4 page Contextualizing Humor/Comedy in Culture Essay

It could be something pertaining to the phenomenon of memes on social media.

It could be about the way specific humor in a film or in several recent films helped establish cultural trends.

It could emphasize the different ways race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and/or class are now highlighted by stand-up comedians or on sit-coms.

There are many options. 

In the essay, you should try to address the following questions: 

1. What does the aspect of humor/comedy in culture that you identified suggest about society/culture?

2. What questions does it raise?

3. What makes it funny, effective, and/or socially/culturally significant or impactful?

You also need to contextualize (briefly) that aspect of comedy/humor further by addressing at least two of the following questions:

· What now has supplanted or has the ability to take over older identities and/or older functions and ways of doing things?

· How did various forces come to create that particular aspect of comedy/humor and make that aspect of humor/comedy exactly what it is now?

· What new meanings values, practices and/or relations related to your given aspect of humor/comedy in culture have become popular, accepted, etc. –

· and what older meanings, values, practices, etc. were thus supplant

· (and how/why)?

· How do different social actors connect to what is going on?

· Who readily embraces, uses, relates to, and/or challenges the features of comedy/humor in culture you identified

· (and why/how)?

· Where do the current trends appear to be headed and why?

· How does power operate in and through that comedic/humorous discourse?

Whichever prompts you address, your aim should be to put the aspect of humor/comedy in culture in greater context and to flesh out some of the relevant nuances.

Finally, you should make an effort somewhere in your essay to incorporate humor/comedy yourself. Try to be funny! The aim is to do that without sacrificing any of the other scholarly requirements. You do not necessarily have to make the reader LOL.

To ensure you receive credit for this part of the assignment, you just need to be sure you add a footnote/endnote that indicates/explains where and how you tried to incorporate humor.

In addition to referencing specific cultural/media texts as part of your analysis, you should also draw from and reference at least two clear sources in this essay. You should cite these sources using an academic style of your choosing (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago).

You will need to submit this essay as a .doc or .docx file under the correct assignment item on iLearn by the due date noted on the Weekly Schedule.

Refer to the attached rubric to see how your essay will be specifically evaluated.