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Since Aristotle, there has been ‘a long history of criticism that has viewed comedy as inferior to other genres in Western culture’ (Horton 1991 : 2). Within the French film industry, the critical denigration of genre cinema, the dominance of a realist aesthetic and the lasting influence of la politique des auteurs (see chapter 1 ) have all contributed to the neglect of comedy. This is in spite
Just as silent film comedy developed in ways which overcame the absence of I speech and other aural effects, radio comedy developed techniques which circumvented the medium’s lack of pictures and which emphasised its own distinctive codes and conventions. Whereas silent film comedians relied on visual comedy, radio comedians and their scriptwriters explored the potential
animation is designed to be comedic. Richard Taylor categorises animation into six distinct types: dramatic, lyrical, didactic, commercial, children’s entertainment and the comic. His concept of ‘comic’ animated films, made ‘primarily to provoke laughter’ includes what many people would regards as cartoons (Taylor 1996 ). Until fairly recently it has been too easy to blame
Comedy, in a variety of guises, has been a staple of television broadcasting from its industrial beginnings and is thus far too broad a topic to treat fully in one chapter. Our focus here will primarily be on the situation comedy, the most clear-cut and, for exactly this reason, the most studied sub-genre of television comedy. Radio, the first broadcast medium (see previous
The TV debut of Vic Reeves Big Night Out on Channel 4 in 1990 is often seen as marking a turning point for British TV Comedy, ushering in what is often characterised as the ‘post-alternative’ era. The 1990s would produce acclaimed series such as Father Ted, The League of Gentlemen and The Fast Show, while the new century would produce such notable shows as The Mighty Boosh, The Office and Psychoville. However, while these shows enjoy the status of ‘cult classics’, comparatively few of them have received scholarly attention. This book is the first sustained critical analysis of the ‘post-alternative’ era, from 1990 to the present day. It examines post-alternative comedy as a form of both ‘Cult’ and ‘Quality’ TV, programmes that mostly target niche audiences and possess a subcultural aura – in the early 90s, comedy was famously declared ‘the new rock’n’roll’. It places these developments within a variety of cultural and institutional contexts and examines a range of comic forms, from sitcom to sketch shows and ‘mock TV’ formats. It includes case studies of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer and the sitcom writer Graham LInehan. It examines developments in sketch shows and the emergence of ‘dark’ and ‘cringe’ comedy, and considers the politics of ‘offence’ during a period in which Brass Eye, ‘Sachsgate’ and Frankie Boyle provoked different kinds of media outrage. Cult British TV Comedy will be of interest to both students and fans of modern TV comedy.
conventions of comedy rather than tragedy through their happy endings: hence, one might also call these miniature dramas divine comedies . The generic contexts associated with drama are further reflected in the form of the sonnet itself. Donne’s Holy Sonnets mostly end happily (or with a positive outlook, e.g. Holy Sonnet ‘Batter my Heart’), either in that the speaker finds grace, a way towards redemption, or in that death is overcome
In 1954 the writer John Montgomery, having just seen Harold Lloyd’s 1923 silent comedy Safety Last at a London cinema repertory club, proclaimed ‘I have never seen anything so funny! The audience was in hysterics throughout’ (Montgomery 1968 : 268). Half a century later, it is difficult to imagine a contemporary audience having the same reaction. Although the work of
In this chapter we focus on the ways film and television comedy have presented gender and sexuality. These subjects cross over in more ways than one. Gender is an issue of difference and difference has continually proved difficult for human cultures to negotiate. Patriarchal culture, that is, society which is structured in order to give the male sex many advantages over the
called it ‘regurgitated drivel and crass cringe-worthy antagonistic rubbish’, while another said that ‘I was appalled by this programme. It was racist, sexist and completely abhorrent’ (Moss 2006 : 6). It was also, of course, a comedy spoof, written by and featuring Paul Whitehouse and Charlie Higson, a parody of the phone-in programmes that have become a regular format within radio broadcasting. The
In chapter 1 we dealt primarily with solo male film comedians and in Chapter 2 we discussed male film comedy teams. ldentifying such star vehicles as a sub-genre of the comedy film, Steve Seidman named it ‘comedian comedy’ ( 1979 , 1981 , 2003 ). Such films, Stuart Kaminsky argues, are about ‘the human struggle to attain a satisfying role in