A Companion to Film Comedy

Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Inc.

A Companion to Film Comedy

Editor(s): Andrew Horton, Joanna E. Rapf

Published Online: 22 OCT 2012 05:17AM EST

Print ISBN: 9781444338591

Online ISBN: 9781118327821

DOI: 10.1002/9781118327821

About this Book

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About The Product

A wide-ranging survey of the subject that celebrates the variety and complexity of film comedy from the 'silent' days to the present, this authoritative guide offers an international perspective on the popular genre that explores all facets of its formative social, cultural and political context

  • A wide-ranging collection of 24 essays exploring film comedy from the silent era to the present
  • International in scope, the collection embraces not just American cinema, including Native American and African American, but also comic films from Europe, the Middle East, and Korea
  • Essays explore sub-genres, performers, and cultural perspectives such as gender, politics, and history in addition to individual works
  • Engages with different strands of comedy including slapstick, romantic, satirical and ironic
  • Features original entries from a diverse group of multidisciplinary international contributors

Table of contents

    1. You have free access to this content
      Front Matter (pages i–xii)

    1. Comic Introduction (pages 1–11)

      Andrew Horton and Joanna E. Rapf

  3. Part I: Comedy Before Sound, and the Slapstick Tradition

    1. Chapter 1

      The Mark of the Ridiculous and Silent Celluloid (pages 13–38)

      Frank Scheide

    2. Chapter 2

      Pie Queens and Virtuous Vamps (pages 39–60)

      Kristen Anderson Wagner

    3. Chapter 3

      “Sound Came Along and Out Went the Pies” (pages 61–84)

      Rob King

  4. Part II: Comic Performers in the Sound Era

    1. Chapter 4

      Mutinies Wednesdays and Saturdays (pages 85–110)

      Frank Krutnik

    2. Chapter 5

      Jacques Tati and Comedic Performance (pages 111–129)

      Kevin W. Sweeney

    3. Chapter 6

      Woody Allen (pages 130–150)

      David R. Shumway

    4. Chapter 7

      Mel Brooks, Vulgar Modernism, and Comic Remediation (pages 151–171)

      Henry Jenkins

  5. Part III: New Perspectives on Romantic Comedy and Masculinity

    1. Chapter 8

      Humor and Erotic Utopia (pages 173–195)

      Celestino Deleyto

    2. Chapter 9

      Taking Romantic Comedy Seriously in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Before Sunset (2004) (pages 196–216)

      Leger Grindon

    3. Chapter 10

      The View from the Man Cave (pages 217–235)

      Tamar Jeffers McDonald

    4. Chapter 11

      The Reproduction of Mothering (pages 236–247)

      Lucy Fischer

  6. Part IV: Topical Comedy, Irony, and Humour Noir

    1. Chapter 12

      It's Good to be the King (pages 249–272)

      Charles Morrow

    2. Chapter 13

      No Escaping the Depression (pages 273–292)

      William Paul

    3. Chapter 14

      The Totalitarian Comedy of Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be (pages 293–314)

      Maria Dibattista

    4. Chapter 15

      Dark Comedy from Dr. Strangelove to the Dude (pages 315–339)

      Mark Eaton

  7. Part V: Comic Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity

    1. Chapter 16

      Black Film Comedy as Vital Edge (pages 341–364)

      Catherine A. John

    2. Chapter 17

      Winking Like a One-Eyed Ford (pages 365–386)

      Joshua B. Nelson

    3. Chapter 18

      Ethnic Humor in American Film: The Greek Americans (pages 387–406)

      Dan Georgakas

  8. Part VI: International Comedy

    1. Chapter 19

      Alexander Mackendrick (pages 407–431)

      Claire Mortimer

    2. Chapter 20

      Tragicomic Transformations (pages 432–453)

      Jane Park

    3. Chapter 21

      Comedy “Italian Style” and I soliti ignoti (Big Deal on Madonna Street, 1958) (pages 454–473)

      Roberta Di Carmine

    4. Chapter 22

      “Laughter that Encounters a Void” (pages 474–493)

      Najat Rahman

  9. Part VII: Comic Animation

    1. Chapter 23

      Laughter is Ten Times More Powerful than a Scream (pages 495–520)

      Paul Wells

    2. Chapter 24

      Theatrical Cartoon Comedy (pages 521–543)

      Suzanne Buchan

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      Index (pages 545–571)

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