Eccentric Laughter: Queer Possibilities in Postwar British Film Comedy (SUNY series, Horizons of Cinema)

Synopsis

Eccentric Laughter explores new ways to watch postwar British film comedies, arguing that their representations of eccentricity offered a set of possible queer futures for a Britain that had been destabilized by years of conflict and social upheaval. Far from being the apolitical cinema described by previous critics, these comedies—including both perennial favorites from Ealing Studios and neglected films ripe for rediscovery—make a joke of and suggest alternatives to the heterocentric home and family. Referencing a wide range of theories, the book gives details of how these films' comic queernesses are not structured on fixed identities but on an open play of possibilities, depicting eccentricity, artifice, drag, ruins, and the wild in ways that can still offer inspiration for experiments in living today. Engaging with contemporary queer theories and politics, the book argues that these films continue to address questions of urgent relevance to students and other viewers in the twenty-first century. Films discussed include The Belles of St. Trinian's, Genevieve, The Lavender Hill Mob, Simon and Laura, The Stranger Left No Card, and Young Wives' Tale.

Copyright:

2024

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9798855800043

Related ISBNs:

9798855800029, 9798855800036

Publisher:

State University of New York Press

Date of Addition:

11/01/24

Copyrighted By:

State University of New York

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Entertainment, Nonfiction, Art and Architecture, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender, Social Studies, Humor

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.