- 469 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
Susan Koppelman Award Winner: "A juicy read for those who love the many ways female comics use their art to question the patriarchy." ā
Bust
Amy Schumer, Samantha Bee, Mindy Kaling, Melissa McCarthy, Tig Notaro, Leslie Jones, and a host of hilarious peers are killing it nightly on American stages and screens, smashing the tired stereotype that women aren't funny. But today's funny women didn't come out of nowhere. Fay Tincher's daredevil stunts, Mae West's linebacker walk, Lucille Ball's manic slapstick, Carol Burnett's athletic pratfalls, Ellen DeGeneres's tomboy pranks, Whoopi Goldberg's sly twinkle, and Tina Fey's acerbic wit all paved the way for contemporary unruly women, whose comedy upends the norms and ideals of women's bodies and behaviors.
Hysterical! Women in American Comedy delivers a lively survey of women comics from the stars of the silent cinema up through the multimedia presences of Tina Fey and Lena Dunham. This anthology of original essays includes contributions by the field's leading authorities, introducing a new framework for women's comedy that analyzes the implications of hysterical laughter and hysterically funny performances. Expanding on previous studies of comedians such as Mae West, Moms Mabley, and Margaret Cho, and offering the first scholarly work on comedy pioneers Mabel Normand, Fay Tincher, and Carol Burnett, the contributors explore such topics as racial/ethnic/sexual identity, celebrity, stardom, censorship, auteurism, cuteness, and postfeminism across multiple media. Situated within the main currents of gender and queer studies, as well as American studies and feminist media scholarship,Ā Hysterical!Ā masterfully demonstrates that hysteriaāwomen acting out and acting upāis a provocative, empowering model for women's comedy.
"An invaluable collection and a great read." ? Journal of Popular Culture
Winner of a Susan Koppelman Award for Best Anthology, Multi-Authored, or Edited Book in Feminist Studies, Popular and American Culture Associations (PACA), 2017
Amy Schumer, Samantha Bee, Mindy Kaling, Melissa McCarthy, Tig Notaro, Leslie Jones, and a host of hilarious peers are killing it nightly on American stages and screens, smashing the tired stereotype that women aren't funny. But today's funny women didn't come out of nowhere. Fay Tincher's daredevil stunts, Mae West's linebacker walk, Lucille Ball's manic slapstick, Carol Burnett's athletic pratfalls, Ellen DeGeneres's tomboy pranks, Whoopi Goldberg's sly twinkle, and Tina Fey's acerbic wit all paved the way for contemporary unruly women, whose comedy upends the norms and ideals of women's bodies and behaviors.
Hysterical! Women in American Comedy delivers a lively survey of women comics from the stars of the silent cinema up through the multimedia presences of Tina Fey and Lena Dunham. This anthology of original essays includes contributions by the field's leading authorities, introducing a new framework for women's comedy that analyzes the implications of hysterical laughter and hysterically funny performances. Expanding on previous studies of comedians such as Mae West, Moms Mabley, and Margaret Cho, and offering the first scholarly work on comedy pioneers Mabel Normand, Fay Tincher, and Carol Burnett, the contributors explore such topics as racial/ethnic/sexual identity, celebrity, stardom, censorship, auteurism, cuteness, and postfeminism across multiple media. Situated within the main currents of gender and queer studies, as well as American studies and feminist media scholarship,Ā Hysterical!Ā masterfully demonstrates that hysteriaāwomen acting out and acting upāis a provocative, empowering model for women's comedy.
"An invaluable collection and a great read." ? Journal of Popular Culture
Winner of a Susan Koppelman Award for Best Anthology, Multi-Authored, or Edited Book in Feminist Studies, Popular and American Culture Associations (PACA), 2017
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Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Hysterical! by Linda Mizejewski in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Media & Performing Arts & Television. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1. Mabel Normand: New Woman in the Flapper Age
- 2. Fay Tincher: Female Rowdiness and Social Change
- 3. Mae West: The Constant Sinner
- 4. Fanny Briceās New Nose: Beauty, Ethnicity, and Liminality
- 5. Lucille Ball and the Lucy Character: Familiarity, Female Friendship, and the Anxiety of Competence
- 6. Carol Burnett: Home, Horror, and Hilarity on The Carol Burnett Show
- 7. Lily Tomlin: Queer Sensibilities, Funny Feminism, and Multimedia Stardom
- 8. Moms Mabley and Wanda Sykes: āIāma Be Meā
- 9. Roseanne Barr: Remembering Roseanne
- 10. Whoopi Goldberg in Hollywood: Queering Comic Genre Genealogies
- 11. Margaret Choās Army: āWe Are the Baddest Motherfuckers on the Blockā
- 12. Ellen DeGeneresās Incorporate Body: The Politics of Authenticity
- 13. Sarah Silverman: Cuteness as Subversion
- 14. Tina Fey: āQualityā Comedy and the Body of the Female Comedy Author
- 15. Lena Dunham: Cringe Comedy and Body Politics
- Works Cited
- Contributors
- Index