Annotated Bibliography

Abstract
I willing be studying the evolution of slapstick comedy as portray in Saturday Night Life. I am
particularly interested in this topic because I am not only a big fan of comedy, but I am also
captivated by the amount of time that Saturday Night Live has managed to remain a prominent
late night television show. Most television shows disappear after only a few seasons, yet
Saturday Night Live has aired since October of 1975. Likewise, many of its actors left the show
and had a successful career as comedians in the film industry. I want to knowwhat has led to
Saturday Night Lives successful run over the past few decades. Likewise, I would also like to
explore the history and evolution of slapstick comedy and how teenagers today have specifically
been capable of keeping the slapstick industry very prominent and highly regard it as a great
form of humor. I plan the address the differences of traditional slapstick vs new slapstick
techniques as utilized in Saturday Night Live by comparing the actors from its early seasons to
the women of today.
Andrin, Muriel. Back to the Slap: Slapsticks Hyperbolic Gesture and the Rhetoric of
Violence. Slapstick Comedy. Ed. Tom Paulus and Rob King. New York: Taylor &
Francis, 2010. 226- 235. Print.
In this article, Muriel Andrin analyzes how slapstick comedy is rooted in the violent
effects experienced by these slapstick bodies, noting that the laugher questions our
relationship with others and reveals desire to see other humiliated. Thus, emerging in the
early 20th century, slapstick humor brings about a new type of comedy that knows no
boundaries and utilizes the hyperbole to create ridiculous scenarios. Likewise, slapstick
draws on the repetition of violent events which also leaves no room for the audience to
respond emotionally especially to those whose bodies are in harms way. Yet, he
reassesses this idea of bodies experiencing great harm and asserts that like slapsticks, it is
more noise than actual impact. Slapstick based upon the humor of violence is
transitioning into laughter imbedded in the effects of violence as pain and suffering.
Similarly to other sources, this article acknowledge the connection between violence and
slapstick comedy yet it delves deeper into the rhetoric and exaggeration components that
fuel the laughter from violence. These elements will be useful as it provides an example
for analyzing the exaggeration of Saturday Night Live.
"'Bad Grandpa' Breaks Slapstick Comedy Mold with Cohesive Storyline." University WireOct 30
2013. ProQuest. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.
This article published in the Daily Nebraskan focuses its attention on how the relatively
new movie, "Bad Grandpa" breaks the now prominent slapstick comedy mold by having
an actual storyline that goes along with the movie. It describes the movie's plot is able to
be maintained due to its simplicity yet the movie still strings it all the pranks and jokes of

a normal slapstick comedy. It does recognize that there were some drawbacks to the plot
especially at the end where it forces the grandpa's character to drastically change in an
unreal way. The author is not only writing to the general population explaining the
difference between bad grandpa and the average slapstick comedy but he is addressing
those that analyze the evolution of slapstick comedy today. He analyzes the slapstick
comedy in the movie today in a relatively surprised manner. Yet his contribution is useful
in the sense that it not only shows the evolution of slapstick today but it explains how not
having a plot is a usual characteristic of slapstick. Other than this fact, the article will not
be useful because it focuses too closely into a single movie to fully reveal all the
techniques of slapstick.
Gunning, Tom. The Mechanisms of Laughter: the Devices of Slapstick. Slapstick Comedy. Ed.
Tom Paulus and Rob King. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2010. 137- 151. Print.
In Tom Gunnings article, the mechanisms of laughter: the devices of slapstick, he
explores how laughter is based on the destructive nature of crazy machines which refers
to anything from cars to humans. This prominent belief arises during the machine age,
first in the form of an actual slapstick device whose humor stems from the loud sound
and pain associated with it. Yet, as society and technology evolved, slapstick transformed
to this idea of crazy machines which were essentially purposeless objects utilized to get a
comedic response ranging from bananas to broken down cars. This source analyzes the
true laughter of slapstick arising from crazy machines which cause some outrage due to
the useless stupidity of this humor. Yet, he addresses those who condemn slapstick as
represented in this manner and explains that it is these gag functions and use of machine
that produce humor. Similar to other articles, the origins of slapstick is explored and it is
connected to pain yet this adds a new central idea about crazy machines and their
connection to humans and humor. This could be a useful source in the sense that this idea
of crazy machines could be applied not only to the props in Saturday Night Live but also
the people.
Katrib, Ruba. "TRANSITION GAGS." Art In America 103.6 (2015): 114-21. Web.
Written by Katrib, Transition Gags discusses contemporary art forms ranging from
sculptures in gallery exhibits to videos that are based on the humor of slapstick. It then
notes the evolution of slapstick through the change of its definition from a new way of
seeing the body through machines to punch lines aimed as mocking society. Like
Peacock, this sources acknowledges the inherent violence associated with slapstick as
well as transition of slapstick poking at society. On the other hand, it also delves into
slapsticks presence in animation, particularly in Disney cartoons and Snow White. This
source would be useful if one was studying the brief evolution of slapstick in society in
general, yet the articles lack of details about the techniques of slapstick prohibits a solid
analysis of slapstick in the industry today. Likewise, this source examines the broad

category of art overall which could not correlate with my topics focus on the television
industry.
Peacock, Louise, and UNIV NEWCASTLE. "No Pain: No Gain - the Provocation of Laughter in
Slapstick Comedy." Popular Entertainment Studies, 1.2 (2010): 93-106.
In this book, Peacock evaluates the evolution of slapstick comedy from the 1920s to
contemporary films and shows today including The Simpsons. In particularly, she
examines the pain and violence rooted within the art of slapstick which calls upon the
audience to respond with humor. She not only brings to light the various techniques of
slapstick, but she also contrasts the types of pain from accidental to intentional and real
pain. Being a Senior Lecturer at University of Hull in the United Kingdom, she writes in
order to teacher her students about her subject of expertise. This source like others
discusses earlier forms of slapstick comedy like those of Buster Keaton as well as
expounding upon more contemporary works which will aid my research when analyzing
Saturday Night Lives utilization of slapstick comedy over the past few years. Again, this
article will also be useful as it analyzes the aspect of pain as a vital component of
slapstick which is a common theme of societys view of slapstick today.
Trahair, Lisa. The Comedy of Philosophy Sense and Nonsense in Early Cinematic Slapstick.
Albany: State U of New York, 2007. SUNY Ser., Insinuations. Web.
The Comedy of Philosophy Sense and Nonsense in Early Cinematic Slapstick written by
Lisa Trahair first analyzes the philosophical underpinning to laughter in early cinematic
comedies as expounded upon by Bataille and Freud through her examination of films of
the 1920s. She classifies a sense of humor as being human and later argues how its effect
turns sense into nonsense. Like these findings, this book would appeal to people studying
humor as philosophers and psychoanalysts. Later she delves into the evolution of
physical slapstick to comedy of cinema of attraction which draws on culture for its
humor. With this transition, slapstick shift from physical violence to comedy based on
vision and truth. Like other sources, this book analyzes the roots of slapstick especially
in the early 1920s while at the same time, contributing the philosophical dimension of
humor. This book will be useful in analyzing the reasons why people laugh more at
certain jokes than others especially on shows like SNL as well as tracking the evolution
of humor.