John Limon on Laughter: Is It Crucial?
I’ve talked a bit about how John Limon defines a genre of “absolute stand-up,” as marked, in part, by authorial intent. Yet he also distinguishes his abs...
Category: Stand-Up Comedy
My academic “wheelhouse.” I’ve collected everything to do with stand-up here.
Persona
I’ve already written a bit on the documentary, Dying Laughing, but there’s a lot more to say there [plus, I transcribed quite a bit of stuff, so I&#...
Rory Scovel’s Lenny Bruce Opening
If the title doesn’t already tell you: *Warning: Explicit Language* Rory Scovel’s new special, Rory Scovel Tries Stand-up for the First Time on Netf...
The Difference Between Silverman and Maher
I’ve already written about Bill Maher’s recent N-word problem; however it’s not the first time he’s been a part of a discussion about ra...
Iliza Shlesinger and Jokes About Vaginas
Controversy I’m a fan of Iliza Shlesinger; seen her live, watched all her specials. So when, on Monday (6/12/2017), Deadline’s Matt Grobar posted an...
Are Audiences Dying Laughing?
Audience Metaphors There’s a lot going on in the series of interviews masquerading as a documentary, Dying Laughing. However, I’d like to start with one I’ve b...
Wise Fools Speaking Truth to Power
When talking about stand-up comedy, a lot of attention is given to the figure of the wise fool. This concept is traceable back to at least the middle ages (for...
Five Popular Ideas About Audiences
Betsy Borns begins her book, Comic Lives, with a chapter on audience, yet while the motive for audience attendance is clear (tension release, in her opinion), w...
Dick Jokes Vs. Sexual Jokes
Betsy Borns differentiates the dick joke from sexual jokes as based on “what makes the joke funny: if people laugh because the word ‘fuck’ is used, that’s a dic...
Nathan Mills on Hasan Minhaj and Comedy Audiences
Talking about Hasan Minhaj’s new Netflix special, Homecoming King, Nathan Mills of The Joplin Globe has a lot going on, but I want to call attention to th...