{"product_id":"ethnic-humor-in-multiethnic-america-9780813561486","title":"Ethnic Humor in Multiethnic America","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): David Gillota\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Rutgers University Press\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Rutgers University Press\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Ethnic Studies - General\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen wielded by the white majority, ethnic humor can be used to ridicule and demean marginalized groups. In the hands of ethnic minorities themselves, ethnic humor can work as a site of community building and resistance. In nearly all cases, however, ethnic humor can serve as a window through which to examine the complexities of American race relations. In \u003ci\u003eEthnic Humor in Multiethnic America\u003c\/i\u003e, David Gillota explores the ways in which contemporary comic works both reflect and participate in national conversations about race and ethnicity. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eGillota investigates the manner in which various humorists respond to multiculturalism and the increasing diversity of the American population. Rather than looking at one or two ethnic groups at a time--as is common scholarly practice--the book focuses on the interplay between humorists from different ethnic communities. While some comic texts project a fantasy world in which diverse ethnic characters coexist in a rarely disputed harmony, others genuinely engage with the complexities and contradictions of multiethnic America. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe first chapter focuses on African American comedy with a discussion of such humorists as Paul Mooney and Chris Rock, who tend to reinforce a black\/white vision of American race relations. This approach is contrasted to the comedy of Dave Chappelle, who looks beyond black and white and uses his humor to place blackness within a much wider multiethnic context. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eChapter 2 concentrates primarily on the Jewish humorists Sarah Silverman, Larry David, and Sacha Baron Cohen--three artists who use their personas to explore the peculiar position of contemporary Jews who exist in a middle space between white and other. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn chapter 3, Gillota discusses different humorous constructions of whiteness, from a detailed analysis of \u003ci\u003eSouth Park \u003c\/i\u003eto \"Blue Collar Comedy\" and the blog \u003ci\u003eStuff White People Like\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eChapter 4 is focused on the manner in which animated children's film and the network situation comedy often project simplified and harmonious visions of diversity. In contrast, chapter 5 considers how many recent works, such as \u003ci\u003eHarold and Kumar Go to White Castle\u003c\/i\u003e and the Showtime series \u003ci\u003eWeeds\u003c\/i\u003e, engage with diversity in more complex and productive ways.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Atlantic Books","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46492435972247,"sku":"9780813561486","price":2945.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9780813561486.jpg?v=1766352911","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/ethnic-humor-in-multiethnic-america-9780813561486","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}