Dramaturgy, humor, and criticism: How Goffman reveals Seinfeld's critique of American culture

Abstract

Both Goffman's dramaturgical paradigm and the humor of the television program

A Mother's Value Lies in Her Sexuality:The Simpsons,Family Guy, andSouth Parkand the Preservation of Traditional Sex Roles

“…The episodes discussed were then selected based on their extensive discussions of motherhood or because they circulate in online forums, wikis, blogs, and in academic literature as examples of these characters' sexuality and/or status as mothers. This echoes other studies in the interactionist study of mass media that demonstrate how symbolic discourses are carried out in mediated form (e.g., Bonsu ; Healey ; Lio, Melzer, and Reese ; Paolucci and Richardson ; Shoshana and Teman ). Indeed, mass media is effective in no small part because it broadcasts the micro media of everyday interaction.…”

Analysis of a Support Group for Children of Parents With Mental Illnesses

“…By discourse we mean two things: a group of ideas or patterned way of thinking that is identifiable in written and verbal communications and located in wider social structures (Lupton, as cited in Cheek, 2004Cheek, , p. 1142; and its effects, evident in the ways discourses are part of the construction of social identities and social relations, and systems of knowledge and belief (Fairclough, 1992). Goffman (1959) described how issues are framed by directing our attention to a particular part of reality (Paolucci & Richardson, 2006a), making critical discourse analysis (CDA) compatible with his body of work. In CDA it is assumed that language is highly symbolic, shaping the way phenomena are viewed; that is, language is not just descriptive: it does things.…”

“…Therefore, we did not focus our study on targeted outcome measures as the primary—and often assumed to be the only—route to really understanding what is effective. Rather, we analyzed the Children’s Group as an interactive setting and conceptualized it as more than a straightforward, information-sharing, and emotional support session, using a qualitative approach described as critical dramaturgy (Paolucci & Richardson, 2006a, 2006b).…”

Sociology of Humor and a Critical Dramaturgy

“…1 1 This article is one part of two in a companion piece (see Paolucci 2006). Each essay makes a similar argument but from opposite directions.…”