Brit Wits (e-book) (used book) | Iain Ellis | bookbook.eu

Description

Humor, as much as any other trait, defines British cultural identity. It is OC crucial in the English sense of nation, OCO argues humor scholar Andy Medhurst; OC To be properly English you must have a sense of humor, OCO opines historian Antony Easthope. Author Zadie Smith perceives British humor as a national coping mechanism, stating, OC You donOCOt have to be funny to live here, but it helps.OCO Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten concurs, commenting, OC ThereOCOs a sense of comedy in the English that even in your grimmest moments you laugh. Although humor invariably functions as a relief valve for the British, it is also often deployed for the purposes of combat. From the court jesters of old to the rock wits of today, British humoristsOCoacross the artsOCohave been the pioneers of rebellion, chastising societyOCOs hypocrites, exploiters, and phonies, while simultaneously slighting the very institutions that maintain them. The best of the British wits are (to steal a coinage from The Clash) OC bullshit detectorsOCO with subversion on their minds and the jugulars of their enemies in their sights. Such subversive humor is held dear in British hearts and minds, and it runs deep in their history. Historian Chris Rojek explains how the kind of foul-mouthed, abusive language typical of British (punk) humor has its antecedents in prior idioms like the billingsgate oath: OC Humor, often of an extraordinary coruscating and vehement type, has been a characteristic of the British since at least feudal times, when the ironic oaths against the monarchy and the sulfurous OCyBillingsgateOCO uttered against the Church and anyone in power were widespread features of popular culture.OCO Rojek proceeds to fast forward to 1977, citing the Sex PistolsOCO OC Sod the JubileeOCO campaign as a contemporary update of the Billingsgate oath. For Rojek, the omnipresence of British caustic humor accounts for why the nation has historically been more inclined toward expressions of subversive rebellion than to violent revolution. OC Protest has been conducted not with guns and grenades, but with biting comedy and graffiti, OCO he observes. As an outlet for venting and as an alternative means of protest, Brit wit, not surprisingly, has developed distinctive communicative patterns, with linguistic flair and creative flourishes starring as its key features. Far more than American humor, for example, British humor revels in colorful language, in lyrical invective, in surrogate mock warfare. One witnesses such humor daily in the Houses of Parliament, where well-crafted barbs are traded across the aisle, the thinly veiled insults cushioned by the creativity of the inherent humor. Such wit is equally evident throughout the history of British rock, where rebellion has defined the rock impulse and comedic dissent has been a seemingly instinctual activity."