Author Description

Machine generated contents note: -- Introduction - Why Laugh? -- 1. It's all Greek to me: Comedy History from Aristophanes to Juvenal Establishing the Basic Tropes and Forms -- 2. Swiftian Satire and Shakespearean clowns: How the Elizabethans Attacked the Great and the Good with Parody and Lampoon -- 3. Wildean Wit: How Comedy Plays Became the Basis for the Comedy Movie -- 4. Silent Slapstick: How Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd Exploited Visual Comedy -- 5. Dumb and Dumber: How Laurel and Hardy Created the Perfect Double Act Template -- 6. It Happened one Night: How Zingy Screwball Comedy led to the Rom Com -- 7. Sullivan's Travels to Team America: Social Satire from the 1940s to the Present Day -- 8. Auteurs from Woody Allen to Sasha Baron-Cohen: One Man, One Vision -- 9. Here come the Girls: Women in Comedy from Kooky Girl to Leading Actress -- 10. The Subgenres: Fish out of Water and the Coming of Age Comedy -- 11. Road and Buddy Movies, Frat Boy Frolics and Gross Out -- 12. Sports, Military and Ensemble Comedy -- 13. Farce and Black Comedy -- 14. Crime, Caper and Heist -- 15. Satire, Parody and Mockumentary -- Appendices -- - Interviews with Directors, writers and Producers -- - Writing Exercises -- Filmography -- Bibliography -- Index.