Furiously Funny: Comic Rage from Ralph Ellison to Chris Rock
Furiously Funny: Comic Rage from Ralph Ellison to Chris Rock
Cite
Abstract
Furiously Funny: Comic Rage from Ralph Ellison to Chris Rock explores the simultaneous expression of militancy and humor in African American literature that came to fruition in the post–World War II moment. This book traces the increasing presence of African American works containing a combustible mix of fury and radicalism, of pathos and pain, of wit and love that fuse to create what I refer to as comic rage. I employ Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection to argue that works of comic rage centralize African American experience and tradition in direct challenges to dominant (white) narratives and (black) counter-narratives about race, identity, and nation. Works of comic rage sit at the center of the discourse through humor’s connection to the familiar and the recognizable in mainstream and African America. Comic rage capitalizes on the inability of African Americans to be fully expelled from mainstream American constructions of its identity and culture. Therefore, as with the abject that cannot be expelled, works of comic rage cause the narratives and counter-narratives to collapse and initiate a re-visioning of fundamental, destructive assumptions within white supremacy. Whether those assumptions involve history, literature, or (white) superiority, comic rage aggressively promotes an African American subjectivity that rejects white stereotypes of blackness and African American responses that remain dependent on the power dynamics that reinforce white supremacy (master vs. slave, perpetrator vs. victim).
-
Front Matter
-
Introduction: A Joke to the Eye
-
1
(Re)Viewing Ellison’s Invisible Man: Comedy, Rage, and Cultural Tradition in an African American Classic
-
2
Dick Gregory, Moms Mabley, and Redd Foxx: Bridging the Gap between Comedy, Rage, and Race
-
3
From Absence to Flight: The Appearance of Comic Rage in the Black Arts and Black Power Movements, 1966–1976
-
4
Fury in the “Promised Land”: Comic Rage in George C. Wolfe’s The Colored Museum and Paul Beatty’s The White Boy Shuffle
-
5
Hollywood Shuffle and Bamboozled: Comic Rage, Black Film, and Popular Culture at the End of the Century
-
6
Direct from a Never Scared Bicentennial Nigger: Comic Rage in the Work of Richard Pryor, Whoopi Goldberg, and Chris Rock
- Conclusion: On Being Pissed Off to the Highest Degree of Pissivity
-
End Matter
Sign in
Get help with accessPersonal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
Institutional access
- Sign in through your institution
- Sign in with a library card Sign in with username/password Recommend to your librarian
Institutional account management
Sign in as administratorPurchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
October 2022 | 1 |
October 2022 | 2 |
October 2022 | 1 |
October 2022 | 1 |
October 2022 | 2 |
October 2022 | 1 |
October 2022 | 1 |
December 2022 | 2 |
December 2022 | 1 |
February 2023 | 1 |
March 2023 | 2 |
March 2023 | 1 |
June 2023 | 1 |
March 2024 | 2 |
April 2024 | 1 |
April 2024 | 1 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.