{"product_id":"what-are-you-laughing-at-a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-comedic-event-9781441162939","title":"What Are You Laughing At A Comprehensive Guide to the Comedic Event","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDan O'Shannon is currently co-executive producer for the ABC show \u003cem\u003eModern Family\u003c\/em\u003e, previously working on other Emmy nominated shows such as \u003cem\u003eFrasier\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCheers\u003c\/em\u003e. O'Shannon has also lectured in classes at UCLA, USC, and taught a course on writing at Cleveland State University, where he holds an honorary doctorate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eComedy is an art, but there is comedy to be gained in treating it as a science. What Are You Laughing At? Is a discussion of the genre of many mediums in comedy, trying to define a broad topic which an vary person to person. Attempting to gain a better understanding of the concept of comedy, writer for many hit comedy sitcoms in the past few decades Dan O’Shannon presents an intriguing delve into psychology and sociology behind it all. What Are You Laughing At? Is a fine take on the meaning and purpose of comedy, highly recommended. -- James A. Cox, Editor-In-Chief * The Midwest Book Review - Wisconson Book Watch *\u003cbr\u003eAs hard as it would be to define \"'the meaning of life', defining 'comedy' is harder. And somehow Dan O'Shannon does it in his insightful, comprehensive, and funny new book, \u003ci\u003eWhat Are You Laughing At?: A Comprehensive Guide to the Comedic Event\u003c\/i\u003e. I’ve been writing humor for 35 years and I learned stuff! If you’re planning on a career in comedy all you will need is this book and a rubber chicken. -- Ken Levine, Writer\/producer MASH and The Simpsons\u003cbr\u003eCreative individuals usually have difficulty explaining how they get their ideas.  But O’Shannon’s presentation of how comedy works in excellent and detailed.  O’Shannon is certainly an expert at creating comedy, having written and produced television successes like Cheers, Frasier, and Modern Family.  He confesses here, however, that in his job he does not use the model he describes here and that he did have scholarly help, which he praises and is thankful for.  The result is a sophisticated model of humor that stands up quite well against more scholarly works like Matthew Hurley, Daniel Dennett, and Reginald Adams Jr.’s Inside Jokes (CH, Jan’12, 49-2983) and John Morreall’s Comic Relief (CH, Sep’10, 48-0062). …This is a book for anyone curious about the nature of humor.  Summing up: Highly recommended.  All readers. -- P. L. Derks, emeritus, College of William and Mary * Choice *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eINTRODUCTION \u003cbr\u003eOVERVIEW\u003cbr\u003eCommon Comedy Theories\u003cbr\u003eThe Comedic Event\u003cbr\u003eDocumenting the Comedic Event\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePART I: ELEMENTS OF CONTEXT: THE RECEPTION FACTORS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 1: THE RECEIVER AND HIS WORLD\u003cbr\u003e1-1. A Comedy Frame of Mind\u003cbr\u003e1-2. Early Reception Factors\u003cbr\u003e1-3. Levels of Social Interaction\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 2: ELEMENTS OF COMMUNICATION\u003cbr\u003e2-1. Modes of Communication\u003cbr\u003e2-2. Device and Specific Device\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 3: VEHICLES\u003cbr\u003e3-1. Vehicles\u003cbr\u003e3-2. Vehicle-based Reception Factors\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 4: LEVEL OF CONTROL AND IDENTIFYING THE SOURCE\u003cbr\u003e4-1. Level of Control\u003cbr\u003e4-2. Identifying The Source\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePART II: THE INCONGRUOUS PICTURE\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 5: FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENTS\u003cbr\u003e5-1. The Receiver's Brain: Hard-wired for Comedy?\u003cbr\u003e5-2. The Triangle\u003cbr\u003e5-3. The Core Variables\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 6: INCONGRUITY\u003cbr\u003e6-1. Incongruity\u003cbr\u003e6-2. Estimating Levels of Incongruity\u003cbr\u003e6-3. Types of Incongruity\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 7: COGNITIVE PROCESS\u003cbr\u003e7-1. Cognitive Process: Overview\u003cbr\u003e7-2. Level One: Straightforward Information\u003cbr\u003e7-3. Level Two: Gap-filling\u003cbr\u003e7-4: Level Three: Recontextualization\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 8: VARIATIONS\u003cbr\u003e8-1. Exploring the Four Corners of the Triangle\u003cbr\u003e8-2. What are Practical Jokes?\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 9: COMEDY AND ENTROPY\u003cbr\u003e9-1. Sustaining the Laugh\u003cbr\u003e9-2. Entropy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePART III: ENHANCERS AND INHIBITORS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 10: HOW COMEDIC INFORMATION TRIGGERS ENHANCERS AND INHIBITORS\u003cbr\u003e10-1. Overview\u003cbr\u003e10-2. On-going Social Needs: Superiority, Identification, and Inclusion\u003cbr\u003e10-3. Aspects of Awareness\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER 11: ELEMENTS OF THE JOKE'S COMMUNICATION, STRUCTURE, AND CONTENT\u003cbr\u003e11-1. Resuming the Chart: The Joke as a Whole\u003cbr\u003e11-2. Elements of Communication and Structure\u003cbr\u003e11-3. Elements of Content\u003cbr\u003eSUMMING IT ALL UP\u003cbr\u003eThe Completed Chart\u003cbr\u003eFinal Thoughts and Acknowledgments","brand":"Bloomsbury Publishing (UK)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51769649234263,"sku":"9781441162939","price":30.43,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781441162939.jpg?v=1758722054","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/what-are-you-laughing-at-a-comprehensive-guide-to-the-comedic-event-9781441162939","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}