ABSTRACT:This article examines the rise of right-wing comedy in American media, considering how a... more ABSTRACT:This article examines the rise of right-wing comedy in American media, considering how an academic, economic, and cultural emphasis on left-liberal ironic humor over the last decade has obscured the emergence of conservative forms of televisual satire. The article does so by closely analyzing the industrial and formal traits of Fox News’ Watters’ World (2017–) and Adult Swim’s short-lived but controversial Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace (Cartoon Network, 2016). These programs mimic liberal televisual satire in form but use displaced abjection in order to further degrade already marginalized cultural groups. The right’s use of comedic forms heretofore associated with liberalism, we argue, presents an imminent threat to contemporary political discourse.
This study examines recent Comedy Central shows hailed as progressive and feminist, such as Insid... more This study examines recent Comedy Central shows hailed as progressive and feminist, such as Inside Amy Schumer, Broad City, Kroll Show, Nathan for You, and Key & Peele. It reads these programs through the framework of American post-network television, considering how the network is attempting to expand its brand identity in a cable marketplace cluttered with comedy. Although offering possibilities for marginalized cultural identities to be seen on-screen and courted as viewers, Comedy Central ultimately re-affirms presumptions about white male heteronormativity and comedy.
This article explores the role of podcasts in the broader explosion of comedic content on digital... more This article explores the role of podcasts in the broader explosion of comedic content on digital platforms. It does so through interviews and participant observation of the making of The Onion's news satire podcast Onion Radio News, describing the complex alliance of writers, performers, producers and advertisers needed to make a comedy podcast stand out in an increasingly crowded field of competitors. Although now defunct, Onion Radio News highlights how the technological and industrial discourses of the so-called 'new media' are rooted in the 'old', and how comedy plays a vital role in negotiating this tension.
This article examines the role of online media piracy in the shift away from acquisitionand owner... more This article examines the role of online media piracy in the shift away from acquisitionand ownership-based models of consumption in favor of access-based models. In this media industry climate, cloud technologies have played an increasingly important role in providing audiences with content on their own terms. Piracy has long served a similar function, but it is taking on aspects of cloud services as well. I investigate how cloud technologies are changing media piracy activities by examining cyberlockers, web-based services that afford consumers ubiquitous access and ownership of media content.
With its abrasive treatment of topics like race, religion, and gender, Family Guy runs afoul of c... more With its abrasive treatment of topics like race, religion, and gender, Family Guy runs afoul of critics but is defended by fans for "making fun of everything. " Nick Marx examines how the program's rapid-fire stream of comic references caters to the tastes of TV's prized youth demographic, yet compromises its satiric potential.
ABSTRACT:This article examines the rise of right-wing comedy in American media, considering how a... more ABSTRACT:This article examines the rise of right-wing comedy in American media, considering how an academic, economic, and cultural emphasis on left-liberal ironic humor over the last decade has obscured the emergence of conservative forms of televisual satire. The article does so by closely analyzing the industrial and formal traits of Fox News’ Watters’ World (2017–) and Adult Swim’s short-lived but controversial Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace (Cartoon Network, 2016). These programs mimic liberal televisual satire in form but use displaced abjection in order to further degrade already marginalized cultural groups. The right’s use of comedic forms heretofore associated with liberalism, we argue, presents an imminent threat to contemporary political discourse.
This study examines recent Comedy Central shows hailed as progressive and feminist, such as Insid... more This study examines recent Comedy Central shows hailed as progressive and feminist, such as Inside Amy Schumer, Broad City, Kroll Show, Nathan for You, and Key & Peele. It reads these programs through the framework of American post-network television, considering how the network is attempting to expand its brand identity in a cable marketplace cluttered with comedy. Although offering possibilities for marginalized cultural identities to be seen on-screen and courted as viewers, Comedy Central ultimately re-affirms presumptions about white male heteronormativity and comedy.
This article explores the role of podcasts in the broader explosion of comedic content on digital... more This article explores the role of podcasts in the broader explosion of comedic content on digital platforms. It does so through interviews and participant observation of the making of The Onion's news satire podcast Onion Radio News, describing the complex alliance of writers, performers, producers and advertisers needed to make a comedy podcast stand out in an increasingly crowded field of competitors. Although now defunct, Onion Radio News highlights how the technological and industrial discourses of the so-called 'new media' are rooted in the 'old', and how comedy plays a vital role in negotiating this tension.
This article examines the role of online media piracy in the shift away from acquisitionand owner... more This article examines the role of online media piracy in the shift away from acquisitionand ownership-based models of consumption in favor of access-based models. In this media industry climate, cloud technologies have played an increasingly important role in providing audiences with content on their own terms. Piracy has long served a similar function, but it is taking on aspects of cloud services as well. I investigate how cloud technologies are changing media piracy activities by examining cyberlockers, web-based services that afford consumers ubiquitous access and ownership of media content.
With its abrasive treatment of topics like race, religion, and gender, Family Guy runs afoul of c... more With its abrasive treatment of topics like race, religion, and gender, Family Guy runs afoul of critics but is defended by fans for "making fun of everything. " Nick Marx examines how the program's rapid-fire stream of comic references caters to the tastes of TV's prized youth demographic, yet compromises its satiric potential.
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