Standing up, speaking out : stand-up comedy and the rhetoric of social change / edited by Matthew R. Meier and Casey R. Schmitt.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Meier, Matthew R., editor.

Schmitt, Casey R., editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Stand-up comedy--United States.

Stand-up comedy.

Comedy--History and criticism.

Comedy.

English language--United States--Rhetoric.

English language.

United States.

Rhetoric.

English language--Rhetoric.

Genre:

Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Physical Description:

xxxii, 252 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Routledge, 2017.

Summary:

In recent decades, some of the most celebrated and culturally influential American oratorical performances have come not from political leaders or religious visionaries, but from stand-up comics. Even though comedy and satire have been addressed by rhetorical scholarship in recent decades, little attention has been paid to stand-up. This collection is an attempt to further cultivate the growing conversation about stand-up comedy from the perspective of the rhetorical tradition. It brings together literatures from rhetorical, cultural, and humor studies to provide a unique exploration of stand-up comedy that both argues on behalf of the form's capacity for social change and attempts to draw attention to a series of otherwise unrecognized rhetors who have made significant contributions to public culture through comedy. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Stand-Up and Identity 1

1 "Yon Gotta Get Chunky with It!": Margaret Cho's Rhetorical Use of Humor to Communicate Cultural Identity / Lucy Lowrey Lowrey, Lucy, Valerie R. Renegar Renegar, Valerie R. 3

2 If Laughs Could Kill: Eddie Izzard and the Queer Art of Comedy / Christopher J. Gilbert Gilbert, Christopher J. 20

3 "No Damn Mammy, Moms!": Rhetorical Re-invention in the Stand-up Comedy of Jackie "Moms" Mabley / Abbey Morgan Morgan, Abbey 40

Response Laughing at Others: The Rhetoric of Marginalized Comic Identity / Joanne Gilbert Gilbert, Joanne 57

Part II Stand-Up, Race, and Culture 69

4 Rhetoric of Racial Ridicule in an Era of Racial Protest: Don Rickles, the "Equal Opportunity Offender" Strategy, and the Civil Rights Movement / Raúl Pérez Pérez, Raúl 71

5 "Would You Want Your Sister to Marry One of Them?": Whiteness, Stand-Up, and Lenny Bruce / Matthew R. Meier Meier, Matthew R., Chad M. Nelson Nelson, Chad M. 92

6 Teasing the Funny: Native American Stand-Up Comedy in the 21st Century / Amanda Morris Morris, Amanda 111

Response From Insult to Reflection: Stand-Up Comedy and Cultural Pedagogy / Alberto González González, Alberto 125

Part III Stand-Up and Politics 133

7 The Comedic Prince: The Organic Intellectualism of Bill Hicks / Aaron Duncan Duncan, Aaron, Jonathan Carter Carter, Jonathan 135

8 What's the Deal with Liberals?: The Discursive Construction of Partisan Political Identities in Conservative Stand-Up Comedy / Ron Von Burg Burg, Ron Von, Kai Heidemann Heidemann, Kai 152

9 Live from DC, It's "Nerd Prom": Political Humor at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner / Jonathan P. Rossing Rossing, Jonathan P. 168

Response Wise Fools: The Politics of Comedic Audiences / Mary Stuckey Stuckey, Mary 185

Part IV Standing Up, Breaking Rules 193

10 How Can Rape Be Funny?: Comic Persona, Irony, and the Limits of Rape Jokes / Christopher A. Medjesky Medjesky, Christopher A.

11 Louie C.K-'s "Weird Ethic": Kairos and Rhetoric in the Network / James J. Brown, Jr. Brown, James J., Jr. 213

12 Late Night Apologia: A Critical Analysis of David Letterman's On-Air Revelation / Casey K. Schmitt Schmitt, Casey K. 223.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Standing up, speaking out.

ISBN:

9781138100282

1138100285

9781138100299

1138100293

OCLC:

933722982