Only humans could invent comedy
Laughter, humour, comedy: these seem to be uniquely human traits. So unique, in fact, that we have turned them into an art form – comedy. But what makes us laugh and why? What role do the political, the social, the decent and the indecent play in this? What do Freud and Lacan have to say about it? In the texts collected here, Robert Pfaller explores the dignity of comedy and questions the laughter of the undeceived. With the help of films by directors such as Ernst Lubitsch and series like Sex and the City, he examines the connection between comedy and the uncanny, materialism, sexuality and polygamy, explains what the id might have to do with it and where enjoyment can be found. A theory of comedy that is as surprising as it is entertaining.
