Nervous Laughter / Television Situation Comedy and Liberal Democratic Ideology / Media and Society Series (SIGNED TO THE AUTHOR'S PARENTS)

Hamamoto, Darrell Y.

ISBN 10: 0275928616 / ISBN 13: 9780275928612

Published by Praeger Publishers / a division of Greenwood Press, Inc., New York, 1989

About this Item

States "First published in 1989," Number line complete 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 -- the first printing. Dated "June, 1989," inscribed "To Mother and Dad," and signed "Darrell" (author's first name only) to the otherwise blank FFE. Thoroughly footnoted discussions of the (sometimes) subliminal leftist/Politically Correct social messaging of All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, The Cosby Show, etc. Broadcast media, show biz, left-wing propaganda, Freedom Book Shelf, Hollywood, network television, The Deep State. 179 pp. including bibliography and index. Here reduced from $220. Seller Inventory # 007158

Bibliographic Details

Title: Nervous Laughter / Television Situation ...

Publisher: Praeger Publishers / a division of Greenwood Press, Inc., New York

Publication Date: 1989

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)

Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis:

Nervous Laughter examines 40 years of situation comedy, decade by decade, providing the first truly panoramic view of TV's most popular dramatic form. Within this context, Hamamoto traces what he describes as the dominant liberal democratic ideology implicit within situation comedy and explains its enduring popularity. Critically analyzing four decades of television situation comedies from The Honeymooners to The Bill Cosby Show, Hamamoto shows how the sitcom reflects, explains, legitimates, and challenges the society in which it is grounded, illuminating the power of laughter both to reaffirm and to question existing social structures. . . . Hamamoto offers a well-researched and refreshingly lucid study, immensely readable for its astute scholarship. Indispensable for students and scholars of television, popular culture, and comedy. Choice

Nervous Laughter examines forty years of situation comedy, decade by decade, providing the first truly panoramic view of TV's most popular dramatic form. Within this context, Hamamoto traces what he describes as the dominant liberal democratic ideology implicit within situation comedy and explains its enduring popularity. Examining liberal democratic culture, politics, and society he demonstrates how the sitcom resolves social contradictions. Borrowing freely from the social sciences, history, and literary criticism he explains the curious grip the TV sitcom has had on its audience for over forty years. This book critically assesses the relationship between the media and society bringing questions of power, equality, and democracy to the foreground. Nervous Laughter is important reading for both the specialist and the general reader in its analysis of postwar American society.

Nervous Laughter is a study of liberal democratic culture, politics, and society. It describes the ways affirmative aspects and contradictions of liberal democratic ideology are given form in television situation comedy. It provides a close reading of forty years of television texts. Arguing against mainstream theories of mass communications, the author presents an analytic framework that looks instead at conflict and contradiction within class society. Challenging the legitimacy of airwave control by non-democratic social institutions, Nervous Laughter concludes with a modest agenda that might lead to democratization of television.

About the Author:

DARRELL Y. HAMAMOTO is a Professor of Sociology at National University and serves as program coordinator for the School of Arts and Sciences. His critical pieces and photographs have appeared in Rock and Roll Confidential, Pulse!, Film Quarterly, Guitar Player, L.A. Weekly, The Orange Country Register, and The Journal of Popular Film and Television.