CMNS 304W Chapter Notes - Chapter 10: Humorism, Carnivalesque
29 Nov 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
This delightful book tackles the prevailing assumption that laughter and humour are inherently good. In developing a critique of humour the author proposes a social theory that places humour. In the form of ridicule - as central to social life. Billig argues that all cultures use ridicule as a disciplinary means to uphold norms of conduct and conventions of meaning. Historically, theories of humour reflect wider visions of politics, morality and aesthetics. For example, bergson argued that humour contains an element of cruelty while freud suggested that we deceive ourselves about the true nature of our laughter. Billig discusses these and other theories, while using the topic of humour to throw light on the perennial social problems of regulation, control and emancipation. Socially understood, laughter is never kind-hearted, it always arises out of a desire to ridicule and discipline.
