· ‘Many scenes in Hollywood comedies exist almost solely for the display of gags, comic incident, and comic performance.’ (Steve Neale and Frank Krutnik). Discuss with detailed reference to two examples.
· How and to what extent is comedian comedy a disruptive form. Answer with reference to the work of two performers
· How do two different theories of comedy illuminate our understanding of two comic texts of your choice?
· To what extent does comedy offer a licensed overturning of cultural norms? Discuss with detailed reference to two comic texts
· ‘Comedy is never as unconventional as it pretends to be.’ Comment on the validity of this statement with reference to two comic texts
· What is the role of comedy in negotiating cultural notions of acceptable ‘taste’? Answer with detailed reference to two comic texts
· What are the potential strengths or limitations of satire as a form of social or political criticism? Answer with detailed reference to two texts
· Why are images of childhood and/or regression so common in some forms of comedy. Answer with detailed reference to two examples.
· According to John Thornton Caldwell, television sitcom is resistant to stylistic change. Discuss with reference to two examples.
· What is the significance of recorded laughter (or its absence) in television comedy. Your answer should refer in detail to two texts
· The TV sketch show is sometimes regarded as the poor relation to sitcom. Why might this be and how does it work as a TV comedy format? Answer with detailed reference to two examples.
· What are the political and/or ideological implications of the use ofcomedy in two examples of your choice?
· Why is parody so widespread in contemporary film, television or other media ? Answer with reference to two examples.
· What is the role of cultural stereotypes in comedy? Answer with
detailed reference to two texts.
· What is your understanding of the terms ‘alternative’ and/or ‘post-alternative’ comedy. Answer with detailed reference to two examples.
What can be the effect of the use of comedy in primarily non-comic contexts? Answer with detailed reference to two texts
Having announced the publication of our “Radical Romantic Comedy” special issue of New Review of Film and Television Studies earlier this year, we are pleased to offer free access through the month of April.
Volume 18, Issue 1
Editor Introduction
Declaration of Principles
Maria San Filippo
https://doi.org/10.1080/17400309.2019.1664452
Special Issue Introduction
Radical Rom-Com: Not an Oxymoron
Maria San Filippo, Guest Editor
https://doi.org/10.1080/17400309.2019.1664060
Evidence to the Contrary: Matrimony & Legal Interventionism in Silent Divorce Comedies
Leslie H. Abramson
https://doi.org/10.1080/17400309.2019.1664050
Romantic Comedy and the Virtues of Predictability
Kyle Stevens
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17400309.2019.1664059
The Awkward Truth: Failure to Romance and the Art of Decoupling in the Films of Hong Sang-soo
Sueyoung Park-Primiano
Sample Solution