Description
Book SynopsisFollows the history of this 36-time Emmy-winning show and its place in the shifting social and media landscape of American television.
Trade ReviewReaders looking for a more analytical approach to SNL will want to check out this interesting collection of essays. . . . The book is undeniably interesting as it explores the show from angles that many readers probably haven't encountered previously.
* Booklist *
If you like the variety show that weekly brings us outstanding sketch comedy and popular music, you'll find this book worthy.
* NUVO *
Readers looking for an informative collection of essays from challenging vantage points will find a lot to love here.
* PopMatters *
All the essays are scholarly and clear, and all end with a substantive bibliography. . . . The book is equally useful as a cohesive book or as a series of self-contained essays for a variety of disciplines. . . . Highly recommended.
* Choice *
Table of Contents1. Introduction: Situating Saturday Night Live within American Television Culture / Nick Marx, Matt Sienkiewicz, and Ron Becker
Part I: Live from New York on NBC
2. The Evolution of Saturday Night / Michele Hilmes
3. "Live from New York!" / Susan Murray
4. Michael O'Donoghue, Experimental Television Comedy, and Saturday Night Live's Authorship / Evan Elkins
Part II: Staying Alive on Saturday Night
5. Politics and the Brand: Saturday Night Live's Campaign Season Humor and Cultural Relevance / Jeffrey P. Jones
6. Speaking Too Soon: SNL, 9/11 and the Remaking of American Irony / Matt Sienkiewicz
7. Live Music: Mediating Musical Performance and Discord on Saturday Night Live / Alyxandra Vesey
8. Going Backstage: Network Heritage, Industrial Identities, and Reiterated Mediation of Saturday Night Live's Work Worlds / Derek Johnson
Part III: Social Politics and Comedic Representation
9: Bringing the Black: Eddie Murphy and African American Humor on Saturday Night Live / Racquel Gates
10. "Is this the Era of the Woman?": SNL's Gender Politics in the New Millennium / Caryn Murphy
11. "Reading Fauxbama: 'Honeyface' Performance on SNL" / Mary Beltrán
Part IV: Beyond Saturday Night, Beyond Television
12.Skits Strung Together: Performance, Narrative, and the Sketch Comedy Aesthetic in SNL Films / Nick Marx
13. Andy Samberg's Digital Success Story and Other Myths of the Internet Comedy Club / Ethan Thompson and Ethan Tussey
14. Sketches Gone Viral: From Watercooler Talk to Participatory Comedy / David Gurney
Contributors
Index
