A Philosophy of Comedy on Stage and Screen - You Have to be There

As far as we know, only human beings have a sense of humour - although chimps might laugh when tickled, and dogs respond similarly in play, Seth McFarlane''s fan-base is comprised exclusively of humans. Whilst animals and robots might feature as prominent characters in our favourite comic movies, shows and stand-up routines, we have no reason to suspect that their real-life brethren get the joke. Drawing on the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, Shaun May attempts to address this issue - suggesting that there is something distinctive about human beings which grounds our ability to make and comprehend jokes. Guiding the reader through a range of examples, including the films of Charlie Chaplin, the stand-up of Francesca Martinez, the TV show and Samuel Beckett''s Endgame, he demonstrates that in order to get the joke you have to ''be there''.>

Product details

• Authors: Shaun May, Shaun (University of Kent May, May Shaun
• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 17.12.2015
• EAN: 9781472580436
• ISBN: 978-1-4725-8043-6
• No. of pages: 224
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama; Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; PHILOSOPHY / Aesthetics, PERFORMING ARTS / Comedy, Performing arts: comedy, Philosophy: aesthetics, Comedy and stand-up