The comedian as confidence man: studies in irony fatigue
The Comedian as Confidence Man examines the humorist's internal conflict between the social critic who demands to be taken seriously and the comedian who never can be: the irony fatigue condition. Concentrating on eight American literary and performing comedians from the eighteenth, nineteenth,...
Gespeichert in:
| 1. Verfasser: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Buch |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
Detroit, Mich.
Wayne State Univ. Press
1997
|
| Schriftenreihe: | Humor in life and letters series
|
| Schlagworte: | |
| Online-Zugang: | Inhaltsverzeichnis |
| Zusammenfassung: | The Comedian as Confidence Man examines the humorist's internal conflict between the social critic who demands to be taken seriously and the comedian who never can be: the irony fatigue condition. Concentrating on eight American literary and performing comedians from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, this study explores the irony fatigue effect that seems to pervade the work of comedians - those particular social observers who are under the implicit injunction, "Smile when you say that." They are obliged to promise, "Only kidding, folks," even when they may not be; in G.B. Shaw's words, they must "put things in such a way as to make people who would otherwise hang them believe they are joking." If these social observers are obliged to become, in effect, confidence men, with irony as the satiric weapon that both attacks and diverts, then the implications are great for those social critics who above all wish to be heeded. Kaufman explores the problems of irony and irony fatigue through the analysis of a variety of texts and performances: Sinclair Lewis's Main Street and Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon Days; Benjamin Franklin's literary confidence games (including the Autobiography) and Melville's response to them in Israel Potter and The Confidence-Man; the stand-up routines and censorship battles of Lenny Bruce and Bill Hicks; the novels of Kurt Vonnegut, with their failed and hapless comedians; and the conflict between Samuel Clemens and Mark Twain as witnessed in Huckleberry Finn and Pudd'nhead Wilson This leads to a concluding discussion of the disturbing either/or - irony or political commitment - as explored in the political philosophy of John Seery, Richard Rorty, Linda Hutcheon and others, including the most enigmatic of ironists, Thomas Mann |
| Beschreibung: | 270 S. |
| ISBN: | 0814326579 |
Internformat
MARC
| LEADER | 00000nam a2200000 c 4500 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | BV011601566 | ||
| 003 | DE-604 | ||
| 005 | 00000000000000.0 | ||
| 007 | t | ||
| 008 | 971031s1997 |||| 00||| eng d | ||
| 020 | |a 0814326579 |9 0-8143-2657-9 | ||
| 035 | |a (OCoLC)34878748 | ||
| 035 | |a (DE-599)BVBBV011601566 | ||
| 040 | |a DE-604 |b ger |e rakddb | ||
| 041 | 0 | |a eng | |
| 049 | |a DE-12 |a DE-19 |a DE-188 | ||
| 050 | 0 | |a PN56.I65 | |
| 082 | 0 | |a 809.918 | |
| 082 | 0 | |a 809/.918 |2 20 | |
| 084 | |a EC 5000 |0 (DE-625)20587: |2 rvk | ||
| 100 | 1 | |a Kaufman, Will |e Verfasser |4 aut | |
| 245 | 1 | 0 | |a The comedian as confidence man |b studies in irony fatigue |c Will Kaufman |
| 264 | 1 | |a Detroit, Mich. |b Wayne State Univ. Press |c 1997 | |
| 300 | |a 270 S. | ||
| 336 | |b txt |2 rdacontent | ||
| 337 | |b n |2 rdamedia | ||
| 338 | |b nc |2 rdacarrier | ||
| 490 | 0 | |a Humor in life and letters series | |
| 520 | 3 | |a The Comedian as Confidence Man examines the humorist's internal conflict between the social critic who demands to be taken seriously and the comedian who never can be: the irony fatigue condition. Concentrating on eight American literary and performing comedians from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, this study explores the irony fatigue effect that seems to pervade the work of comedians - those particular social observers who are under the implicit injunction, "Smile when you say that." They are obliged to promise, "Only kidding, folks," even when they may not be; in G.B. Shaw's words, they must "put things in such a way as to make people who would otherwise hang them believe they are joking." | |
| 520 | |a If these social observers are obliged to become, in effect, confidence men, with irony as the satiric weapon that both attacks and diverts, then the implications are great for those social critics who above all wish to be heeded. Kaufman explores the problems of irony and irony fatigue through the analysis of a variety of texts and performances: Sinclair Lewis's Main Street and Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon Days; Benjamin Franklin's literary confidence games (including the Autobiography) and Melville's response to them in Israel Potter and The Confidence-Man; the stand-up routines and censorship battles of Lenny Bruce and Bill Hicks; the novels of Kurt Vonnegut, with their failed and hapless comedians; and the conflict between Samuel Clemens and Mark Twain as witnessed in Huckleberry Finn and Pudd'nhead Wilson | ||
| 520 | |a This leads to a concluding discussion of the disturbing either/or - irony or political commitment - as explored in the political philosophy of John Seery, Richard Rorty, Linda Hutcheon and others, including the most enigmatic of ironists, Thomas Mann | ||
| 650 | 4 | |a Comique dans la littérature | |
| 650 | 4 | |a Ironie dans la littérature | |
| 650 | 4 | |a Comic, The, in literature | |
| 650 | 4 | |a Irony in literature | |
| 650 | 0 | 7 | |a Ironie |0 (DE-588)4027676-4 |2 gnd |9 rswk-swf |
| 650 | 0 | 7 | |a Literatur |0 (DE-588)4035964-5 |2 gnd |9 rswk-swf |
| 650 | 0 | 7 | |a Komik |0 (DE-588)4031835-7 |2 gnd |9 rswk-swf |
| 689 | 0 | 0 | |a Komik |0 (DE-588)4031835-7 |D s |
| 689 | 0 | 1 | |a Ironie |0 (DE-588)4027676-4 |D s |
| 689 | 0 | 2 | |a Literatur |0 (DE-588)4035964-5 |D s |
| 689 | 0 | |5 DE-604 | |
| 856 | 4 | 2 | |m HEBIS Datenaustausch |q application/pdf |u http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=007815145&sequence=000002&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA |3 Inhaltsverzeichnis |
| 999 | |a oai:aleph.bib-bvb.de:BVB01-007815145 | ||
Datensatz im Suchindex
| _version_ | 1804126130858360832 |
|---|---|
| adam_text | THE
COMED/A N
AS
CONFIDENCE
MAN
Studies in Irony Fatigue
Will Kaufman
WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS DETROIT
Contents
Acknowledgments 9
Introduction 11
Sinclair Lewis, Garrison Keillor, and the Dangers of Grumbling
through Minnesota 19
Ben Franklin and Herman Melville: The Comedian as
Confidence Man 41
Lenny Bruce: I m not a comedian 70
Bill Hicks: Bob, they re just jokes 113
Kurt Vonnegut: I had to laugh like hell U7
Mark Twain: My hated nom de plume 187
Conclusion: A Bad Case of Irony Fatigue 232
Notes 243
List of Sources 259
|
| any_adam_object | 1 |
| author | Kaufman, Will |
| author_facet | Kaufman, Will |
| author_role | aut |
| author_sort | Kaufman, Will |
| author_variant | w k wk |
| building | Verbundindex |
| bvnumber | BV011601566 |
| callnumber-first | P - Language and Literature |
| callnumber-label | PN56 |
| callnumber-raw | PN56.I65 |
| callnumber-search | PN56.I65 |
| callnumber-sort | PN 256 I65 |
| callnumber-subject | PN - General Literature |
| classification_rvk | EC 5000 |
| ctrlnum | (OCoLC)34878748 (DE-599)BVBBV011601566 |
| dewey-full | 809.918 809/.918 |
| dewey-hundreds | 800 - Literature (Belles-lettres) and rhetoric |
| dewey-ones | 809 - History, description & criticism |
| dewey-raw | 809.918 809/.918 |
| dewey-search | 809.918 809/.918 |
| dewey-sort | 3809.918 |
| dewey-tens | 800 - Literature (Belles-lettres) and rhetoric |
| discipline | Literaturwissenschaft |
| format | Book |
| fullrecord | <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><collection xmlns="http://www.loc.gov/MARC21/slim"><record><leader>03502nam a2200493 c 4500</leader><controlfield tag="001">BV011601566</controlfield><controlfield tag="003">DE-604</controlfield><controlfield tag="005">00000000000000.0</controlfield><controlfield tag="007">t</controlfield><controlfield tag="008">971031s1997 |||| 00||| eng d</controlfield><datafield tag="020" ind1=" " ind2=" "><subfield code="a">0814326579</subfield><subfield code="9">0-8143-2657-9</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="035" ind1=" " ind2=" "><subfield code="a">(OCoLC)34878748</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="035" ind1=" " ind2=" "><subfield code="a">(DE-599)BVBBV011601566</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="040" ind1=" " ind2=" "><subfield code="a">DE-604</subfield><subfield code="b">ger</subfield><subfield code="e">rakddb</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="041" ind1="0" ind2=" "><subfield code="a">eng</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="049" ind1=" " ind2=" "><subfield code="a">DE-12</subfield><subfield code="a">DE-19</subfield><subfield code="a">DE-188</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="050" ind1=" " ind2="0"><subfield code="a">PN56.I65</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="082" ind1="0" ind2=" "><subfield code="a">809.918</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="082" ind1="0" ind2=" "><subfield code="a">809/.918</subfield><subfield code="2">20</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="084" ind1=" " ind2=" "><subfield code="a">EC 5000</subfield><subfield code="0">(DE-625)20587:</subfield><subfield code="2">rvk</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="100" ind1="1" ind2=" "><subfield code="a">Kaufman, Will</subfield><subfield code="e">Verfasser</subfield><subfield code="4">aut</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="245" ind1="1" ind2="0"><subfield code="a">The comedian as confidence man</subfield><subfield code="b">studies in irony fatigue</subfield><subfield code="c">Will Kaufman</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="264" ind1=" " ind2="1"><subfield code="a">Detroit, Mich.</subfield><subfield code="b">Wayne State Univ. Press</subfield><subfield code="c">1997</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="300" ind1=" " ind2=" "><subfield code="a">270 S.</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="336" ind1=" " ind2=" "><subfield code="b">txt</subfield><subfield code="2">rdacontent</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="337" ind1=" " ind2=" "><subfield code="b">n</subfield><subfield code="2">rdamedia</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="338" ind1=" " ind2=" "><subfield code="b">nc</subfield><subfield code="2">rdacarrier</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="490" ind1="0" ind2=" "><subfield code="a">Humor in life and letters series</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="520" ind1="3" ind2=" "><subfield code="a">The Comedian as Confidence Man examines the humorist's internal conflict between the social critic who demands to be taken seriously and the comedian who never can be: the irony fatigue condition. Concentrating on eight American literary and performing comedians from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, this study explores the irony fatigue effect that seems to pervade the work of comedians - those particular social observers who are under the implicit injunction, "Smile when you say that." They are obliged to promise, "Only kidding, folks," even when they may not be; in G.B. Shaw's words, they must "put things in such a way as to make people who would otherwise hang them believe they are joking."</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="520" ind1=" " ind2=" "><subfield code="a">If these social observers are obliged to become, in effect, confidence men, with irony as the satiric weapon that both attacks and diverts, then the implications are great for those social critics who above all wish to be heeded. Kaufman explores the problems of irony and irony fatigue through the analysis of a variety of texts and performances: Sinclair Lewis's Main Street and Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon Days; Benjamin Franklin's literary confidence games (including the Autobiography) and Melville's response to them in Israel Potter and The Confidence-Man; the stand-up routines and censorship battles of Lenny Bruce and Bill Hicks; the novels of Kurt Vonnegut, with their failed and hapless comedians; and the conflict between Samuel Clemens and Mark Twain as witnessed in Huckleberry Finn and Pudd'nhead Wilson</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="520" ind1=" " ind2=" "><subfield code="a">This leads to a concluding discussion of the disturbing either/or - irony or political commitment - as explored in the political philosophy of John Seery, Richard Rorty, Linda Hutcheon and others, including the most enigmatic of ironists, Thomas Mann</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="650" ind1=" " ind2="4"><subfield code="a">Comique dans la littérature</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="650" ind1=" " ind2="4"><subfield code="a">Ironie dans la littérature</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="650" ind1=" " ind2="4"><subfield code="a">Comic, The, in literature</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="650" ind1=" " ind2="4"><subfield code="a">Irony in literature</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="650" ind1="0" ind2="7"><subfield code="a">Ironie</subfield><subfield code="0">(DE-588)4027676-4</subfield><subfield code="2">gnd</subfield><subfield code="9">rswk-swf</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="650" ind1="0" ind2="7"><subfield code="a">Literatur</subfield><subfield code="0">(DE-588)4035964-5</subfield><subfield code="2">gnd</subfield><subfield code="9">rswk-swf</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="650" ind1="0" ind2="7"><subfield code="a">Komik</subfield><subfield code="0">(DE-588)4031835-7</subfield><subfield code="2">gnd</subfield><subfield code="9">rswk-swf</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="689" ind1="0" ind2="0"><subfield code="a">Komik</subfield><subfield code="0">(DE-588)4031835-7</subfield><subfield code="D">s</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="689" ind1="0" ind2="1"><subfield code="a">Ironie</subfield><subfield code="0">(DE-588)4027676-4</subfield><subfield code="D">s</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="689" ind1="0" ind2="2"><subfield code="a">Literatur</subfield><subfield code="0">(DE-588)4035964-5</subfield><subfield code="D">s</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="689" ind1="0" ind2=" "><subfield code="5">DE-604</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="856" ind1="4" ind2="2"><subfield code="m">HEBIS Datenaustausch</subfield><subfield code="q">application/pdf</subfield><subfield code="u">http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=007815145&sequence=000002&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA</subfield><subfield code="3">Inhaltsverzeichnis</subfield></datafield><datafield tag="999" ind1=" " ind2=" "><subfield code="a">oai:aleph.bib-bvb.de:BVB01-007815145</subfield></datafield></record></collection> |
| id | DE-604.BV011601566 |
| illustrated | Not Illustrated |
| indexdate | 2024-07-09T18:12:34Z |
| institution | BVB |
| isbn | 0814326579 |
| language | English |
| oai_aleph_id | oai:aleph.bib-bvb.de:BVB01-007815145 |
| oclc_num | 34878748 |
| open_access_boolean | |
| owner | DE-12 DE-19 DE-BY-UBM DE-188 |
| owner_facet | DE-12 DE-19 DE-BY-UBM DE-188 |
| physical | 270 S. |
| publishDate | 1997 |
| publishDateSearch | 1997 |
| publishDateSort | 1997 |
| publisher | Wayne State Univ. Press |
| record_format | marc |
| series2 | Humor in life and letters series |
| spelling | Kaufman, Will Verfasser aut The comedian as confidence man studies in irony fatigue Will Kaufman Detroit, Mich. Wayne State Univ. Press 1997 270 S. txt rdacontent n rdamedia nc rdacarrier Humor in life and letters series The Comedian as Confidence Man examines the humorist's internal conflict between the social critic who demands to be taken seriously and the comedian who never can be: the irony fatigue condition. Concentrating on eight American literary and performing comedians from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, this study explores the irony fatigue effect that seems to pervade the work of comedians - those particular social observers who are under the implicit injunction, "Smile when you say that." They are obliged to promise, "Only kidding, folks," even when they may not be; in G.B. Shaw's words, they must "put things in such a way as to make people who would otherwise hang them believe they are joking." If these social observers are obliged to become, in effect, confidence men, with irony as the satiric weapon that both attacks and diverts, then the implications are great for those social critics who above all wish to be heeded. Kaufman explores the problems of irony and irony fatigue through the analysis of a variety of texts and performances: Sinclair Lewis's Main Street and Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon Days; Benjamin Franklin's literary confidence games (including the Autobiography) and Melville's response to them in Israel Potter and The Confidence-Man; the stand-up routines and censorship battles of Lenny Bruce and Bill Hicks; the novels of Kurt Vonnegut, with their failed and hapless comedians; and the conflict between Samuel Clemens and Mark Twain as witnessed in Huckleberry Finn and Pudd'nhead Wilson This leads to a concluding discussion of the disturbing either/or - irony or political commitment - as explored in the political philosophy of John Seery, Richard Rorty, Linda Hutcheon and others, including the most enigmatic of ironists, Thomas Mann Comique dans la littérature Ironie dans la littérature Comic, The, in literature Irony in literature Ironie (DE-588)4027676-4 gnd rswk-swf Literatur (DE-588)4035964-5 gnd rswk-swf Komik (DE-588)4031835-7 gnd rswk-swf Komik (DE-588)4031835-7 s Ironie (DE-588)4027676-4 s Literatur (DE-588)4035964-5 s DE-604 HEBIS Datenaustausch application/pdf http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=007815145&sequence=000002&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA Inhaltsverzeichnis |
| spellingShingle | Kaufman, Will The comedian as confidence man studies in irony fatigue Comique dans la littérature Ironie dans la littérature Comic, The, in literature Irony in literature Ironie (DE-588)4027676-4 gnd Literatur (DE-588)4035964-5 gnd Komik (DE-588)4031835-7 gnd |
| subject_GND | (DE-588)4027676-4 (DE-588)4035964-5 (DE-588)4031835-7 |
| title | The comedian as confidence man studies in irony fatigue |
| title_auth | The comedian as confidence man studies in irony fatigue |
| title_exact_search | The comedian as confidence man studies in irony fatigue |
| title_full | The comedian as confidence man studies in irony fatigue Will Kaufman |
| title_fullStr | The comedian as confidence man studies in irony fatigue Will Kaufman |
| title_full_unstemmed | The comedian as confidence man studies in irony fatigue Will Kaufman |
| title_short | The comedian as confidence man |
| title_sort | the comedian as confidence man studies in irony fatigue |
| title_sub | studies in irony fatigue |
| topic | Comique dans la littérature Ironie dans la littérature Comic, The, in literature Irony in literature Ironie (DE-588)4027676-4 gnd Literatur (DE-588)4035964-5 gnd Komik (DE-588)4031835-7 gnd |
| topic_facet | Comique dans la littérature Ironie dans la littérature Comic, The, in literature Irony in literature Ironie Literatur Komik |
| url | http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&local_base=BVB01&doc_number=007815145&sequence=000002&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kaufmanwill thecomedianasconfidencemanstudiesinironyfatigue |