Mapping the contours of humour: reflections on recent introductory studies

Condren, Conal

doi:10.7592/ejhr.2021.9.3.664

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Humour is '[not] one thing' 399 (Kuipers, 2019). While our language may seem to suggest that it is, humour as a modern category is an umbrella term covering many different genres and styles (Condren, 2021), from the satirical to the absurdist, from the carnivalesque to the clownesque, and from the moralist to the ironic. This dissertation has demonstrated the variety of styles and forms in one particular, historically and locally specific genre of humour: Dutch cabaret.…”

Section: Humour and Cultural Studiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…He has published widely on the history of cabaret and popular theatre. Klöters was one of the members of the famous cabaret ensemble Don Quishocking (1967)(1968)(1969)(1970)(1971)(1972)(1973)(1974)(1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980); see Chapter 3), and wrote texts for many comedians. He is also a well-known television and radio maker: he was one of the main faces of the cabaret television programme Andermans Veren and is long-time maker and presenter of radio show De Sandwich.…”

Section: Dutch Cabaretmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…267 While Neerlands Hoop -in line with their oppositional attitude and their status as a young and upcoming cabaret duo in the early 1970s -framed their parodies of protest cabaret as an attack on the work of others, Don Quishocking's anti-protest song, 'Dankzij het cabaret ' (Thanks to cabaret, 1976), ridicules the pretensions of protest cabaret through self-mockery. Don Quishocking (1967)(1968)(1969)(1970)(1971)(1972)(1973)(1974)(1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980) was the cabaret ensemble of Fred Florusse (b. 1938), George Groot (b.…”

Section: Mocking Protest Cabaretmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This term refers to the fragmented character of their shows, which created an experience of 'zapping' between television channels. [1966][1967][1968]). In the following paragraphs, I will discuss the anti-protest song 'Sarajewo ' [sic] (Sarajevo, 1996), the title of which refers to the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at that time the epicentre of the bloody Bosnian War.…”

Section: Postmodern Pastichementioning

confidence: 99%

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Comedians without a Cause

Zijp¹

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Comedians play an important role in society and public debate. While comedians have been considered important cultural critics for quite some time, comedy has acquired a new social and political significance in recent years, with humour taking centre stage in political and social debates around issues of identity, social justice, and freedom of speech. To understand the shifting meanings and political implications of humour within a Dutch context, this PhD thesis examines the political and aesthetic workings of humour in the highly popular Dutch cabaret genre, focusing on cabaret performances from the 1960s to the present. The central questions of the thesis are: how do comedians use humour to deliver social critique, and how does their humour resonate with political ideologies? These questions are answered by adopting a cultural studies approach to humour, which is used to analyse Dutch cabaret performances, and by studying related materials such as reviews and media interviews with comedians. This thesis shows that, from the 1960s onwards, Dutch comedians have been considered ‘progressive rebels’ – politically engaged, subversive, and carrying a left-wing political agenda – but that this image is in need of correction. While we tend to look for progressive political messages in the work of comedians who present themselves as being anti-establishment rebels – such as Youp van ‘t Hek, Hans Teeuwen, and Theo Maassen – this thesis demonstrates that their transgressive and provocative humour tends to protect social hierarchies and relationships of power. Moreover, it shows that, paradoxically, both the deliberately moderate and nuanced humour of Wim Kan and Claudia de Breij, and the seemingly past-oriented nostalgia of Alex Klaasen, are more radical and progressive than the transgressive humour of van ‘t Hek, Teeuwen and Maassen. Finally, comedians who present absurdist or deconstructionist forms of humour, such as the early student cabarets, Freek de Jonge, and Micha Wertheim, tend to disassociate themselves from an explicit political engagement. By challenging the dominant image of the Dutch comedian as a ‘progressive rebel,’ this thesis contributes to a better understanding of humour in the present cultural moment, in which humour is often either not taken seriously, or one-sidedly celebrated as being merely pleasurable, innocent, or progressively liberating. In so doing, this thesis concludes, the ‘dark’ and more conservative sides of humour tend to get obscured.

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Section: Humour and Cultural Studiesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Dutch Cabaretmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mocking Protest Cabaretmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Postmodern Pastichementioning

confidence: 99%

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Comedians without a Cause

Zijp¹

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Understanding Humor: Four Conceptual Approaches to the Elusive Subject

Hietalahti,

Pennanen

2023

The Philosophy of Humor Yearbook

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This article discusses four ways of understanding the concept of humor: 1) in terms of necessary and sufficient conditions, as 2) a cluster concept, 3) an interpretive concept, and 4) a dual character concept. We peruse both historical and contemporary research on humor, but instead of asking “What is humor?,” we draw conclusions regarding what humor research tells us of the ways to conceptualize humor. The main merits and shortcomings of different approaches are explicated. We suggest that the increased awareness of conceptual options will help the field of humor research to construct ever better theories on the elusive subject matter.

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Comic innocence

Zijp

2024

EJHR

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In recent years, humour has re-entered the public sphere as a serious and potentially explosive topic of debate, giving rise to social conflicts and controversies. Paradoxically, however, humour has at the same time been passionately (and often aggressively) defended as innocent and harmless. I propose the notion of ‘comic innocence’ to make sense of this paradox. I take Dutch and American studies of racism, white innocence and racial ignorance as a starting point to construct a theory of comic innocence, which is tested through the analysis of responses in both legacy and social media to a serious opinion article on humour (written by the author of this paper), which sparked a scandal in the summer of 2021. I analyse 265 tweets and a small number of related newspaper articles and blog posts to demonstrate the respondents’ “humour ideologies”. I argue that, in the context of the “re-politicisation of humour”, those who defend humour as innocent mobilise and re-articulate three older ideas on humour. First, they emphasise the overall positive psychological, social and political functions and effects of humour. Second, they believe that humour should be protected against a ‘woke’ culture of high sensitivity and censorship. Third, they argue that humour research is a joke, and humour scholars lack a sense of humour. The humour scholar appears in this debate as the most important source of danger: a humourless, left-wing scientist keen on curtailing and censoring humorous expression.

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Mapping the contours of humour: reflections on recent introductory studies

Cited by 3 publications

References 8 publications

Comedians without a Cause

Comedians without a Cause

Understanding Humor: Four Conceptual Approaches to the Elusive Subject

Comic innocence

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