The Politics and Psychoanalysis of Comedy
- Authors:
- Publisher:
- 2023
Summary
This book looks at the political aspects of comedy and how humor is shaped by unconscious social and psychological factors within a particular cultural and historical context. Updating Freud’s work on jokes, Robert Samuels argues that any universal model of comedy must take into account the role played by distinct genres, which are themselves determined by particular political psychopathologies. In looking at contemporary comedy, we encounter a structure that is often seen throughout the world: in response to what is experienced as a Leftist super-ego censoring thoughts and speech and a Libertarian Right which promotes free speech as the ultimate value. Within this dynamic, comedians seeking to make their audience laugh by poking fun at sensitive and taboo subjects, intentionally and unintentionally, these humorists present an alternative to Left-wing political correctness and identity politics. Contemporary comedians then cannot help but to cater to Right-wing politics since the Right is centered on loudly rejecting the cultural dictations of the Left.
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Bibliographic data
- Copyright year
- 2023
- ISBN-Print
- 978-1-6669-4574-4
- ISBN-Online
- 978-1-6669-4575-1
- Publisher
- Lexington, Lanham
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 182
- Product type
- Book Titles
Table of contents
- Contents No access
- Introduction No access Pages 1 - 8
- Libertarian Comedy No access Pages 9 - 28
- The Office and the Political Humor of Centrist Narcissists No access Pages 29 - 54
- The Hidden Conservative No access Pages 55 - 78
- Curb Your Liberalism No access Pages 79 - 98
- The Limits of Left-Wing Humor No access Pages 99 - 126
- Don’t Look Up No access Pages 127 - 148
- Bibliography No access Pages 149 - 174
- Index No access Pages 175 - 180
- About the Author No access Pages 181 - 182





