A national joke : popular comedy and English cultural identities /

Medhurst, Andy.

A national joke : popular comedy and English cultural identities / Andy Medhurst. - London ; New York : Routledge, (c)2007. - 1 online resource (xii, 228 pages) : illustrations

Includes bibliographies and index.

Concerning comedy -- Notions of nation -- Englishnesses -- Music hall: Contours and legacies -- Our gracious queens: English comedy's effeminate tradition -- Lads in love: Gender and togetherness in the male double act -- Thirty nibbles at the same cherry: Why the 'Carry Ons' carry on -- Bermuda my arse: Class, culture and 'The Royle Family' -- Anatomising England: Alan Bennett, Mike Leigh, Victoria Wood -- Togetherness through offensiveness: The importance of Roy 'Chubby' Brown -- Conclusion: A national sense of humour?

In 'A National Joke', Andy Medhurst investigates the Englishness of a century of English comedy. Using case studies of comic traditions and representations, the author shows how comedy plays a key role in the construction of cultural identity.



9780203022566


Comedy films--History and criticism.--Great Britain
Television comedies--History and criticism.--Great Britain
English wit and humor--History and criticism.
National characteristics, English.
English.


Electronic Books.

PN1995 / .N385 2007