Death by Laughter : Female Hysteria and Early Cinema / Maggie Hennefeld.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hennefeld, Maggie, 1984- author.

Series:

Film and culture.

Film and Culture Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Laughter in motion pictures.

Hysteria in motion pictures.

Women in motion pictures.

Comedy films--United States--History and criticism.

Comedy films.

Motion pictures--United States--History--20th century.

Motion pictures.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (369 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [2024]

Summary:

Maggie Hennefeld reveals the forgotten histories of "hysterical laughter," exploring how women's amusement has been theorized and demonized, suppressed and exploited.

Contents:

Intro

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part 1: Death by Laughter

1. Hysterical Laughter on the Brink of Enjoyment

2. Female Death by Laughter (Beyond Enjoyment)

3. An All Too Brief History of Laughter and Death

Part 2: Female Hysteria

4. Gaslighting the Libido: Feminist Politics of Madness, Laughter, and Power

5. Laughter: The Forgotten Symptom

6. Mass Hysteria, Collective Laughter, and Affective Contagion

Part 3: Early Cinema

7. Laughter Unleashed: Hysterical Women at the Movies

8. The Visual Cure? Moving Pictures as Neurotic Trigger and Therapeutic Instrument

9. From Mouth to Screen: Laughing Heads in the History of Film

Conclusion: Laughter, Hysteria, Power-Then and Now

Notes

Index.

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780231559812

023155981X

OCLC:

1422231168