An Anatomy of Humor

by Arthur Asa Berger

Overview

Humor permeates every aspect of society and has done so for thousands of years. People experience it daily through television, newspapers, literature, and contact with others. Rarely do social researchers analyze humor or try to determine what makes it such a dominating force in our lives. The types of jokes a person enjoys contribute significantly to the definition of that person as well as to the character of a given society. Arthur Asa Berger explores these and other related topics in An Anatomy of Humor. He shows how humor can range from the simple pun to complex plots in Elizabethan plays.

Berger examines a number of topics—ethnicity, race, gender, politics—each with its own comic dimension. Laughter is beneficial to both our physical and mental health, according to Berger. He discerns a multiplicity of ironies that are intrinsic to the analysis of humor. He discovers as much complexity and ambiguity in a cartoon, such as Mickey Mouse, as he finds in an important piece of literature, such as Huckleberry Finn. An Anatomy of Humor is an intriguing and enjoyable read for people interested in humor and the impact of popular and mass culture on society. It will also be of interest to professionals in communication and psychologists concerned with the creative process.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765804945
Publisher:	Transaction Publishers
Publication date:	01/31/1999
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	211
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Arthur Asa Berger is professor emeritus of broadcast and electronic communication arts at San Francisco State University. He is the author of numerous articles, book reviews, and books on media, popular culture, humor, and tourism, and he is the series editor of Transaction’s Communication and Mass Culture and Humor series.

Table of Contents

1: Theoretical Concerns; 1: A Glossary of the Techniques of Humor: Morphology of the Joke-Tale; 2: Anatomy of a Joke; 2: Applications; 3: The Telephone Pole with the Braided Armpits: Ethnic and Racial Jokes and American Society; 4: “On Me You Can’t Count”: An Interpretation of a Jewish Joke with Relevance to the Jewish Question; 5: Jewish Fools; 6: Mickey Mouse and Krazy Kat: Of Mice and Men; 7: Comics and Popular Culture; 8: Mark Russell in Buffalo; 9: A Cool Million; 10: Twelfth Night; 11: Huckleberry Finn as a Novel of the Absurd; 12: Healing with Humor; 13: Comedy and Creation

Editorial Reviews

This book belongs on the shelf of anyone who appreciates humor. It also belongs in the laboratories of psychological researchers investigating when and how we laugh.” —T. Cameron Wild, Contemporary Psychology “This is a significant book, and it will surely have a welcome place in any professional humor library.” —Don L. F. Nilsen, Humor

From the Publisher