Andy Medhurst

A National Joke

Popular Comedy and English Cultural Identities

• Gebundenes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

Crammed full of contemporary comedy examples and house-hold names, from the music hall tradition to contemporary sitcoms, Andy Medhurst considers how English comedy reflects national concerns with class, race, gender and sexuality and traces the recurrence of themes and structures. Examining 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, the book argues that comedy plays a pivotal role in the construction of cultural identity. Medhurst presents case studies of comic traditions and representations, and examines key figures in English comic history, including Mike Leigh, Alan Bennett and Victoria Wood. Part history and part polemic, A National Joke is a book that will not only entertain, it will enlighten and inform any student, scholar, or general reader of our national comedy.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Routledge
• Seitenzahl: 240
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. März 2006
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 242mm x 166mm x 19mm
• Gewicht: 490g
• ISBN-13: 9780415168779
• ISBN-10: 0415168775
• Artikelnr.: 22342359

Autorenporträt

Andy Medhurst works in the Department of Media and Film at the University of Sussex. He has been teaching and writing about issues of identity, representation and popular culture since 1982. He is the co-editor of Lesbian and Gay Studies and the author of a forthcoming book on Coronation Street.

Inhaltsangabe

1. Introduction 2. Concerning Comedy 3. Notions of Nation 4. Englishnesses
5. Music Hall: Contours and Legacies 6. Our Gracious Queens: English
Comedy's Effeminate Tradition 7. Lads in Love: Gender and Togetherness in
the Male Double Act 8. Thirty Nibbles at the Same Cherry: Why the 'Carry
Ons' Carry On 9. Bermuda My Arse: Class, Culture and 'The Royle Family' 10.
Anatomising England: Alan Bennett, Mike Leigh, Victoria Wood 11.
Togetherness through Offensiveness: The Importance of Roy 'Chubby' Brown
12. Conclusion: A National Sense of Humour ?

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1. Introduction 2. Concerning Comedy 3. Notions of Nation 4. Englishnesses 5. Music Hall: Contours and Legacies 6. Our Gracious Queens: English Comedy's Effeminate Tradition 7. Lads in Love: Gender and Togetherness in the Male Double Act 8. Thirty Nibbles at the Same Cherry: Why the 'Carry Ons' Carry On 9. Bermuda My Arse: Class, Culture and 'The Royle Family' 10. Anatomising England: Alan Bennett, Mike Leigh, Victoria Wood 11. Togetherness through Offensiveness: The Importance of Roy 'Chubby' Brown 12. Conclusion: A National Sense of Humour ?

Rezensionen

'In A National Joke, Medhurst...uses comedy to pin down that most elusive of things, the English national identity.' The Guardian

'This is an excellent study of a popular comedy that links it into a variety of English cultural identities. Unusually for a book classified as cultural studies, it is clearly written, and by an author who enjoys humour... a splendid account' - The Times Higher Education

'Most of the best scholarly work on comedy in the UK that has appeared during the last 25 years has come from Medhurst... At last there is an engaging but serious study of what makes English comedy both English and funny.' - Critical Studies in Television

'In A National Joke, Medhurst...uses comedy to pin down that most elusive of things, the English national identity.' The Guardian

'This is an excellent study of a popular comedy that links it into a variety of English cultural identities. Unusually for a book classified as cultural studies, it is clearly written, and by an author who enjoys humour... a splendid account' - The Times Higher Education

'Most of the best scholarly work on comedy in the UK that has appeared during the last 25 years has come from Medhurst... At last there is an engaging but serious study of what makes English comedy both English and funny.' - Critical Studies in Television