Victor Raskin’s Script Theory
Presuppositions, “common sense,” and scripts In proposing Script Theory, a major model seen to support Incongruity theory, Linguist Victor Raskin no...
Tag: comic intent
Comic Intent II: Getting it
My problem with a number of different theories is that they assume certain elements of intentionality, which I’ve discussed before as assuming the comic&#...
John C. Meyer’s Four Functions of Humor
John C. Meyer was interested in how people use humor – what their purpose is. Meyer’s first conception is that people can use humor to unite us or t...
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...
Political, Social and Entertainment Comedians
Comic and internet sensation Kenny Sebastian, in an interview with Letty Mariam Abraham of Mid-day (5/14/2017) about his recent special, Don’t Be That Guy...
A Note About Dyson’s Interview with Maher
Dyson’s points I want to give some ink to Michael Eric Dyson, who did a fairly good job of holding Maher’s feet to the fire in their interview, desp...
Bill Maher On What Comics Do
I make my Advanced Public Speaking students write and give a speech of apology for a public figure, so when we’re talking about comics giving apologies, w...
Comic Intent
You hear it time and time again, from both comics and scholars: in stand-up comedy the only goal is laughter by any means available (Borns; Gilbert; Horowitz; L...
Bill Maher’s “N-Bomb” Wasn’t a Big Deal, But Neither Was It Funny.
Warning: “explicit language.” Bill Maher said the “N-word” (Bailey, DeMarche, Guerrasio, Italiano, Itzkoff, Kiefer, Lopez, Obeidallah, P...
Kathy Griffin Produced Art, and Art has Consequences.
I should begin by saying, I’ve never really been a fan. She had moments and jokes, and I’m always in favor of people who advocate for gender and sex...