Cracking up : black feminist comedy in the twentieth and twenty-first century United States / Katelyn Hale Wood.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wood, Katelyn Hale, 1975- author.

Series:

Studies Theatre Hist and Culture

Studies in theater history and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African American wit and humor.

African American women comedians.

Feminism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Iowa City : University of Iowa Press, [2021]

Summary:

"Cracking Up archives and analyzes Black feminist stand-up comedy in the United States over the past sixty years. Looking closely at the work of Jackie "Moms" Mabley, Mo'Nique, Wanda Sykes, Sasheer Zamata, Sam Jay, Phoebe Robinson, Jessica Williams, and Michelle Buteau, this book shows how Black feminist comedy and the laughter it ignites are vital components of feminist, queer, and anti-racist protest. Cracking Up frames theatre and live performance as an important platform from which to examine citizenship in the United States, articulate Black feminist political thought, and subvert structures of power. Author Katelyn Hale Wood interprets these artists not as tokens in their white/male dominated field, but as part of a continuous history of Black feminist performance and presence in the United States. Broadly, the book also champions comedic performance and theatre history as imperative contexts for advancing historical studies of race, gender, and sexuality. From the comedy routines popular on Black vaudeville circuits to stand-up on contemporary social media platforms, Cracking Up excavates an overlooked history of Black women who made the art of joke-telling a key part of radical performance and political engagement"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Laughter in the Archives: Jackie "Moms" Mabley

I Love You Bitches Back: Spect-Actors and Affective Freedom in I Coulda Been Your Cellmate!

The Black Queer Citizenship of Wanda Sykes

Contemporary Truth-Tellers: A New Cohort of Black Feminist Comics

Conclusion.

Notes:

Based on the author's dissertation (doctoral)--University of Texas, 2014.

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781609387730

1609387732

OCLC:

1200038066