I have one question about her content. How does it make Jews feel when she discredits the holocaust? I am not Jewish, so I am curious to know how Jews react to such comments whether in comedy or not.
where: Theater 99
280 meeting street
when: saturday november 21 @ 10pm
why: to see the preliminary comedy competition in charleston…the audience gets to vote and decide the winner!!!!!!
go be a part of something local, fun and relevant to our class 
Newsweek picks their top, or bottom, twelve:
Wednesday 18 Nov: Screening of “Jesus is Magic,” JSC 209
Friday 20 Nov: Papers due by noon
Tues 24 Nov: Discussion of Absurdistan, pp. 1-145. If you miss class or fail to do the reading, you must complete a written assignment, to be posted here later, due Tuesday 1 Dec.
Tuesday 1 Dec: Discussion of remainder of Absurdistan
Wednesday 2 Dec: Screening of “Funny People,” location TBA
Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner, ages 83 and 87, talk about the beginnings of their famous routine:
There are an enormous number of clips out there from these two comedians. I’m just going to give you a couple. I like this Jon Stewart clip because I think it encapsulates all of the themes of “The Daily Show” — before that show even existed. This is a standup performance in Miami from 1996: before the show, before George W. Bush, before the Iraq war. But in just 7 or so minutes, I think, you can see everything that was to come:
Now here is Stephen Colbert’s most famous performance, at the White House Correspondents’ dinner, with President George W. Bush seated only a few feet away. It may not be his funniest work — it doesn’t help that the audience is not really ready to laugh at it — but it certainly is his bravest. In three parts:
Updated: here are a couple of very recent clips. You might want to think about how much of the material from the Jon Stewart clip is already implict in what he says in the 1996 clip.
We decided we would talk about Ricky Gervais for this Thursday. To get you thinking about British comedy in general, here are two classic Monty Python sketches:
Then here are some clips from Ricky Gervais, on the original British version of “The Office”:
Finally, if you have time to watch something longer, here is the interview that Gervais did with Larry David for British television. It’s in six parts on YouTube; I’m just going to give you the link to the first part, and then you can follow along from there:
Write an essay of approximately four (typed, double-spaced) pages on some aspect of the comedic material we have studied, from S. J. Perelman until Larry David. You may choose one of the topics below, or write on a topic of your own design. But remember that a good essay is one in which you set up and then resolve some question, problem, or issue. A good essay will establish its claims by citing and analyzing examples from the comedic work.
Please clearly cite any outside sources you use, and make clear which passages are direct quotations. I refer you to the guidelines about plagiarism and the Honor Code which are included on the syllabus. This paper is now due by noon on Friday, November 20. This is a change from the original due date of Tuesday, November 17. Except in case of emergency, there will be no extensions beyond this new deadline. Late papers will be subject to grade penalties.
Here are some suggestions for topics:
1. It is often argued that much of American Jewish culture is about the experience of immigration and assimilation, and that the changes in American Jewish culture reflect generational differences, with earlier generations closer to the immigrant experience, and later generations closest to full assimilation. Can this specific generational difference explain the differences between the Jewish comedy of what be called the first generation of American Jewish comedians (Groucho Marx and perhaps Sid Caesar), the second generation (Lenny Bruce, Nichols and May, Philip Roth, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen), and the third generation (Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart)? Choose at least two comedians of different generations and discuss the ways in which generational differences do or do not affect the ways they make their Jewishness part of their comedy.
2. In the 1960s and after, the comedy we have studied becomes more sexually explicit. But different comedians put sexual themes to different uses. Choose at least two of Lenny Bruce, Philip Roth, Woody Allen, and Richard Pryor, and compare and contrast their treatment of sexuality. What kinds of descriptions of sex do they offer, and what comedic purposes do these descriptions serve? What accounts for the differences between the different comedians on this topic?
3. The 1960s and 1970s were a time in which racial issues were at the forefront of American politics and culture. A performance like Richard Pryor’s 1979 concert, which featured a headlining African-American comedian talking directly about race, was something that could happen only at the end of this period, not at the beginning. At the beginning of the period, however, there were Jewish comedians talking explicitly about their Jewishness. What was the relationship between these two phenomena? In what ways did the work of the Jewish comedians prepare the way for Pryor’s discussion of race, and in what ways did Pryor go beyond their work? Choose at least one earlier Jewish comedian to compare with Pryor. (Alternately, you could compare Pryor to later Jewish comedians’ treatment of race — say that of Jerry Seinfeld and/or Larry David — in a period where race was no longer as explicit as a central concern in American culture.)
Here’s a full episode, in three parts.
“Anonymous Donor,” Part 1:
“Anonymous Donor,” Part 2:
“Anonymous Donor,” Part 3:
And here are a few small clips from YouTube:
And I included this one for Professor Shanes:
There is a wealth of “Seinfeld” clips available on YouTube, in case you want to watch any episodes for class. Only the reading is required, but you might enjoy some of the episodes listed below. And I will throw in a very short clip that I always come back to as definitive of Seinfeld’s humor. That’s this one:
Now on to the episodes. If you have favorites of your own, feel free to post a link or to e-mail me to add one to this list. In each case, I’ve given just the link to the first part of the episode; you can easily find the subsequent parts from these links.