The period covered by this volume was marked by an explosion of comic forms and a flowering of comic creativity across a range of media. From the communal watching of silent films at the start of the period, to the use of Twitter and other online platforms to share and comment on comedy, technology has brought about significant changes in its form, consumption, and social effects. As comic forms have shifted and developed, so too have attitudes to what comedy can and cannot do. The volume covers a range of comic forms and examples from 1920 to the present day, including plays, film, television comedy, live comedy, and comedy on social media. It considers its role in entertainment and in provoking consideration of a range of social and political topics. Drawing together contributions by scholars from a variety of fields, including theater, film and television, sociology, and visual culture, this volume explores the range and diversity of comedic performance and comic forms in the modern age. Each chapter takes a different theme as its focus: form, theory, praxis, identities, the body, politics and power, laughter, and ethics. These eight different approaches to comedy add up to an extensive, synoptic coverage of the subject.

Table of contents

Introduction
1. Form
2. Theory 
3. Praxis 
4. Identity
5. The Body
6. Politics and Power
7. Laughter
8. Ethics
References