Abstract
In 2011, leading comedy scholars singled-out two shortcomings in stand-up comedy research. The first shortcoming suggests a theoretical void: that although “a number of different disciplines take comedy as their subject matter, the opportunities afforded to the inter-disciplinary study of comedy are rarely, if ever, capitalized on.”¹ The second indicates a methodological void: there is a “lack of literature on ‘how’ to analyse stand-up comedy.”² This research project examines the relationship between political consciousness and satirical humour in stand-up comedy and attempts to redress these two shortcomings. It offers a new theoretical model and a new set of longitudinal data: the political content of American stand-up comedy over the course of the decade from 1990-1999. It capitalizes on the interdisciplinary study of comedy, which scholars describe as a “huge cultural phenomenon,”3 by offering a plausible context for the manifestation of satirical stand-up comedy content. The development of the context proceeds in logical steps integrating insights from five realms of inquiry – language science, political economy, propaganda studies, mass media effects and humour theory – into a consistent theoretical framework. The interdisciplinary effort offers a new method to analyse stand-up comedy, captured by the symbolic formula SC2={OGB,CERP}, whereby the satirical content of stand-up comedy (SC2) manifests itself in the association of two sets of statements: operative group beliefs (OGBs) and contrary empirical rational propositions (CERPs). As a whole, this research project falls within the conflict theory tradition of sociological research.¹ It argues that structurally, the aggregate demand for stand-up satire is stimulated by the dominion exerted by mass media over mass opinions. Given that elite “control of society, while certainly manifest in material modes of production, is culturally embedded and naturalized in the minds of the people via its hegemony over discourse,”² the content of stand-up satire cannot be properly examined unless the political economic repercussions of mass communication are taken into account. Mass propaganda and satire are inextricably entwined. This dissertation hypothesizes that the former fuels the general uncritical consensus while the latter acts as the artillery of critique. 1 Lockyer et al., 2011:99. 2 1 Klaehn et al., 2010:10. 2 Theobald, 2006:26. iv
Highlights
As a whole, this research project falls within the conflict theory tradition of sociological research.1 It argues that structurally, the aggregate demand for stand-up satire is stimulated by the dominion exerted by mass media over mass opinions
What exactly are those values? And which institutions are the most substantial distributers of the contemporary political economic ideology? If the argument about the ruling political economic ideology of our times is supported by the evidence presented so far, it is possible to agree with Noam Chomsky when he argues that if we take a birds-eye view of contemporary human affairs, and the so-called structure of life, individuals for the most part form their opinions under influence of broadcasted efforts at communication, which, by their very design, endorse a particular ideology: the people in the PR industry aren’t there for the fun of it, they’re doing work, they’re trying to instil the right values
Following the principle of the preservation of power advantage,1 those who benefit from the uniforming tendencies of mass society, industries that are compelled by economic imperatives to continuously sell the same products or variations of the same products, to a mass of consumers “integrated from above,” as Adorno put it, will wish to see those tendencies maintained
Summary
This research project falls within the conflict theory tradition of sociological research. It argues that structurally, the aggregate demand for stand-up satire is stimulated by the dominion exerted by mass media over mass opinions. This research project falls within the conflict theory tradition of sociological research.. This research project falls within the conflict theory tradition of sociological research.1 It argues that structurally, the aggregate demand for stand-up satire is stimulated by the dominion exerted by mass media over mass opinions. Given that elite “control of society, while certainly manifest in material modes of production, is culturally embedded and naturalized in the minds of the people via its hegemony over discourse,” the content of stand-up satire cannot be properly examined unless the political economic repercussions of mass communication are taken into account. Mass propaganda and satire are inextricably entwined. This dissertation hypothesizes that the former fuels the general uncritical consensus while the latter acts as the artillery of critique
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