Irony's Edge: The Theory and Politics of Irony

Rudnick, Hans H.; Hutcheon, Linda

doi:10.2307/40152033

Cited by 121 publications

(25 citation statements)

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“…Consequently, the irony that permeates this advertising spot targets something (the MAMIL) and is addressed to an audience familiar with a Danish context where the MAMIL can be situated in a social space between successful elite cycling and daily transportation. The ironic spot has a political edge (Hutcheon, 1994) that transcends mere humor. We argue that the irony serves a legitimizing and preservative function rather than performing a piece of communication that essentially questions road cycling as a male dominated terrain.…”

Section: Concluding Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this paper we draw on the conceptualization and understanding of irony presented by Linda Hutcheon (1994). In doing so, we indicate that irony should be understood beyond mere humor as ironic communication is political and endowed with power, and is linked to power positions.…”

Section: Framing Ironymentioning

confidence: 93%

“…For irony to happen, a shared cultural knowledge is required. Thus, according to Hutcheon (1994), using irony is a risky business: it operates at the edge, being fueled by ambiguity and indirection, and it relies heavily on social context. Irony is constituted through intersubjective complexity: 'With irony, there are, instead dynamic and plural relations among the text or utterance (and its context), the so-called ironist, the interpreter, and the circumstances surrounding the discursive situation' (Hutcheon, 1994, p. 11).…”

Section: Framing Ironymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nevertheless, shortly after the man smiles contentedly to his non-athletic figure in the mirror, thus illustrating a self-confident MAMIL who acknowledges and copes with the physical changes. Operating on the edge (Hutcheon, 1994) the performativity of irony in this sequence is fueled by the ambiguity in trying to approximate the idealized extremely athletic body and at the same time acknowledging the embodied aging MAMIL body of everyday life. This ironic performance is risky because as it is questioning the idealized athletic masculinity it risks being 'relevant inappropriate'.…”

Section: Irony As a Way To Cope With An Aging Male Bodymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rather than claiming to outline a generic picture of MAMIL irony, this paper pays specific attention to the performativity of gendered ironic discourse because much research has indicated a strong connection between road cycling and masculinity (Psarikidou, 2021;Ravensbergen et al, 2019;Sirna, 2016;Ferrero-Regis, 2018). Furthermore, with an aim to stimulating scholarly attention on the use of irony in sport communication beyond mere humor, we start our paper by framing irony through the lens of Linda Hutcheon (1994) conceptualization of irony. Our next step is to anchor our perception of irony in a sociological understanding of ironic communication and gender.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Middle Aged Men in Lycra and the Performative Irony of Watching Tour de France

Wagner

Nielsen

Hybholt

2023

Communication & Sport

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Middle Aged Man in Lycra (MAMIL) is a cultural phenomenon associated with a gendered and conspicuous practice that can be inclusive by attracting individuals not previously engaged in physical activities as well as exclusive due to its gender and socio-economic conformity. Inspired by the works of Linda Hutcheon and Judith Butler, we argue that the MAMIL is an ironic figure constituting a complex and multifaceted character deeply embedded in a particular cultural context. By analyzing a TV advertising spot for Tour de France 2021 which embraces the MAMIL, the purpose of this study is to illustrate how ironic communication is productive as it leads to multiple performativities of irony. We identify four performativities in the spot which are: Irony as a way to cope with an aging male body; Irony as a way to identify with competitive elite sportsmen; (Self-) irony as enabling an exclusive male community and masculinity through humor; and Irony as legitimizing mass media consumption of cycling. We argue that the irony reaches beyond a mere humorous stance and serves a legitimizing and preservative function of road cycling as a male-dominated terrain.

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Section: Concluding Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Framing Ironymentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Framing Ironymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Irony As a Way To Cope With An Aging Male Bodymentioning

confidence: 99%