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Irony and Outrage
Table of Contents
Cover page
Halftitle page
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication page
Contents
Acknowledgments
Halftitle page
Prologue
1. The Counterculture Comics versus the Hate Clubs of the Air
Hate Clubs of the Air
The History of American Political Satire: These Blobs Aren’t Going to Go in a Straight Line
The Comedy of the Counterculture
2. Political and Technological Changes That Created Jon Stewart and Bill O’Reilly
The Reagan Era’s Deregulation of Media
Profit-Oriented “Journalism” and Erosion of Trust in News
Why Political Polarization? (And No, It’s Not All the Media’s Fault)
Cable and Digital Technologies Create New Programming Opportunities
“Breaking Up America”
3. Outrage and Satire as Responses and Antidotes
Response Option A: Outrage
Response Option B: Satire
4. The Psychology of Satire
A Note on Improvisation and Humor
Irony: A Contrast Between “What Is and What Ought to Be”
Irony Factors
Can We Laugh and Be Angry at a Joke at the Same Time?
5. Who Gets the Joke?
Attardo’s Criteria for Humor Appreciation (“Funny Factors”)
Can You Ever Appreciate a Joke without Comprehending It?
6. The Psychology of the Left and the Right
The Psychology of Aesthetic Preferences
For Some People, an Ellipsis Is Not OK
The Psychology of Political Ideology
Genes: The Big Elephant (or Donkey) in the Room
A Note from Dear Ol’ Dad
7. The Psychological Roots of Humor’s Liberal Bias
Aesthetic Preferences of the Left and Right
Boundaries in Conservatives’ Minds (and on Their Borders)
Irony Is Extremely Ambiguous
Could Humor Production Be Political Even If the Joke Is Not?
Trump: A Case Study in the Noncomic
Ideology as an Aesthetic
8. The Aesthetics of Outrage
Irony and Outrage: Left and Right
But Isn’t Satire “Outrageous-ish?”
Moral “Un-certainty” and Genre Hybridity
Two Aesthetics Collide: The Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium
Conservatives’ Trouble with Hybridity
The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear: A Study in Hybridity
Humor: Ambiguous and Inefficient
9. Satire and Outrage: Parallel Functions and Impact
Functions: Who Watches and Why?
Satire, Outrage, and Political Knowledge
How Satire and Outrage Programming Both Shape Public Opinion
Political Participation and Interest
Satire, Outrage, Political Efficacy, and Trust
Different Look, Same Great Taste
10. Playing against Type: Liberal “Outrage” and Conservative “Satire”
Air America: Liberal Outrage Can’t Escape the Comedy
The ½ Hour News Hour: Conservative Comedy Can’t Escape the Outrage
Life under Trump: Is Comedy Getting Outrageous?
Comics Try to Strike a Balance
11. Irony and Outrage: A Wild Raccoon Versus a Well-Trained Attack Dog
To Hell with the Other Side? Not So Fast.
The Limits of Satire and the Dangers of Outrage
In Sum: A Wild Raccoon versus a Well-Trained Attack Dog
Notes
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Index
Landmarks
Cover
Title page
Table of Contents
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