License to Laugh: The Stand-Up Comedian in Relation to American Normative Values
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2016-07-01
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en
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Humor is considered an essential feature of human culture and has always held up a mirror to society. One form of humor that has gained momentum in recent decades is American stand-up comedy. This thesis sets out to locate the function of the stand-up comedian in relation to American normative values. It does so in three steps. First, the three leading theories of humor are reviewed in relation to stand-up, which leads to an amalgamated version of the superiority theory and the incongruity theory based on the notion of incongruous superiority. Next, this notion paves the way for theorizing the construction of the comedian’s license, which is a crucial concept in relation to normative values. The license is argued to depend specifically on self-deprecatory humor and performed marginality. Finally, the set out theoretical framework is applied to the case studies of Louis C.K. and Chris Rock. The first affirms the theory of the license and the second shows the complexity of its construction. In both cases, stand-up comedy serves as critique and a social corrective to established norms – it is itself a normative aspect of American society.
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