The time of laughter : comedy and the media cultures of Japan / David Humphrey.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Humphrey, David, author.

Contributor:

Michigan Publishing (University of Michigan), publisher.

Series:

Michigan monograph series in Japanese studies ; no. 101.

Michigan monograph series in Japanese studies ; Number 101

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Television comedies--Social aspects--Japan.

Television comedies.

Japanese drama (Comedy)--History and criticism.

Japanese drama (Comedy).

Mass media--Social aspects--Japan.

Mass media.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 284 pages) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor, Michigan : University of Michigan Press, 2023.

Summary:

From broadcast to social media, comedy plays a prominent role in Japan's cultural landscape and political landscape. The Time of Laughter explores how comedy grew out of the early days of television to become a central force in shaping Japanese media over the past half-century. Comedy and its impact, David Humphrey argues, established a "time of laughter" in the media of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries in Japan. Through masterful interrogation of Japanese televisual archives and media discourse, Humphrey demonstrates that the unique temporality of laughter has had a profound role in the cultural atmosphere of Japan's recent past. Laughter both complemented and absorbed the profound tensions and contradictions that emerged in Japanese television. Joyous and cacophonous, reaffirming and subverting, laughter simultaneously alienated and unified viewers. Through its exploration of the influence of comedy and the culture of laughter, The Time of Laughter presents a vibrant new take on Japan's recent media history.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 271-284) and index.

Description based on information from the publisher.

ISBN:

9780472221134

0472221132

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.