Cracking Up: American Humor in a Time of Conflict Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)There is something both refreshing and disturbing about the fact that Jon Stewart's fake news show does the best job of reporting political news. One can have years of academic training in political science, read or skim five newspapers a day, and then turn on the evening news to discover that Brian Williams or Katie Couric have completely missed -- or misrepresented -- the most important story of the day; and then, later in the evening, Jon Stewart's irony-laden comedy show often gets the news of the day exactly right. How this situation came about and what it means for politics and our culture -- and how comedy is used to distract and inform and confuse and enlighten political discourse -- is only part of what this book covers, but that's plenty. I can think of no better treatment of this important subject.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Cracking Up: American Humor in a Time of Conflict

What do Jon Stewart, Freddy Krueger, Patch Adams, and George W. Bush have in common? As Paul Lewis shows in Cracking Up, they are all among the ranks of joke tellers who aim to do much more than simply amuse. Exploring topics that range from the sadistic mockery of Abu Ghraib prison guards to New Age platitudes about the healing power of laughter, from jokes used to ridicule the possibility of global climate change to the heartwarming performances of hospital clowns, Lewis demonstrates that over the past thirty years American humor has become increasingly purposeful and embattled. Navigating this contentious world of controversial, manipulative, and disturbing laughter, Cracking Up argues that the good news about American humor in our time—that it is delightful, relaxing, and distracting—is also the bad news. In a culture that both enjoys and quarrels about jokes, humor expresses our most nurturing and hurtful impulses, informs and misinforms us, and exposes as well as covers up the shortcomings of our leaders. Wondering what's so funny about a culture determined to laugh at problems it prefers not to face, Lewis reveals connections between such seemingly unrelated jokers as Norman Cousins, Hannibal Lecter, Rush Limbaugh, Garry Trudeau, Jay Leno, Ronald Reagan, Beavis and Butt-Head, and Bill Clinton. The result is a surprising, alarming, and at times hilarious argument that will appeal to anyone interested in the ways humor is changing our cultural and political landscapes.