Description
Book SynopsisWhat can comedy tell us about the politics of a nation? In this book, James Brassett builds on his prize-winning research to demonstrate how British comedy can provide intimate and vital understandings of the everyday politics of globalization in Britain. The book explores British comedy and Britain’s global politics from post-war imperial decline through to its awkward embrace of globalization, examining a wide variety of comedic mediums, such as the popular television show The Office and the online satire The Daily Mash. Touching on issues such as empire, the class system and capitalism, the author demonstrates how comedy offers valuable insights on how global market life is experienced, mediated, contested and accommodated.
Trade Review“…a fascinating book... The Ironic State is an engaging study of the intimate relationship between comedy and politics, shedding light on how British comedians both resist and are constrained by the values and attitudes of the day.” International Affairs
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Comedy and the Politics of (Global) Resistance Everyday Comic Resistance in Global Context The Satire Boom: Imperial Decline and the Rise of the Everyday Elite Alternative Comedy and Resistance to ‘Thatcher’s Britain’ Irony and the Liminality of Resistance Austerity and the Rise of Radical Comedy Brexit, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Single Market The Globalization of Comic Resistance?
