Tragedy Plus Time
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"The old joke is that Comedy = Tragedy + Time. Scepanski looks at that equation at a national level, examining how television comedy has dealt with various widescale tragedies, from the assassination of JFK to 9/11 to school shootings. Comedy is often the lens to talk about difficult subjects, but there has been little exploration of how it helps the country understand, process, and cope with trauma on a broad scale. Beginning with Gilbert Gottfried's controversial joke in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 that elicited a response of "too soon!," Scepanski lays out the ways that various sitcoms, comedy sketch shows, and comic news programs have handled tragedies, in ways both tasteful and tasteless"—
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The Silence: How Tragedy Shapes Talk Shares psychic trauma, psychology -
Beverly Hills Supper Club: The Untold Story of Kentucky's Worst Tragedy Shares disasters -
Lost at Thaxton: The Dramatic True Story of Virginia's Forgotten Train Wreck Shares disasters
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Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come Shares humor, psychology
“If you want more of the same (humor), start with these.”
“If it was the psychic trauma that hooked you, try one of these.”
“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”
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Comedy Writing for Late-Night TV: How to Write Monologue Jokes, Desk Pieces, Sketches, Parodies, Audience Pieces, Remotes, and Other Short-Form Comedy
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The Comedy Bible: From Stand-up to Sitcom--The Comedy Writer's Ultimate "How To" Guide
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The Serious Guide to Joke Writing: How to Say Something Funny about Anything
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Star Trek