Humour as Politics

Presents a new theory of humour as the cultural expression of our (neo)liberal moment Revisits existing humour texts in order to rethink both the political limitations and possibilities of humour as a political mode in the twenty-first century Brings together concerns of form and aesthetics with questions of power in a manner that not only reassesses the cultural work of humour, but also articulates a new account of the political possibilities of popular aesthetics more broadly
This book argues that recent developments in contemporary comedy have changed not just the way we laugh but the way we understand the world. Drawing on a range of contemporary televisual, cinematic and digital examples, from Seinfeld and Veep to Family Guy and Chappelle’s Show , Holm explores how humour has become a central site of cultural politics in the twenty-first century. More than just a form of entertainment, humour has come to play a central role in the contemporary media environment, shaping how we understand ideas of freedom, empathy, social boundaries and even logic. Through an analysis of humour as a political and aesthetic category, Humour as Politics challenges older models of laughter as a form of dissent and instead argues for a new theory of humour as the cultural expression of our (neo)liberal moment.