Satire TV

Satire TV PDF Author: Jonathan Gray
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814731996
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
This work examines what happens when comedy becomes political, and politics become funny. A series of original essays focus on a range of programmes, from 'The Daily Show' to 'South Park'.

Satire TV

Satire TV PDF Author: Jonathan Gray
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814731996
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
This work examines what happens when comedy becomes political, and politics become funny. A series of original essays focus on a range of programmes, from 'The Daily Show' to 'South Park'.

Politics and the American Television Comedy

Politics and the American Television Comedy PDF Author: Doyle Greene
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476608296
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
This work examines the unique and ever-changing relationship between politics and comedy through an analysis of several popular American television programs. Focusing on close readings of the work of Ernie Kovacs, Soupy Sales, and Andy Kaufman, as well as Green Acres and The Gong Show, the author provides a unique glimpse at the often subversive nature of avant-garde television comedy. The crisis in American television during the political unrest of the late 1960s is also studied, as represented by individual analyses of The Monkees, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, and All in the Family. The author also focuses on more contemporary American television, drawing a comparative analysis between the referential postmodernism of The Simpsons and the confrontational absurdity of South Park.

Beyond Sitcom

Beyond Sitcom PDF Author: Antonio Savorelli
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786458437
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 219

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Book Description
This book explores the mechanisms that have driven the evolution of televisual comedy from the classic sitcom, a genre deeply rooted in its theatrical origins, toward a more mature stage of television's history. It analyzes four comic series--Scrubs, The Office, The Comeback, and Ugly Betty--revealing how each separates itself from the traditional sitcom archetype and shows increased awareness of the comic genre. Throughout the author focuses on two cardinal themes: the relationship between comedy and euphoria; and the relationship between comic texts and reality.

Parody and Taste in Postwar American Television Culture

Parody and Taste in Postwar American Television Culture PDF Author: Ethan Thompson
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136839801
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 181

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Book Description
In this original study, Thompson explores the complicated relationships between Americans and television during the 1950s, as seen and effected through popular humor. Parody and Taste in Postwar American Television Culture documents how Americans grew accustomed to understanding politics, current events, and popular culture through comedy that is simultaneously critical, commercial, and funny. Along with the rapid growth of television in the 1950s, an explosion of satire and parody took place across a wide field of American culture—in magazines, comic books, film, comedy albums, and on television itself. Taken together, these case studies don’t just analyze and theorize the production and consumption of parody and television, but force us to revisit and revise our notions of postwar "consensus" culture as well.

Saturday Night Live & American TV

Saturday Night Live & American TV PDF Author: Nick Marx
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 025301090X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
Thought-provoking and “undeniably interesting” essays on this cultural institution of comedy and what it says about our society (Booklist). Since 1975, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” has greeted late night–TV viewers looking for the best in sketch comedy and popular music. SNL is the variety show that launched the careers of countless comedians, including Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Chris Farley, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Adam Sandler. Week after week, SNL has produced everything from unforgettable parodies to provocative political satire—adapting to changing times decade after decade while staying true to its original vision of performing timely topical humor. With essays that address issues ranging from race and gender to authorship and comedic performance, Saturday Night Live and American TV follows the history of this iconic show, and its place in the shifting social and media landscape of American television.

Sketch Comedy

Sketch Comedy PDF Author: Nick Marx
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253044278
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 175

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Book Description
A history of sketch comedy on American television and analysis of what it says about American culture and society. In Sketch Comedy: Identity, Reflexivity, and American Television, Nick Marx examines some of the genre’s most memorable?and controversial?moments from the early days of television to the contemporary line-up. Through explorations of sketches from well-known shows such as Saturday Night Live, The State, Inside Amy Schumer, Key & Peele, and more, Marx argues that the genre has served as a battleground for the struggle between comedians who are pushing the limits of what is possible on television and network executives who are more mindful of the financial bottom line. Whether creating new catchphrases or transgressing cultural taboos, sketch comedies give voice to marginalized performers and audiences, providing comedians and viewers opportunities to test their own ideas about their place in society, while simultaneously echoing mainstream cultural trends. The result, Marx suggests, is a hilarious and flexible form of identity play unlike anything else in American popular culture and media. “An excellent study of a long-neglected area in television/media studies and is part of a larger turn toward the centrality of comedy in post-war U.S. culture.” —Jeffrey Sconce, Northwestern University “A stalwart of television . . . sketch comedy finally gets the in-depth critical attention it deserves . . . Marx shows how sketch comedy has fit (and been constrained by) TV’s industrial contexts, from live variety shows in its earliest days to movement across media in the era of multiple platforms. These case studies not only chart sketch comedy’s past, they provide the theoretical and analytical tools to consider its future.” —Ethan Thompson, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi

Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live PDF Author: Arie Kaplan
Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books
ISBN: 1467747955
Category : Young Adult Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 68

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Book Description
In 1975 Saturday Night Live came out of the gate swinging, with a daring, bold, and rebellious vibe that was new to television back then. With a cast of comedic actors known as the Not Ready for Prime Time Players, television producer Lorne Michaels launched a style of live television comedy that appealed specifically to young viewers with a taste for questioning authority—and that style stood the test of time. From hilarious characters—the Conehead family, Wayne Campbell, the Spartan cheerleaders, the Target Lady, and Stefon—to impressions of US presidents and politicians performed with spot-on precision, the late-night comedy show has shaped American comedy for four decades. With millions of loyal fans across a wide range of viewership demographics, Saturday Night Live has made a significant impact on American culture. It introduced catchphrases such as "Well, isn’t that special?" and "More cowbell!" It influenced public opinion through satirical political sketches and news commentary. It provided rich material for box office hits such as The Blues Brothers and Wayne’s World. It created megastars out of dozens of comedians. And in the process, the show earned an impressive roster of accolades including thirty-six Primetime Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and three Writers Guild of America Awards. It's been ranked as one of the greatest shows of all time and has been inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Discover how the SNL brand of raucous humor has stayed meaningful and fresh over the years and continues to draw audiences today.

Sitcommentary

Sitcommentary PDF Author: Mark A. Robinson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538114208
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 237

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Book Description
From I Love Lucy to Black-ish, sitcoms have often paved the way for social change. Television comedy has long been on the frontline in how America evolves on social issues. There is something about comedy that makes difficult issues more palatable—with humor an effective device for presenting ideas that lead to social change. From I Love Lucy which introduced the first television pregnancy to Will & Grace, which normalized gay characters, the situation comedy has challenged the public to revisit social mores and reshape how we think about the world in which we live. In Sitcommentary: Television Comedies That Changed America, Mark A. Robinson looks at more than three dozen programs that have tackled social issues, from the 1940s to the present. The author examines shows that frequently addressed hot-button topics throughout their runs—such as All in the Family, Maude, and Black-ish—as well as programs with special episodes that grappled with a societal concern like ageism, class, gender, race, or sexual orientation. Among the important sitcoms discussed in this volume are such beloved shows as The Brady Bunch, A Different World, The Facts of Life, The Golden Girls, Good Times, The Jeffersons, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H, Modern Family, Murphy Brown, One Day at a Time, Roseanne, and Soap. Each has broken down barriers and facilitated discussion, debate, and social evolution in America. Arranged in chronological order, these TV shows have influenced the masses by tackling tough topics or shining a spotlight on taboo subjects. With discussions of some of the most popular shows of all time, Sitcommentary will appeal to fans of these shows as well as anyone interested in the cultural history of America and American television.

African American Viewers and the Black Situation Comedy

African American Viewers and the Black Situation Comedy PDF Author: Robin R. Means Coleman
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 9780815331254
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Book Description
Providing new insight into key debates over race and representation in the media, this ethnographic study explores the ways in which African Americans have been depicted in Black situation comedies-from 1950's Beulah to contemporary series like Martin and Living Single.

News That Matters

News That Matters PDF Author: Shanto Iyengar
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226388603
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
Almost twenty-five years ago, Shanto Iyengar and Donald R. Kinder first documented a series of sophisticated and innovative experiments that unobtrusively altered the order and emphasis of news stories in selected television broadcasts. Their resulting book News That Matters, now hailed as a classic by scholars of political science and public opinion alike, is here updated for the twenty-first century, with a new preface and epilogue by the authors. Backed by careful analysis of public opinion surveys, the authors show how, despite changing American politics, those issues that receive extended coverage in the national news become more important to viewers, while those that are ignored lose credibility. Moreover, those issues that are prominent in the news stream continue to loom more heavily as criteria for evaluating the president and for choosing between political candidates. “News That Matters does matter, because it demonstrates conclusively that television newscasts powerfully affect opinion. . . . All that follows, whether it supports, modifies, or challenges their conclusions, will have to begin here.”—The Public Interest