Kvetching and Shpritzing: Jewish Humor in American Popular Culture

by Joseph Dorinson

Overview

Jewish humor, with its rational skepticism and cutting social criticism, permeates American popular culture. Scholars of humor--from Sigmund Freud to Woody Allen--have studied the essence of the Jewish joke, at once a defense mechanism against a hostile world and a means of cultural affirmation.

Where did this wit originate? Why do Jewish humorists work at the margins of so many diverse cultures? What accounts for the longevity of the Jewish joke? Do oppressed people, as African American author Ralph Ellison suggested, slip their yoke when they change the joke? Citing examples from prominent humorists and stand-up comics, this book examines the phenomenon of Jewish humor from its biblical origins to its prevalence in the modern diaspora, revealing a mother lode of wit in language, literature, folklore, music and history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476620565
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	10/03/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	248
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Retired history professor from Long Island University, Joseph Dorinson lives in Floral Park, New York.
Retired history professor from Long Island University, Joseph Dorinson lives in Floral Park, New York.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword by Joseph Boskin
Preface
Introduction—Jewish Humor: Mechanism for Defense, Weapon for Cultural Affirmation
One. God, Jokes and Money: A Subversive Look at Jewish Humor
Two. Jewish Men and Women in Vaudeville
Three. Yiddish
Four. Funny Jews: Up from the Catskills—Danny Kaye and Sid Caesar
Five. Catskill Alumni from Brooklyn
Six. A Sacred Monster in Lamb’s Clothing: Jerry Lewis
Seven. Comedy’s Changing Landscape: Two Jews and a Black Crossover Artist
Eight. Jewish Humor in Literature
Nine. Dialectical Jewish Humor: Mickey Katz, Sam Levenson and Jackie Mason
Ten. Up from the Bronx: Red Buttons, Billy Crystal and Robert Klein
Eleven. Sitcoms from Benny to Seinfeld
Twelve. Shpritzing and Jiving: Jews and Blacks
Thirteen. Yip’s Rainbow: Songs of Social Significance
Fourteen. Coda: Around the World in Eighty Jokes Plus
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Jewish humor has remained alive and well in the United States, and Kvetcing and Shpritzing celebrates this phenomenon both thoroughly and enjoyably!”—Humor Journal Review; “fascinating work of history, scholarship, and philosophy”—Jewish Currents; “an invaluable history of important Jewish humorists in America that is at once enlightening and enjoyable. And it’s pretty funny, too”—Studies in American Humor; “Jewish humor has remained alive and well in the United States, and Kvetching and Shpritzing celebrates this phenomenon thoroughly and enjoyably.”—De Gruyter Mouton; “Kvetching and Shpritzing is thought-provoking, meticulously researched, and by the way, funny as hell. I envy readers about to turn to page one.”—Lawrence Richards, Writer-Producer, When Comedy Went to School.

From the Publisher

Kvetching and Shpritzing is thought-provoking, meticulously researched, and by the way, funny as hell. I envy readers about to turn to page one.

Writer-Producer, When Comedy Went to School - Lawrence Richards