SO FUNNY IT HURTS
The Fourth International Comedy Conference
University of Salford with Manchester Metropolitan University
SO FUNNY IT HURTS
3rd & 4th June 2010
Call For Papers
As usual we invite papers on any topic related
to comedy whilst also having a core a theme
which this year is - ?comedy and cruelty? ? The
banana skin, the pithy put-down, the witty
comment, satire, parody or just plain insults
are all part of comedic routines. The films and
plays of Neil Simon often evolve around the
conflicts arising from? well, personal conflict.
Groucho Marx?s quick fire repartee launched a
thousand quips. Joan River?s believes that if
you can?t think of anything nice to say about somebody ? say it!
The essence of slapstick derives from the
audience?s willingness to laugh at another?s
pratfall ? How far has screen comedy come from
those early days of custard pies and fingers in
eyes? On TV screens comedians have slaughtered ,
punched and pricked not just political bubbles ?
Tina Fey?s send-up of Sarah Palin on Saturday
Night Live all but derailed her bid to become VP
? and comics have also had a go at each other ?
Vic and Bob?s onslaught on almost any guest you
care to name. Les Dawson?s comments on
mothers-in-law and Sarah Silverman?s eternal
battle against liberalism are both examples of the War of the Words.
Topics for the conference might include ?
Playing with taboos
Historical dimensions to TV comedy and the rituals of humiliation
Larry David and his world
The films of Judd Apatow
Abstracts of 250 words, accompanied by a brief
mini-biog, should be submitted by Tuesday 2nd February 2010
to Chris Lee at
<mailto:(c.lee /at/ salford.ac.uk)>(c.lee /at/ salford.ac.uk)
and David James at <mailto:(d.james /at/ mmu.ac.uk)>(d.james /at/ mmu.ac.uk)
Dr CP Lee
School of Media, Music & Performance
(Office) 0161 295 6058
International Comedy Conference
<http://www.ccm.salford.ac.uk/ccm/p?s=4&pid=19>http://www.ccm.salford.ac.uk/ccm/p?s=4&pid=19
http://www.itsahotun.com/hotunpress.htm
