{"title":"Theory of Comedy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMost people think comedy just happens, that funny is either something you have or you don't. This collection disagrees. It pulls back the curtain on the mechanics, the philosophy, and the cultural weight of what makes us laugh: why it works, who it threatens, and what it reveals about power, pain, and the human condition. From academic deep dives to accessible explorations, these are the books for anyone who has ever wondered why the joke lands, and why sometimes it shouldn't.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"taking-comedy-seriously-stand-ups-dissident-potential-in-mass-culture","title":"Taking Comedy Seriously: Stand-Up's Dissident Potential in Mass Culture","description":"This book contextualizes contemporary stand-up comedy within the wider socio-political terrain of neoliberal capitalism, contributing to a more complex and developed understanding of the relation of jokes and humor to the unconscious mind in its relation to ideology and discourse.","brand":"Jennalee Donian","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50638167212322,"sku":"BS-1UE-587655","price":137.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0953\/1985\/1298\/files\/9781498587655-HD.jpg?v=1764353886"},{"product_id":"comic-relief","title":"Comic Relief","description":"\u003ci\u003eComic Relief: A Comprehensive Philosophy of Humor\u003c\/i\u003e develops an inclusive theory that integrates psychological, aesthetic, and ethical issues relating to humor \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eOffers an enlightening and accessible foray into the serious business of humor\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eReveals how standard theories of humor fail to explain its true nature and actually support traditional prejudices against humor as being antisocial, irrational, and foolish\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eArgues that humor's benefits overlap significantly with those of philosophy\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eIncludes a foreword by Robert Mankoff, Cartoon Editor of \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"John Morreall","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50645838430498,"sku":"BS-1UE-196123","price":54.69,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0953\/1985\/1298\/files\/9781405196123-HD.jpg?v=1764521129"},{"product_id":"monty-python-and-philosophy-nudge-nudge-think-think","title":"Monty Python and Philosophy: Nudge Nudge, Think Think!","description":"From the 1970s cult TV show, \u003ci\u003eMonty Python's Flying Circus, \u003c\/i\u003e to the current hit musical \u003ci\u003eSpamalot, \u003c\/i\u003e the Monty Python comedy troupe has been at the center of popular culture and entertainment. The Pythons John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam are increasingly recognized and honored for their creativity and enduring influence in the worlds of comedy and film. \u003ci\u003eMonty Python and Philosophy\u003c\/i\u003e extends that recognition into the world of philosophy. Fifteen experts in topics like mythology, Buddhism, feminism, logic, ethics, and the philosophy of science bring their expertise to bear on Python movies such as \u003ci\u003eMonty Python's Life of Brian\u003c\/i\u003e and Flying Circus mainstays such as the Argument Clinic, the Dead Parrot Sketch, and, of course, the Bruces, the Pythons' demented, song-filled vision of an Australian philosophy department. \u003ci\u003eMonty Python and Philosophy\u003c\/i\u003e follows the same hit format as the other titles in this popular series and explains all the philosophical concepts discussed in laymen's terms.","brand":"Gary L. Hardcastle","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51437993230626,"sku":"BS-1UE-695939","price":29.69,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0953\/1985\/1298\/files\/9780812695939-HD.jpg?v=1773939880"},{"product_id":"the-cambridge-footlights-a-very-british-comedy-institution","title":"The Cambridge Footlights: A Very British Comedy Institution","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn the league table of the funniest universities in the world, Cambridge wears the crown. Home of Britain's oldest student sketch comedy troupe, the Cambridge Footlights, it has been a veritable conveyor belt of comic talent that's been rolling for more than a century.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom \u003ci\u003eMonty Python\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e The Goodies\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNot the Nine O'Clock News\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003ePeep Show\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eQI \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Great British Bake-Off\u003c\/i\u003e, its alumni are behind many of the shows that have entertained since the 1960s to today. This book tells the story of the Footlights, chronicling its evolution from its creation in the 1880s to the present.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Footlights has long been a potential portal to fame: talent scouts, especially from the BBC, were in the habit of coming up to Cambridge on the lookout for comedy writers and material. This book traces the journeys of its most distinguished alumni, including Germaine Greer, John Cleese, Douglas Adams, Peter Cook, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Miriam Margolyes, Emma Thompson, Richard Ayoade, David Mitchell and Sue Perkins, among many others.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFeaturing interviews with numerous former Footlights alumni, and accounts of routines and revues, it vividly captures the desire of each successive intake to make their comic mark. Through examining the impact of the Footlights on British popular culture and comedy over the last 60 years, it demonstrates how its farces, musical comedies, pantomimes and the famous May Week revues have both reflected the tastes of the times and served as a 'nursery' for generations of comic writers and performers. In the world of comedy, it is a unique institution.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Robert Sellers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51438019051810,"sku":"BS-1UE-412187","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0953\/1985\/1298\/files\/9781350412187-HD.jpg?v=1773940851"},{"product_id":"comedy-seriously-a-philosophical-study","title":"Comedy, Seriously: A Philosophical Study","description":"\u003cp\u003eComedy, Seriously provides a philosophical interpretation of comedy and argues that comedy displays a particular kind of rationality that reflects philosophical thinking. In particular, that comedy is defined not so much by laughter or jokes, but rather the structure of its plot, which is isomorphic with that of the philosophical argument. Comedy allows for the resolution of a conflict and the achievement of well-being and equality through action that follows the comic plot. Moreover, such action is propelled by the 'thinker on stage, ' who, as socially and politically oppressed, contributes to the liberation of all and the achievement of the good life. Comedy, therefore, establishes the universal pattern for justice and well-being and allows us to rethink the notion of subjectivity not as the modern isolated subject, but rather as integrated with others through shared action and dialogical involvement.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"D. 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It examines the theoretical understanding of the different aspects of the humour, aesthetics and politics of stand-up comedy, as well as the exploration of race, gender, politics and conflicts, urban culture and LGBTQ+ identities in countries such as Indonesia, Finland, France, Iran, Italy, Morocco, India and the USA. It also asks the question whether, along with contesting and destabilising existing discursive frameworks and identities, a stand-up comic can open up a space for envisaging a new social, cultural and political order?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book will appeal to people interested in performance studies, media, popular culture, digital culture, sociology, digital sociology and anthropology, and English literature. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 9 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http: \/\/www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons (CC-BY) 4.0 license. 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The tone of the book can be best described as Noam Chomsky and George Carlin had an angry baby, and it was left in the wild to fend for itself. An irreverent and logical approach is taken in deconstructing and examining: ideology, comedy, education, media, economy, and government. Concluding with pragmatic solutions, and an impassioned plea to recognize there is a better way. A return to Common Sense.","brand":"R. a. 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