Eccentric Laughter - Queer Possibilities in Postwar British Film Comedy

Eccentric Laughter explores new ways to watch postwar British film comedies, arguing that their representations of eccentricity offered a set of possible queer futures for a Britain that had been destabilized by years of conflict and social upheaval. Far from being the apolitical cinema described by previous critics, these comedies-including both perennial favorites from Ealing Studios and neglected films ripe for rediscovery-make a joke of and suggest alternatives to the heterocentric home and family. Referencing a wide range of theories, the book gives details of how these films' comic queernesses are not structured on fixed identities but on an open play of possibilities, depicting eccentricity, artifice, drag, ruins, and the wild in ways that can still offer inspiration for experiments in living today. Engaging with contemporary queer theories and politics, the book argues that these films continue to address questions of urgent relevance to students and other viewers in the twenty-first century. Films discussed include The Belles of St. Trinian's, Genevieve, The Lavender Hill Mob, Simon and Laura, The Stranger Left No Card, and Young Wives' Tale.

About the author

Benedict Morrison is Senior Lecturer in Literature and Film at the University of Exeter. He is the author of Complicating Articulation in Art Cinema.

Product details

• Authors: Benedict Morrison
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.11.2024
• EAN: 9798855800036
• ISBN: 979-8-8558-0003-6
• No. of pages: 294
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 25 mm
• Weight: 503 g
• Illustrations: 27 b&w photos, schwarz-weiss Illustrationen
• Series: SUNY series, Horizons of Cinema
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Photography, film, video, TV; Media Studies, European History, 20th Century, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Media Studies, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, HISTORY / Europe / Great Britain / 20th Century, PERFORMING ARTS / Film / Genres / Comedy, Of specific Gay & Lesbian interest, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, British & Irish history, United Kingdom, Great Britain, Film, TV & radio, Performing arts: comedy, PERFORMING ARTS / Film / History & Criticism, Gay & Lesbian studies, Film: styles & genres, Relating to LGBTQ+ people, SOCIAL SCIENCE / LGBTQ+ Studies / General, Film Theory & Criticism, Film: styles and genres, Film, television, radio genres: Comedy and humour, Film history, theory or criticism, LGBTQ+ Studies / topics