An Anatomy of Humor: Arthur Asa Berger

ISBN-13: 9780765804945 / Angielski / Miękka / 1999 / 211 str.

Arthur Asa Berger

Opis

Humor permeates every aspect of society and has done so for thousands of years. People experience it daily through television, newspapers, literature, and contact with others. Rarely do social researchers analyze humor or try to determine what makes it such a dominating force in our lives. The types of jokes a person enjoys contribute significantly to the definition of that person as well as to the character of a given society. Arthur Asa Berger explores these and other related topics in An Anatomy of Humor. He shows how humor can range from the simple pun to complex plots in Elizabethan plays.Berger examines a number of topics-ethnicity, race, gender, politics-each with its own comic dimension. Laughter is beneficial to both our physical and mental health, according to Berger. He discerns a multiplicity of ironies that are intrinsic to the analysis of humor. He discovers as much complexity and ambiguity in a cartoon, such as Mickey Mouse, as he finds in an important piece of literature, such as Huckleberry Finn. An Anatomy of Humor is an intriguing and enjoyable read for people interested in humor and the impact of popular and mass culture on society. It will also be of interest to professionals in communication and psychologists concerned with the creative process.

Spis treści

1: Theoretical Concerns; 1: A Glossary of the Techniques of Humor: Morphology of the Joke-Tale; 2: Anatomy of a Joke; 2: Applications; 3: The Telephone Pole with the Braided Armpits: Ethnic and Racial Jokes and American Society; 4: “On Me You Can’t Count”: An Interpretation of a Jewish Joke with Relevance to the Jewish Question; 5: Jewish Fools; 6: Mickey Mouse and Krazy Kat: Of Mice and Men; 7: Comics and Popular Culture; 8: Mark Russell in Buffalo; 9: A Cool Million; 10: Twelfth Night; 11: Huckleberry Finn as a Novel of the Absurd; 12: Healing with Humor; 13: Comedy and Creation

O autorze

Arthur Asa Berger