Anglistische Literaturwissenschaft - Department of English

Chemnitz University of Technology

Anglistische Literaturwissenschaft/

English Literature(s)

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English Literature(s) SS 04 Film and TV Comedy

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Film and TV Comedy: Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Blackadder etc.

Course Description

"Spam", "Pythonesque", "Dead Parrot", "... and now for something completely different" – these are keywords, catch-phrases and humorous concepts that we have inherited from the classical age of radio, film and television comedy in Britain in the 1960s. Beyond the Fringe, a revue programme of satirical sketches and general nonsense dating from 1961-66, initiated what has been termed the Oxbridge Revolution (‘overgraduate humour’) in the tradition of British (English?) humour. In October 1969, Monty Python’s Flying Circus had its first appearance on BBC television, to be followed in the 1980s and 1990s by Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, and such diversely ‘ethnic’ comedy programmes as Father Ted and Goodness Gracious Me. All these programmes have had a pervasive influence on popular culture, and some have achieved cult status. It is the aim of this course to analyse a selection of exemplary sketches with a view to their cultural contexts and the various forms of humour employed.

Required reading:

Monty Python’s Flying Circus (1995). Monty Python’s Flying Circus: Selected Sketches. Ed. Reinhard Gratzke. Stuttgart: Reclam.
John Cleese and Connie Booth (1997). Fawlty Towers: Three Episodes. Ed. Reinhard Gratzke. Stuttgart: Reclam.
Other material will be made available after registration.

Prerequisites:

Zwischenprüfung,
good command of English

Requirements for Credit:

regular attendance,
oral presentation,
term paper.

Registration:

To register, please send an e-mail to Prof. Huber before 31 March, stating their name, semester standing and subjects.