Situation Comedy, Character, and Psychoanalysis: On the Couch with Lucy, Basil, and Kimmie

218 Pages·2018·2.267 MB·English

by  D.T. Klika

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Situation Comedy, Character,
and Psychoanalysis
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Situation Comedy, Character,
and Psychoanalysis
On the Couch with Lucy, Basil, and Kimmie
D. T. Klika
BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC
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BLOOMSBURY, BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC and the Diana logo
are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published in 2018
Paperback edition fi rst published 2019
Copyright © D. T. Klika, 2018
Figures 5.1 , 5.2 , 5.3 , and 5.4 . are the copyright of and published
with the permission of the artist, Andrew Pomphrey
For legal purposes the Acknowledgments on p. xii constitute
an extension of this copyright page.
Cover design by Louise Dugdale
Cover image © CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images
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For my sons Oscar and Patrick, in their words:
“When no one else was there to hear about Lacanian theory of the Other
in late ’90s single camera sitcoms.”
Th anks for everything .
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Contents
List of Figures i x
Preface x
Acknowledgments xii
Notes on Text and Program Referencing xiii
List of Abbreviations xiv
Introduction: (Re)Reading the Sitcom 1
What is the sitcom? 6
Th e psychology of the character 9
Using psychoanalysis 12
An overview: Finding sitcom’s subversive side 15
1 It Begins with the (Key) Character 19
Narcissism and the comic character 2 1
Th e comic character’s struggle 29
Post-F reud and the comic 3 2
Th e character trapped in the gaze 37
Narcissus and Echo as comic characters 4 0
Th e key character as master of their world? 44
2 Th e Perpetual (Power) Struggle of Sitcom Relationships 47
Fear and behavior 48
Fear and desire 55
Fear and power 64
Th e key character’s struggle for a cohesive “self” 69
3 Echoing the Key Character 93
Th e key character and their echo 94
E cho comic characters 9 6
Group shows: Th e echo that lies within 103
A return to the myth of Narcissus and Echo and its
psychoanalytic roots 110
Echo and Narcissus: Two sides of the psyche? 121
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viii Contents
4 Th e Tension of the (Closed) Narrative 125
Th e key character and the narrative 128
Tension through the “diegetic reality” of the narrative 139
5 Premise, Performance, and the Discursive Frame 149
Tension in the premise 150
Th e key character’s “frame” 154
Conclusion: Sitcom: A (Comic) Site of Struggle 169
Appendix— Th eory in Practice 171
Putting it on the page 171
A.1 To (re)cap: Questions from the chapters 171
A.2 (Re)reading the sitcom 172
A.3 (Re)developing the sitcom 175
Glossary 179
Bibliography 182
Programography 192
Index 197
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Figures
2.1 Fear triggers id impulses in the unconscious, aff ecting behavior 5 0
2.2 Th e key character’s psychical bind triggering degradation 89
4.1 Th e narrative structure of “Writer’s Block” 1 35
4.2 Harmon’s circular narrative 1 37
4.3 Th e closed narrative structure of the sitcom. Copyright D. T. Klika 147
5.1 Laughing at the key/ main character. Copyright Andrew Pomphrey 1 61
5.2 Characters in relation to the frame, enabling comic performance
underscored by the direction of the spectator’s gaze. Copyright
Andrew Pomphrey 1 62
5.3 Lucy attempts to escape the unknown frame. Copyright Andrew
Pomphrey 1 64
5.4 Basil’s dual “frames.” Copyright Andrew Pomphrey 1 66