Campus Events

"This book analyzes the evolution of comedy, defining five distinct periods and discussing the dominant comedic trends of each: screwball comedies, offering distraction from the Great Depression; suspense comedy, reflecting America's darker worldview during World War II; 1950s battle-of-the-sexes comedy; the shift from the physical, exaggerated comedy of 1950s to more realistic plotlines"--Provided by publisher.

Contributors investigate the effects of gender, sexuality, sexual identity, race, class, and nationality on humor and comedic performance. Each chapter addresses how particular historical periods seem to affect who laughs at what, why, and with what consequences.

"Unruly women have been making a spectacle of themselves in film and on television from Mae West to Roseanne Arnold. In this groundbreaking work, Kathleen Rowe explores how the unruly woman - often a voluptuous, noisy, joke-making rebel or "woman on top" - uses humor and excess to undermine patriarchal norms and authority." "At the heart of the book are detailed analyses of two highly successful unruly women - the comedian Roseanne Arnold and the Muppet Miss Piggy. Putting these two figures in a deeper cultural perspective, Rowe also examines the evolution of romantic film comedy from the classical Hollywood period to the present, showing how the comedic roles of actresses such as Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck, and Marilyn Monroe offered an alternative, empowered image of women that differed sharply from the "suffering heroine" portrayed in classical melodramas." "This feminist study of comedy in film and television offers exciting new opportunities for understanding these media. Written with verve and humor, it will be important reading for a wide popular and scholarly audience in mass communications, gender studies, and popular culture."--BOOK JACKET.

After a rough breakup, Jon moves to Los Angeles and takes an entry-level position at an ad agency. Things soon get complicated when Paul, an executive at the firm, takes a special interest in him. Although Jon always swore he was straight, he soon finds himself spiraling into a world of sexual confusion.

Shakespeare's classic, immortal comedy has all the ingredients-love stories, tricks and pranks, disguise and mistaken identity, muddle and misunderstanding. This program deconstructs A Midsummer Night's Dream in an engaging and playful way using dialogue between some of its characters to explore its comedic elements. It is an ideal resource for students of English and literature.

The Heat director Paul Feig and Screenwriter Katie Dippold discuss the success of the movie with Carol Massar on Bloomberg Television's 'Street Smart.'