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The late‐night talk show: Humor in fringe television

1987; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 52; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/10417948709372704

2469-9640

Rodney A. Buxton,

Rhetoric and Communication Studies

Although conflict and resolution are conventional functions in linear narrative genres, the joke format fails to resolve conflict. Thus, joking is one strategy for encouraging and sustaining resistance to ideological control. Using a cultural studies approach, this essay considers how the jokes of Johnny Carson, David Letterman, and Joan Rivers explore, support, and disrupt different elements of the American social experience.