Majer, Tyler
The Great Liberation (or Standing Up, Laying Down)
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Names:
Creator (cre): Majer, Tyler, Thesis advisor (ths): Brown, Stephen, Degree committee member (dgc): Epp, Michael, Degree committee member (dgc): Hodges, Hugh, Degree committee member (dgc): Loeb, Andrew, Degree granting institution (dgg): Trent University
Abstract:
This thesis presents a critical history of stand-up comedy alongside rhetorical analyses of specific stand-up routines and performances to argue for stand-up's efficacy as a therapeutic artform. Through analysis of the history, function, and content of satire, this thesis presents stand-up comedy as an artform utilized for more than just simple laughter. Stand-up comedy, as a form and genre, provides the unique ability to engage with difficult subject matter, traumatic experiences, and offense for the benefit of both listener and audience in a way that subverts, therapizes, and equalizes instances of discrimination, trauma, and denigration.
Author Keywords: Abjection, Offense, Satire, Stand-up Comedy, Therapy
2023