All Joking Aside: American Humor and Its Discontents

Index

absurdist humor. See character comedy African American / Black comics, 87–92; four typologies of African American humor, 88; LGBTQ comics of color, 84–86; performances that satisfy stereotypes, 89–90, 215; race neutral personae, 89–90, 214–15; women comics, 91–92, 169–95. See also Gregory, Dick; Mosely, Micia; Pryor, Richard Ahmed, Ahmed, 76, 124, 154, 269 Allah Made Me Funny—Official Muslim Comedy Tour, 76–77 alternative comedy scene, 74, 193, 242 Alternet, 110–12, 116, 136, 255n8 Alvarado, Lisa, 93, 94, 269–70 Amer, Mohammed “Mo,” 75, 76, 270 Amini, Max, 76, 211–12, 270 “Angry Atthis” (lesbian anthem), 153 Ansari, Aziz, 8, 216 Apple, Edison, 82, 84, 270 Arab Americans, 75–79, 89, 104, 233, 251nn9–10 Arafat, Sarah, 76, 270 “Are Men Threatened by Funny Women?” (Wilson), 110–12, 116, 136, 255n8 Arnold, David, 91, 270–71 Asian American charged comics, 95–98. See also Cho, Margaret; Kondabolu, Hari assimilationism: and disidentification, 174; and gay civil rights and equality, 138–40, 149, 162–64, 219; and the “new gay visibility,” 139, 163; Robin Tyler and, 138–39, 149, 163–64 atheists, 42–43, 67–68 audience reception: assessing efficacy of charged humor, 23–24; and comic frames, 3, 122, 125, 172, 202–3, 213, 224; dilemma of misinterpretation, 180, 215, 217–18; modern-day minstrelsy, 202–3, 206, 215–20, 224–26, 265n20; and polarizing effect of charged humor, 3, 6, 25–26, 29–32, 98; postshow feedback and surveys, 235; scholarship, 10–11, 237; and tacit coercion, cues, or instruction, 172–73; Where My Girls At? (Mosely), 171–72, 182–95, 234–35. See also identification, audience; laughter Aundre the Wonderwoman, 271 awkward, age of the, 73–74 Balan, Michele, 271 Bamford, Maria, 32, 66, 242, 271–72; on class inequality, 102, 103, 109–10; The Special Special Special!, 242; web series (“Ask My Mom!”), 242, 272 Barr, Roseanne, 6, 29, 73, 103, 132, 272–73 Bell, W. Kamau, 27, 103, 230, 273–74; on race and audience expectations, 88–89, 90, 215; Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, 88, 95, 102, 203, 229, 240 Benincasa, Sara, 113–14, 274 Bigelow, Gloria, 2–3, 84–86, 92, 100–101, 103, 182, 274 Black, Lewis, 8, 38, 72, 274–76; debate over whether women are funny, 106, 112–14, 116 blackface minstrelsy, 52–53, 197, 201, 207–9, 215, 217. See also minstrelsy, modern-day Blue, Josh, 79, 80, 134, 276–77 Blue Collar Comedy Tour, 118 Index 338  Index blue humor, 48, 73, 175. See also shock comedy Boosler, Elayne, 65, 277 B‑Phlat, 87, 92, 103, 277–78 Brady, Wayne, 90, 214, 215 Briggs Initiative, 150 Brito, Janine, 27, 203, 230, 278 Brody, Dylan, 8, 278 brownface minstrelsy, 196, 199–203. See also minstrelsy, modern-day Bruce, Lenny, 37, 43–45, 61–62, 198, 278–79; blacklisting, 63; on class and racial inequality, 43–44; early performances, 40, 43; final performances, 45; I Am Not a Nut, Elect Me!, 43; improvisational sets, 40; obscenity charges and arrests, 44–45, 55; The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce, 44; yellowface minstrelsy, 206, 265n20 B.T., 91, 215, 279 Buckley, Kathy, 80, 81, 279 Burnham, Bo, 205–6; Words, Words, Words, 206 Caldwell, Jeff, 102, 103 Calumn, Jerry, 84, 279–80 Carlin, George, 8, 37, 54–58, 62, 72, 280–81; Class Clown, 56–57; compilations, 281; defense of Lenny Bruce, 55; early comedy, 54–55; and Bill Maher’s charged humor, 56, 57–58; mainstream career, 61, 72, 146; religious satire, 55–56; “Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television” routine, 55, 56–57; Toledo Window Box, 55; on whether women are as funny as men, 112–13 Carolla, Adam, 21, 29 censorship: blacklisted comics due to perceived controversiality, 62–63; Lenny Bruce’s obscenity arrests, 44–45, 55; George Carlin’s “Seven Words” routine, 55, 56–57; comics’ self-censorship, 10–11, 75–76; film ratings systems, 62; mainstream media programming and networks, 31–32; mainstream standards of decency, propriety, and obscenity, 61–62; Mort Sahl and the word “lesbian” on The Tonight Show, 40–41 Chappelle, Dave, 8, 30, 64, 87–88, 90, 91, 180, 281–82; Chappelle’s Show, 180; Dave Chappelle: For What It’s Worth, 87–88; dilemma of audience misinterpretation of stereotypes, 180, 215 character comedy, 4–5, 38, 61, 73 charged humor, 1–15; the author’s performance experiences, 11–12, 89, 128–29; and comic intentionality, 29, 225; defining characteristics, 18, 21, 25–35; feminist scholarship...