Reading Little Britain
Comedy Matters on Contemporary Television
Published on 30. June 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
264 pages
978-1-84511-939-3 (ISBN)
Description
'Little Britain' arrived on British TV in 2003 - and was an instant hit. Matt Lucas and David Walliams wrote and performed, and their sharp satirical genius created this character-based sketch show - Vicky Pollard, Dafydd 'I'm the only gay in the village', Ting Tong Macadangdang are hard to forget. Its huge popularity as cult-comedy on radio, then television, with its success as mainstream award-winning comedy and as a national and international TV phenomenon, have been tempered by criticism. It's pushed the boundaries of taste too far, some have claimed; it's grotesquely un-politically correct, mocks social groups and participates in the 'humour of humiliation' say others. Timely and comprehensive, this must-read book on 'Little Britain' for fans and scholars is the first to provide lively critiques of the show by leading writers, who explore its appeal and dissect its controversies. They look into representations of gender, sexuality, race, disability and class, into sketch-show conventions, the art of the comedy catchphrase, audiences' responses and still more. It provides too a Film, TV and Radio Guide.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 138 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-84511-939-3 (9781845119393)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
06/2010
I.B. Tauris
€14.49
Available for download
Person
Sharon Lockyer is Lecturer in Sociology and Communications, Brunel University. She is co-editor (with Michael Pickering) of 'Beyond a Joke: The Limits of Humour' (2005).
Content
Acknowledgements
Notes on Contributors
Character List
Introduction: Britain, Britain, Britain (Sharon Lockyer)
PART 1: Narrative, Genre and Comedic Techniques
1) Analysing Little Britain as a Sketch Show (Ian Mowatt)
2) Little Britain Live (Stephen Lacey)
3) 'Yeah but no but yeah': A Linguistic Perspective on the Humour of Little Britain (Julia Snell)
PART 2: Little Britain and Identity
4) 'I can't believe you just said that': Figuring Gender and Sexuality in Little Britain (Deborah Finding)
5) How Little Britain does 'race' (Sarita Malik)
6) 'Mischief and Monstrosity': Little Britain and Disability (Margaret Montgomerie)
7) Chavs, Chav-nots and Anyone-in-between: Social Class in Little Britain (Sharon Lockyer)
PART 3: Little Britain and Inter/national Audiences
8) 'I'm anti-Little Britain, and I'm worried I might start laughing': Audience Responses to Little Britain (Brett Mills)
9) Little Britain: An American Perspective (Arthur Asa Berger)
10) 'In English please!' Lost in Translation: Little Britain and Italian Audiences (Delia Chiaro)
POSTSCRIPT: Little Britain USA (Kim Akass)
Figure 1: Comparison of Anderson's (1997) results with the speech of Vicky Pollard
Film, TV and Radio Guide
Bibliography
Index
Notes on Contributors
Character List
Introduction: Britain, Britain, Britain (Sharon Lockyer)
PART 1: Narrative, Genre and Comedic Techniques
1) Analysing Little Britain as a Sketch Show (Ian Mowatt)
2) Little Britain Live (Stephen Lacey)
3) 'Yeah but no but yeah': A Linguistic Perspective on the Humour of Little Britain (Julia Snell)
PART 2: Little Britain and Identity
4) 'I can't believe you just said that': Figuring Gender and Sexuality in Little Britain (Deborah Finding)
5) How Little Britain does 'race' (Sarita Malik)
6) 'Mischief and Monstrosity': Little Britain and Disability (Margaret Montgomerie)
7) Chavs, Chav-nots and Anyone-in-between: Social Class in Little Britain (Sharon Lockyer)
PART 3: Little Britain and Inter/national Audiences
8) 'I'm anti-Little Britain, and I'm worried I might start laughing': Audience Responses to Little Britain (Brett Mills)
9) Little Britain: An American Perspective (Arthur Asa Berger)
10) 'In English please!' Lost in Translation: Little Britain and Italian Audiences (Delia Chiaro)
POSTSCRIPT: Little Britain USA (Kim Akass)
Figure 1: Comparison of Anderson's (1997) results with the speech of Vicky Pollard
Film, TV and Radio Guide
Bibliography
Index