Description
Book SynopsisThis study analyzes North Korean comedy films from the late 1960s to present day. It examines the most iconic comedy films and comedians to show how North Koreans have enjoyed themselves and have established a culture of humor that challenges, subverts, and, at times, reinforces the dominant political ideology. The author argues that comedy films, popular comedians, and the viewers have an intricate interdependent relationship that shaped the film culture—the pre/post production of filmmaking, film-watching experience, and the legacies of actors—in North Korea.
Trade ReviewAt last there is a book that reads North Korean cinema beyond the usual focus on political events, personality cult, and propaganda function. Focusing on seldom-studied comedy films from North Korea, Laughing North Koreans: The Culture of Comedy Films opens up the field by situating North Korean cinema at the confluence of national cinema, film genre, cultural studies, and identity politics. Immanuel Kim’s exciting, finely-researched book is a must-read for anyone interested in socialist cinema, Korean film history, and North Korean history, film, and culture. -- Dong Hoon Kim, University of Oregon
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Let’s Proceed With Laughter
Chapter 1: Comedian Comedy: Faces of the Industry
Chapter 2: I Spy a Spy: Social Anxiety and Farce in Boasting Too Much
Chapter 3: Taming of the Chief: Interruptive Laughter and Gender Politics in My Family’s Problem
Chapter 4: Mind Your Manners: Comedy of Manners in Day at the Amusement Park
Chapter 5: Love and Marriage: Romantic Comedy as Visual Culture
