The Ironic State : British Comedy and the Everyday Politics of Globalization

''What can comedy tell us about the politics of a nation? In this book, James Brassett builds on his prize-winning research to demonstrate how British comedy can provide intimate and vital understandings of the everyday politics of globalization in Britain. The book explores British comedy and Britain's global politics from post-war imperial decline through to its awkward embrace of globalization, examining a wide variety of comedic mediums, such as the popular television show The Office and the online satire The Daily Mash. Touching on issues such as empire, the class system and capitalism, the author demonstrates how comedy offers valuable insights on how global market life is experienced, mediated, contested and accommodated.'' -- Fourni par l'éditeur Front Cover The Ironic State: British Comedy and the Everyday Politics of Globalization Copyright information Table of contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Comedy and the Politics of (Global) Resistance 1 Comedy and politics: two approaches The instrumental approach The critical approach 2 The approach of this book 3 Outline 1 Everyday Comic Resistance in Global Context Introduction 1 The everyday turn in global politics Ambiguities of everyday resistance 2 Towards a performative politics of comic resistance 3 Subversion and failure in the work of Armando Iannucci The market life of failure Conclusion: The productivity of comic resistance? 2 The Satire Boom: Imperial Decline and the Rise of the Everyday Elite Introduction 1 Satirical resistance: empire, class and the self 2 Ambiguities of the satire boom 3 Irony: a new language of global politics Everyday class politics Conclusion 3 Alternative Comedy and Resistance to ‘Thatcher’s Britain’ Introduction 1 The right on politics of alternative comedy 2 Alexei Sayle: resistance and recuperation Conclusion 4 Irony and the Liminality of Resistance Introduction: The anti-politics of irony? 1 Irony and the rise of new satire Chris Morris 2 Ambiguities of irony: Ali G and Ricky Gervais Ali G The Office 3 Towards a politics of liminality Conclusion: Irony and responsibility 5 Austerity and the Rise of Radical Comedy Introduction 1 Everyday politics of ‘the system’ Charlie Brooker 2 Comedy as political theory: anti-capitalist, radical democracy Russell Brand Stewart Lee 3 Satirical literacy Conclusion 6 Brexit, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Single Market Introduction: Politicizing comedy 1 Brexit and the division of British comedy The comedy politician The comedy establishment 2 Embracing the culture wars? 3 A changing consensus? Conclusion 7 The Globalization of Comic Resistance? Introduction 1 The British are coming (again) 2 The state of British comedy Conclusion Bibliography Index Back Cover What can comedy tell us about the politics of a nation? In this book, James Brassett builds on his prize-winning research to demonstrate how British comedy can provide intimate and vital understandings of the everyday politics of globalization in Britain. The book explores British comedy and Britain's global politics from post-war imperial decline through to its awkward embrace of globalization, examining a wide variety of comedic mediums, such as the popular television show The Office and the online satire The Daily Mash. Touching on issues such as empire, the class system and capitalism, the author demonstrates how comedy offers valuable insights on how global market life is experienced, mediated, contested and accommodated. -- Provided by publisher