What do Jon Stewart, Freddy Krueger, Patch Adams, and George W. Bush have in common? As Paul Lewis shows in Cracking Up , they are all among the ranks of joke tellers who aim to do much more than simply amuse. Exploring topics that range from the sadistic mockery of Abu Ghraib prison guards to New Age platitudes about the healing power of laughter, from jokes used to ridicule the possibility of global climate change to the heartwarming performances of hospital clowns, Lewis demonstrates that over the past thirty years ...
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What do Jon Stewart, Freddy Krueger, Patch Adams, and George W. Bush have in common? As Paul Lewis shows in Cracking Up , they are all among the ranks of joke tellers who aim to do much more than simply amuse. Exploring topics that range from the sadistic mockery of Abu Ghraib prison guards to New Age platitudes about the healing power of laughter, from jokes used to ridicule the possibility of global climate change to the heartwarming performances of hospital clowns, Lewis demonstrates that over the past thirty years American humor has become increasingly purposeful and embattled. Navigating this contentious world of controversial, manipulative, and disturbing laughter, Cracking Up argues that the good news about American humor in our time--that it is delightful, relaxing, and distracting--is also the bad news. In a culture that both enjoys and quarrels about jokes, humor expresses our most nurturing and hurtful impulses, informs and misinforms us, and exposes as well as covers up the shortcomings of our leaders. Wondering what's so funny about a culture determined to laugh at problems it prefers not to face, Lewis reveals connections between such seemingly unrelated jokers as Norman Cousins, Hannibal Lecter, Rush Limbaugh, Garry Trudeau, Jay Leno, Ronald Reagan, Beavis and Butt-Head, and Bill Clinton. The result is a surprising, alarming, and at times hilarious argument that will appeal to anyone interested in the ways humor is changing our cultural and political landscapes.
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Good. Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.
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Very good in very good dust jacket. Ex-library. Sewn binding. Paper over boards. With dust jacket. 240 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. LCCN 2006005612 Type of material Book Personal name Lewis, Paul, 1949-Main title Cracking up: American humor in a time of conflict / Paul Lewis. Published/Created Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006. Description 240 p. : ill.; 24 cm. ISBN 0226476995 (cloth: alk. paper) 9780226476995 LC classification PS438. L49 2006 LC Subjects American wit and humor--History and criticism. United States--Civilization--1970-Notes Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-226) and index. Dewey class no. 817/.509 Geographic area code n-us---National bib no. GBA673035 National bib agency no. 013537943 Other system no. (OCoLC)ocm64442759
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Paul Lewis has written a scholarly study of humor and its use by setting up a dichotomy of killing joke vs. healing laughter. The former being the use of individuals or groups as the butt of the joke, (often in the form of name-calling) the latter essentially gags to get laughter. The author notes campaign humor has a tendency to promote group thinking and relax logical thought making its contribution to democratic process mixed at best, unfortunate at worst. He advises that since marginal influences can be important in close elections and other decision-making processes every one should pay attention to how it is meant to affect them. Whether or not people want to quibble about words having an effect; it is interesting that while Jay Leno joked about National No Name-Calling Week by asking what stupid dork came up with the idea, results from 2004 bullying surveys in schools indicated students reported a significant decrease in the amount of bullying and harassment in school after taking part in the first No Name-Calling Week and its activities.
