Annotated Bibliography

Abstract

I willing be studying the evolution of slapstick comedy as portray in Saturday Night Life. I am particularly interested in this topic because I am not only a big fan of comedy, but I am also captivated by the amount of time that Saturday Night Live has managed to remain a prominent late night television show. Most television shows disappear after only a few seasons, yet Saturday Night Live has aired since October of 1975. Likewise, many of its actors left the show and had a successful career as comedians in the film industry. I want to know—what has led to Saturday Night Live’s successful run over the past few decades. Likewise, I would also like to explore the history and evolution of slapstick comedy and how teenagers today have specifically been capable of keeping the slapstick industry very prominent and highly regard it as a great form of humor. I plan the address the differences of traditional slapstick vs “new” slapstick techniques as utilized in Saturday Night Live by comparing the actors from its early seasons to the women of today.

Andrin, Muriel. “Back to the ‘Slap’: Slapstick’s Hyperbolic Gesture and the Rhetoric of Violence”. Slapstick Comedy. Ed. Tom Paulus and Rob King. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2010. 226- 235. Print.

In this article, Muriel Andrin analyzes how slapstick comedy is rooted in the violent effects experienced by these slapstick bodies, noting that the laugher questions our relationship with others and reveals desire to see other humiliated. Thus, emerging in the early 20th century, slapstick humor brings about a new type of comedy that knows no boundaries and utilizes the hyperbole to create ridiculous scenarios. Likewise, slapstick draws on the repetition of violent events which also leaves no room for the audience to respond emotionally especially to those whose bodies are in harm’s way. Yet, he reassesses this idea of bodies experiencing great harm and asserts that like slapsticks, it is more noise than actual impact. Slapstick based upon the humor of violence is transitioning into laughter imbedded in the effects of violence as pain and suffering. Similarly to other sources, this article acknowledge the connection between violence and slapstick comedy yet it delves deeper into the rhetoric and exaggeration components that fuel the laughter from violence. These elements will be useful as it provides an example for analyzing the exaggeration of Saturday Night Live.

"'Bad Grandpa' Breaks Slapstick Comedy Mold with Cohesive Storyline." University WireOct 30 2013. ProQuest. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

This article published in the Daily Nebraskan focuses its attention on how the relatively new movie, "Bad Grandpa" breaks the now prominent slapstick comedy mold by having an actual storyline that goes along with the movie. It describes the movie's plot is able to be maintained due to its simplicity yet the movie still strings it all the pranks and jokes of

a normal slapstick comedy. It does recognize that there were some drawbacks to the plot especially at the end where it forces the grandpa's character to drastically change in an unreal way. The author is not only writing to the general population explaining the difference between bad grandpa and the average slapstick comedy but he is addressing those that analyze the evolution of slapstick comedy today. He analyzes the slapstick comedy in the movie today in a relatively surprised manner. Yet his contribution is useful in the sense that it not only shows the evolution of slapstick today but it explains how not having a plot is a usual characteristic of slapstick. Other than this fact, the article will not be useful because it focuses too closely into a single movie to fully reveal all the techniques of slapstick.

Gunning, Tom. “The Mechanisms of Laughter: the Devices of Slapstick.” Slapstick Comedy. Ed. Tom Paulus and Rob King. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2010. 137- 151. Print.

In Tom Gunning’s article, the mechanisms of laughter: the devices of slapstick, he explores how laughter is based on the destructive nature of crazy machines which refers to anything from cars to humans. This prominent belief arises during the machine age, first in the form of an actual slapstick device whose humor stems from the loud sound and pain associated with it. Yet, as society and technology evolved, slapstick transformed to this idea of crazy machines which were essentially purposeless objects utilized to get a comedic response ranging from bananas to broken down cars. This source analyzes the true laughter of slapstick arising from crazy machines which cause some outrage due to the useless stupidity of this humor. Yet, he addresses those who condemn slapstick as represented in this manner and explains that it is these gag functions and use of machine that produce humor. Similar to other articles, the origins of slapstick is explored and it is connected to pain yet this adds a new central idea about crazy machines and their connection to humans and humor. This could be a useful source in the sense that this idea of crazy machines could be applied not only to the props in Saturday Night Live but also the people.

Katrib, Ruba. "TRANSITION GAGS." Art In America 103.6 (2015): 114-21. Web.

Written by Katrib, “Transition Gags” discusses contemporary art forms ranging from sculptures in gallery exhibits to videos that are based on the humor of slapstick. It then notes the evolution of slapstick through the change of its definition from a new way of seeing the body through machines to punch lines aimed as mocking society. Like Peacock, this sources acknowledges the inherent violence associated with slapstick as well as transition of slapstick poking at society. On the other hand, it also delves into slapstick’s presence in animation, particularly in Disney cartoons and Snow White. This source would be useful if one was studying the brief evolution of slapstick in society in general, yet the article’s lack of details about the techniques of slapstick prohibits a solid analysis of slapstick in the industry today. Likewise, this source examines the broad

category of art overall which could not correlate with my topics focus on the television industry.

Peacock, Louise, and UNIV NEWCASTLE. "No Pain: No Gain - the Provocation of Laughter in Slapstick Comedy." Popular Entertainment Studies, 1.2 (2010): 93-106.

In this book, Peacock evaluates the evolution of slapstick comedy from the 1920s to contemporary films and shows today including The Simpsons. In particularly, she examines the pain and violence rooted within the art of slapstick which calls upon the audience to respond with humor. She not only brings to light the various techniques of slapstick, but she also contrasts the types of pain from accidental to intentional and real pain. Being a Senior Lecturer at University of Hull in the United Kingdom, she writes in order to teacher her students about her subject of expertise. This source like others discusses earlier forms of slapstick comedy like those of Buster Keaton as well as expounding upon more contemporary works which will aid my research when analyzing Saturday Night Live’s utilization of slapstick comedy over the past few years. Again, this article will also be useful as it analyzes the aspect of pain as a vital component of slapstick which is a common theme of society’s view of slapstick today.

Trahair, Lisa. The Comedy of Philosophy Sense and Nonsense in Early Cinematic Slapstick. Albany: State U of New York, 2007. SUNY Ser., Insinuations. Web.

The Comedy of Philosophy Sense and Nonsense in Early Cinematic Slapstick written by Lisa Trahair first analyzes the philosophical underpinning to laughter in early cinematic comedies as expounded upon by Bataille and Freud through her examination of films of the 1920s. She classifies a sense of humor as being human and later argues how its effect turns sense into nonsense. Like these findings, this book would appeal to people studying humor as philosophers and psychoanalysts. Later she delves into the evolution of physical slapstick to comedy of cinema of attraction which draws on culture for its humor. With this transition, slapstick shift from physical violence to comedy based on vision and truth. Like other sources, this book analyzes the roots of slapstick especially in the early 1920s while at the same time, contributing the philosophical dimension of humor. This book will be useful in analyzing the reasons why people laugh more at certain jokes than others especially on shows like SNL as well as tracking the evolution of humor.