All joking aside : American humor and its discontents PDF
Preview All joking aside : American humor and its discontents
All Joking Aside This page intentionally left blank All Joking Aside American Humor and Its Discontents RebeccA KRefting Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore © 2014 Johns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved. Published 2014 Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 north charles Street baltimore, Mary land 21218- 4363 www .press .jhu .edu Library of congress cataloging- in- Publication Data Krefting, Rebecca, 1978- All joking aside : American humor and its discontents / Rebecca Krefting. pages cm includes bibliographical references and index. iSbn- 13: 978- 1- 4214- 1429- 4 (hardcover : alk. paper) iSbn- 13: 978- 1- 4214- 1430- 0 (pbk. : alk. paper) iSbn- 13: 978- 1- 4214- 1431- 7 (electronic) iSbn- 10: 1- 4214- 1429- 5 (hardcover : alk. paper) iSbn- 10: 1- 4214- 1430- 9 (pbk. : alk. paper) iSbn- 10: 1- 4214- 1431- 7 (electronic) 1. Stand- up comedy— United States. 2. comedy— History and criticism. 3. Participatory theater. i. title. Pn1969.c65.K74 2014 792.7'60973—dc23 2013045490 A cata log record for this book is available from the british Library. Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information, please contact Special Sales at 410- 516- 6936 or [email protected]. Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials, including recycled text paper that is composed of at least 30 percent post- consumer waste, whenever possible. To all the comics that do This page intentionally left blank Contents Ack nowl edgm ents ix introduction. the Laughscape of American Humor 1 1 Making connections: Building Cultural Citizenship through Charged Humor 16 2 twentieth- century Stand- Up: A History of Charged Humor 36 3 Laughing into the new Millennium 67 4 When Women Perform charged Humor: The (Gendered) Politics of Consumption 106 5 Robin tyler: Still “Working the Crowd” 137 6 Micia Mosely: Humor out of the Mouths of Babes 169 7 Hari Kondabolu: Performing in the Age of Modern- Day Minstrelsy 196 conclusion. How to Avoid the Last Laugh 231 Notes 245 Charged Comic Compendium 269 Index 337 This page intentionally left blank ACk nowl edgm ents thanks to the comics and folks in the industry who graciously volunteered hours of their time, enduring interviews, e-mails, and phone calls for years. Spe- cial thanks to the comics serving as case studies: Micia Mosely, Robin tyler, and Hari Kondabolu. You have been exceedingly patient over the past several years as i continued to pepper you with follow- up questions and revisions. A good manuscript only becomes an excellent one under the watchful eyes of a phenomenal editor. i was more than lucky to have landed in the competent hands of Robert J. brugger, se nior editor at Johns Hopkins University Press. Among many other things, you gave me much- needed encouragement and explication throughout the pro cess, not to mention a kick- ass title. this pro- cess was made smoother with the assistance of Melissa Solarz, part acquisitions assistant and part magician, who kindly guided me through the valley of the shadow of death. An additional note of thanks goes out to Dr. Helen Myers— fearless copyeditor and kind supporter of the manuscript in its latter stages. Mary corbin Sies, my dissertation chair, friend, and adviser, your incisive feedback and comments throughout this pro cess have been invaluable. given your focus on material culture and candid admission that you are seldom amused, we were certainly an unlikely pair. thank you for taking a chance on me. My dissertation committee members at the University of Mary land, college Park (UMcP), all informed and shaped this project and pro cess in important ways. thank you to nancy Struna, Ronit eisenbach, Martha nell Smith, Jeffrey Mccune, and faedra carpenter. there w ere many dedicated readers who com- mented on my work throughout the pro cess and without whom this pro cess may have been untenable: Amelia Wong, Mark Sgambattera, Jill Dolan, Laurie frederick Meer, Marcus Krefting, erin Meyers, nitin Sawhney, beau breslin, greg Pfitzer, Dan nathan, tillman nechtman, and Marla Melito. Students enrolled in courses i have taught on humor at UMcP and Skidmore college have undoubtedly prodded me to think about these ideas in new and valuable ways. Allison Otto, Rebecca Stern, Veronica Monroe, and Jung- Hee Schwartz
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