Modified On September 24, 2008
Where were these courses when we were in college?
This press release gives an overview of the history of standup comedy. It’s… we’re not sure exactly what it is, really. It’s a release that’s bought and paid for via Media-Newswire.com and it seems to promote Jerry Zolten, an “associate professor of speech communications and American studies at Penn State Altoona.” He teaches a “popular undergraduate course on the history of stand-up comedy.” Exactly why a university in the middle of Pennsylvania would be pumping out a press release to promote one of their courses is beyond us. Perhaps that’s how it’s done these days.
In the days of vaudeville, Zolten noted, comedians had to watch what they said. Some vaudeville theatres even posted signs backstage of prohibited words ( including “golly” and “darn” ). During a time of intense immigration, vaudeville comedians also popularized humor based on ethnic stereotypes.
“In addition to the restrictions on language, comedians completely avoided controversy. It was more about making fun of people and their differences,” Zolten explained, “which ironically wasn’t considered controversial back then. The gist of much of the comedy was, ‘Gee, aren’t we glad we’re not like them.’ ”
We suppose one can’t pack too much into a single press release, so we’ll let that last bit go without comment and say that we hope that the excellent “No Applause– Just Throw Money” by Trav S. D. is required (or, at least, recommended) reading. This excellent history of vaudeville is exhaustive and enlightening. (Available for $10 plus shipping on Amazon.com)