Get Free Shipping on orders over $79
Post-Comedy : Theory Redux - Alfie Bown

Post-Comedy

By: Alfie Bown

Paperback | 15 January 2024

At a Glance

Paperback


$36.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $9.19 with

 or 

Ships in 10 to 15 business days

Not so long ago, comedy and laughter were a shared experience of relief, as Freud famously argued. At their best, ribbing, roasting, piss-taking and insulting were the foundation of a kind of universal culture from which friendship, camaraderie and solidarity could emerge.

Now, comedy is characterized by edgy humour and misplaced jokes that provoke personal and social anxiety, causing divisive cultural warfare in the media and among people. Our comedy is fraught with tension like never before, and so too is our social life. We often hear the claim that no one can take a joke anymore.  But what if we really can’t take jokes anymore?

This book argues that the spirit of comedy is the first step in the building of society, but that it has been lost in the era of divisive identity politics. Comedy flares up debates about censorship, cancellation, progressivism and even fascism, keeping us divided from each other in a particularist mode of thinking that prevents us from building community. This cuts against the true universalist spirit of comedy, which is becoming a thing of the past and must be recovered.
Industry Reviews
"Comedy has never been more imperiled. In this epochal book that tells us exactly why comedy is in its current state, Alfie Bown takes us out of the darkness and into the light. Post-Comedy makes the connection that only appears obvious because he has written it: capitalism is bad for comedy. For anyone who wants a laugh along with the most penetrating social analysis around, run out and find Alfie Bown’s book. It’s absolutely not to be missed."
Todd McGowan, University of Vermont

More in Society & Culture

Looking from the North : Australian history from the top down - Henry Reynolds
Hooked : Inside the murky world of Australia's gambling industry - Quentin Beresford
Bandidos : Past, Present and Future - Tony Vartiainen

RRP $60.00

$45.75

24%
OFF
The Breath of the Gods : The History and Future of the Wind - Simon Winchester
The Uncool - Cameron Crowe

Paperback

RRP $36.99

$29.75

20%
OFF
Taylor Swift : Unofficial Search-and-Find Biographies - Gus Morais
The Art of Witch Hat Atelier - Kamome Shirahama
Bog Queen - Anna North

Paperback

RRP $32.99

$26.99

18%
OFF
giwang : Weather and wildlife on Wiradjuri Country - Belinda Bridge
Turbulence : Australian Foreign Policy in the Trump Era - Clinton Fernandes
Code of Silence : How Australian Women Helped Win the War - Diana Thorp
Sundays under the Lemon Tree - Julia Busuttil Nishimura

RRP $24.99

$19.95

20%
OFF
My Story, Our Country : A First Nations Family History - Ryhia Dank
PIX : The Magazine that told Australia's Story - Margot Riley

RRP $59.99

$49.95

17%
OFF
Sanctuary - Marina Warner

Hardcover

RRP $45.00

$35.75

21%
OFF