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The divisive power of humour: comedy, taste and symbolic boundaries

Friedman, Sam and Kuipers, Giselinde (2013) The divisive power of humour: comedy, taste and symbolic boundaries. Cultural Sociology, 7 (2). pp. 179-195. ISSN 1749-9755

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Identification Number: 10.1177/1749975513477405

Abstract

Using British and Dutch interview data, this article demonstrates how people from different social classes draw strong symbolic boundaries on the basis of comedy taste. Eschewing the omnivorousness described in recent studies of cultural consumption, comedy audiences make negative aesthetic and moral judgements on the basis of comedy taste, and often make harsh judgements without the disclaimers, apologies and ambivalence so typical of ‘taste talk’ in contemporary culture. The article demonstrates how, in particular, Dutch and British middle class audiences use their comedy taste to communicate distinction and cultural superiority. We discuss several reasons why such processes of social distancing exist in comedy taste and not other cultural areas: the traditionally low status of comedy; the strong relation between humour and personhood; the continuity between comedy tastes and humour styles in everyday life; as well as the specific position of comedy in the British and Dutch cultural fields.

Item Type: Article
Official URL: http://cus.sagepub.com/
Additional Information: © 2013 SAGE Publications and the British Sociological Association
Divisions: Sociology
Subjects: G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GT Manners and customs
H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races
Date Deposited: 23 Oct 2014 14:31
Last Modified: 16 Mar 2024 03:24
Projects: ESRC PhD Quota Award (ES/G017166/1)
Funders: Economic and Social Research Council
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/59939

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