I'd suggest starting with my "About" essay, which explains why laughter is a good default response to most things.
Q: Taking comedy seriously? Really?
Yup. Personally, I think comedy is much more interesting than "serious" forms of communication), and it's just as important. The modern rom-com, for example, is actually the sum total of Western society struggling to balance sex, love, and marriage for two thousand years. Ancient comedies had already perfected the stereotype of the nagging wife and no-good husband; meanwhile their horny young son tried desperately to get his girl. These days, sitcoms do the same damned thing. A cynic might say it's depressing to see how little these roles have changed.
That's why I'm particularly interested in women doing comedy. On the grand scale of history, comic actesses are a fairly recent phenomenon, and letting women get involved in the creative process? Revolutionary. In 1985 Sol Saks wrote: "When women and homosexuals, in their worthy, unequal, and so far serious fight for equality, start to use humor in their battle, they will begin to outflank their enemy." Damn straight -- comedy is my personal gauge for progress, and while there are some awesome chicks doing some awesomely funny stuff, we're not there yet, baby.
Q: OK, but why?
As a scholar I was very frustrated by how many self-proclaimed intellectuals didn't actually want to acknowledge pop culture. My interest in humor has never been limited to approved scholarly topics, and I'm just as interested in Family Guy as in Aristophanes. But no one's going to get tenure for writing about it Family Guy -- or even The Daily Show, even though that's what the majority of people are watching.
I was also very bad at acting like a professor. Despite having a PhD (WtF was I thinking?) I don't think smart people have to act serious all the time.
I should also note that I am an unashamed (if nontraditional) feminist, hence my interest in women in the media. It bothers me that women have to care so much more about looking good, or getting angry, or swearing, because that means there's still some lame ideal of "femininity" that's being projected on us despite our apparent progress. I'd really like to see women become more visible in comedy since it's such a great venue for talking about uncomfortable topics in a palatable way.
Q: So is this a blog?
Yes. No. Maybe. For my complete existential crisis on the subject, click here.
Q: What does "risatrix" mean?
It means "she who laughs", which aptly describes my personality -- I laugh a lot, some people would even say too much. The word is also an extremely geeky homage to the field I started out in.
Q: How can a person contact you?
When my design skills improve, I'll have of those groovy little contact forms. For now, send an email to amanda@risatrix.com.
Q: Do you have a favorite comedian?
No, sir or ma'am. Comedy is like music, and different artists suit different moods.
Q: C'mon, not everything in life is funny. Isn't there room for drama or tragedy in art?
Absolutely. I am not trying to practice censorship, nor do I have philosophical objections to making non-comedic art. But I hold that there is enough tragedy and drama in real life, and refuse to be bullied by notions that "serious" art is somehow better or more meaningful, aesthetically or spiritually speaking. For more on that, see my polemical "About" essay.
