Shocked But Connected

Defining the humor of comic genius, without giving away the punchline, filmmaker and former Yale Film Studies Professor Michael Roemer has written a wonderful book about laughter. * Foreword Reviews *
Well known for his pivotal independent film Nothing but a Man, first released over four decades ago, filmmaker and scholar Roemer (filmmaking & aesthetics, emeritus, Yale Univ.; Telling Stories: Postmodernism and the Invalidation of Traditional Narrative) tackles a complicated topic: why film comedy is funny. Though his choice of subject is quite ambitious, Roemer offers sharp analysis and makes solid arguments. He poses many questions: Is comedy in film an art or a science? Is effective humor well planned or just well executed? Or does it take both of these elements for humor to be truly successful? He presents strong evidence as to how, precisely, film comedians manage to make their audiences laugh, and supplies several robust theories for academically inclined readers to wrap their minds around. VERDICT Roemer invites readers to think critically about comedy in films. This text will impress the serious student of film comedy and will be a welcome addition to film studies literature. Recommended. * Library Journal *
Why do jokes, comedies, and professional comedians make us laugh? This seemingly straightforward question frames the basis of the latest book by filmmaker and academic Michael Roemer. . . .Shocked but Connected aims to encourage us to adopt a critical approach to understanding film comedy. It contributes to our understanding of the inner workings of film comedy and its reception, and in doing so it also examines the meaning of the comic in both our everyday lives and wider society. . . .[T]he book will be of particular interest to comedy practitioners and students and academics in comedy studies, film studies and cultural studies. * European Journal of Humour Research *
Michael Roemer has written a wonderful book about laughter. Perceptive, deeply intelligent, and above all readable, Shocked But Connected performs the rare feat of defining the humor of comic genius without ever spoiling the joke. Roemer has an unerring touch with silent and sound films, with the written as with the spoken word. Keaton and Chaplin are here alongside Woody Allen and not far from Chesterton and Celine. The aphorisms and anecdotes with which the book is generously sown add up to an argument we can carry forward in our own minds. The prose has a sting and savor that is finely adapted to the subject. -- David Bromwich, Yale University