Description
Book SynopsisHaunted Laughter addresses whether it is appropriate to use comedy as a literary form to depict Adolf Hitler, The Third Reich, and the Holocaust. Guided by existing theories of comedy and memory and through a comprehensive examination of comedic film and television productions, from the United States, Israel, and Europe, Jonathan Friedman proposes a model and a set of criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of comedy as a means of representation. These criteria include depth of purpose, relevance to the times, and originality of form and content. Friedman concludes that comedies can be effective if they provide relevant information about life and death in the past, present, or future; break new ground; and serve a purpose or multiple purposes—capturing the dynamic of the Nazi system of oppression, empowering or healing victims, serving as a warning for the future, or keeping those who can never grasp the real horror of genocide from losing perspective.
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Chapter One: Famous Comedies from The Great Dictator to JoJo Rabbit
Chapter Two: Comedy Films and TV Shows about Hitler
Chapter Three: Contesting the Nazis and Their System of Terror Through Humor
Chapter Four: Memory, Trauma, and Comedy
Chapter Five: Humor as Social Criticism
Conclusion: Comedy, The Solemn, and The Serious
