for Low Carbon Development by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book Estimating Risk by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book Composition in Convergence by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book e-Learning and Social Networking Handbook by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book Guardianship, Gender, and the Nobility in Early Modern Spain by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book Feminist Theatre Practice: A Handbook by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book European Security in the Twenty-First Century by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book On Obama by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book The Life and Death of Trade Unionism in the USSR, 1917-1928 by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book Towards a Convergence Between Science and Environmental Education by Andy Medhurst
Cover of the book Complexity and Postmodernism by Andy Medhurst
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy