Abstract
Sarah Silverman, one of the most polarizing and popular comedians performing today, gained notoriety with the release of the 2005 standup comedy movie Jesus is Magic. Through her discussion of sensitive social issues such as 9/11, the Holocaust, and AIDS, Silverman has developed a distinct onstage ironic persona of ignorance and innocence that juxtaposes with her controversial, humorous content. This stark contrast of delivery and content highlights a unique iteration of Kenneth Burke's concept of perspective by incongruity, originally conceptualized as only “verbal atom cracking.” Silverman's use of performance to “crack” ideas extends Burke's original notion in a new way. Throughout her ironic performance, Silverman comically and subversively discusses white privilege, post-feminism, and the trivialization of serious events as a means of highlighting questionable behaviors and attitudes. We argue that Silverman creates social and rhetorical significance through the implementation of perspective by incongruity via an ironic persona that enables her audience to adopt a comic perspective on important cultural issues.
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