Nihilistic light entertainment and metamorphic linkages
Dada and contemporary comedy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13003627 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Adam Forbes (0000-0002-7792-0193, University of Salford, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 197-216 |
| Publication date | 2017-07-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Comedy Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2040-610X • E-ISSN: 2040-6118 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/2040610x.2017.1343969 |
| OpenAlex | W2736885236 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 6 |
This article traces the metamorphic linkages between the performances of the early twentieth century Dada movement and their continuation in a form of ‘nihilistic light entertainment’ evident within contemporary comedy. The Dadaists’ preferred style of fusing music and a form of comedy was a key element of their ‘Cabaret Voltaire’. This synthesis was a peculiar performative experiment central to the German Expressionist artistic cabaret. This article posits that the Dadaist cabaret formula has been incorporated into the work of some contemporary comedians. In the UK, the alternative comedy movement in the 1980s spawned a mainstream TV incarnation, the post-modern music hall act of Reeves and Mortimer. Contemporaneously, in the US, the Dada Cabaret's meld of performance art, stand-up comedy and music is evident in the improvisations and apparent spontaneities (the non sequiturs and incongruities) employed by comedians: Zach Galifianakis, Reggie Watts and Eric Andre. In embracing the comedic style of the Cabaret Voltaire, these artists apply music as an artistic device within their performance work. In this article, these metamorphic linkages, along with notions of how improvisation and spontaneity also featured within the Dada's anarchic aleatory art experimentations will be evaluated to position the idea of neo-Dadaist strain within modern comedy
Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Comedy · Entertainment · German · Improvisation · Incarnation · Laughter · Literature · Mainstream · Performative utterance · Style (visual arts · Theology · Visual arts · Contemporary Literature and Criticism · Humor Studies and Applications · Narrative Theory and Analysis · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.14 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2019 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |