Critical Essays on Laughter in War

deadline for submissions: 
October 4, 2024
full name / name of organization: 
Marcus Harmes
contact email: 

War is hell but can also be funny, whether as a safety valve from pressure or catharsis after tragedy, as subversion, as efforts to build and maintain morale, or as exercises in nostalgia. Cinema early discovered the comedy inherent to conflict including the immensely successful 1920 film Alf’s Button, made just after and set during the First World War and notable as being popular despite (or because of) making comedy about the recent war. Comedy about war has since proliferated and writing and themes continue to respond to and adapt themselves to changing global and political circumstances including comedy responding to the Global War on Terror.

 

Individual works, creators and indeed wars have received scholarly attention with for example much attention directed to works acclaimed as among the greatest works of popular culture from Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940) to the Korean-war set/Vietnam-war era comedy M*A*S*H. Entire conflicts and theatres of war have received scholarly interpretation including cultural responses to the First World War which have sought ideologies and concepts to interpret war through culture.

 

Important works have appeared on individual films, television comedies or genres including the edited collection on the First World War Humor, Entertainment, and Popular Culture during World War I (Palgrave, 2015) and  study of comedy and Nazism in Comedy and the Politics of Representation, as well works such as Cultural Concepts, Contexts and Controversies (Palgrave 2016).

 

However more remains to be said on conflict across time and place and this collection is intended as a timely and cohesive collection organised around the social, political, ideological aspects of humour about and in war.

 

The proposed volume is intended to be scholarly but accessible in tone and approach.

 

Some examples of genres and productions are indicated below. Please note this list is not exhaustive but is intended as a starting point for contributors to consider the focus and theme of their chapter.

 

Parody

‘Allo, ‘Allo

Heil Honey I’m Home

 

Comic misadventures

Hogan’s Heroes

Gomer Pyle

McHales’ Navy

Petticoat Affair

 

Camaraderie and comedy

Gary Tank Commander

At Ease

Carry on Sergeant

The Army Game

 

Slapstick

The General

The Great Dictator

 

Dark comedy

Private Schulz

Three Kings

Stripes

JoJo Rabbit

Good Morning Vietnam

 

Women and war

Private Benjamin

Resistance

GI Jane

 

Nostalgia

Dad’s Army

It Ain’t Half Hot Mum

 

If you are interested in contributing to this collection, we ask that you submit an abstract by October 4th of up to 250 words explaining the focus and approach of your proposed essay. 

 

The proposed volume is intended to be scholarly but accessible in tone and approach. Each contribution should be 6000 words. 

 

This collection is under contract with an American publisher.