Postmodern power plays : a linguistic analysis of postmodern comedy /

Abstract

The goal of this thesis is to first acquaint readers with the literature on humor that will be useful in analyzing postmodern comedy from a linguistic perspective. As a genre-specific theoretical tool for viewers-- and readers-- of television texts, this thesis provides a means to an end: a way to "fine tune" our perception and understanding of postmodern comedy, and moreimportantly, provide concrete means to analyze the structure and implicit messages of one of its primary modes of expression--the prime time television situation comedy. Two case studies will consider the linguistic and textual construction of The Simpsons and Home Improvement and show how each sitcom relies on a postmodern power play between competing interests to engage the audience, subvert, and yet also subtly reinforce some of our traditional notions of gender and family relations in a patriarchal society.