Is Brexit funny? The cultural significance of comedy about Brexit

Since mid-2016 there has been a vast amount of jokes, comedy and satire about the EU referendum and Brexit. Is Brexit funny? Is it controversial for comedians to joke about Brexit? Where are all the pro-Brexit comedians? In this blog, Simon Weaver and Sharon Lockyer look at the cultural significance of comedy about Brexit

Dynamics of social class contempt in contemporary British television comedy

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2010 Taylor & Francis.British television comedy has often ridiculed the complexities and characteristics of social class structures and identities. In recent years, poor white socially marginalised groups, now popularly referred to as “chavs”, have become a prevalent comedy target. One of the most popular and controversial television “comedy chavs” is Little Britain's fictional teenage single mother, Vicky Pollard. This article examines the representation of Vicky Pollard in light of contemporary widespread abuse of the white working class. Highlighting the polysemic and ambivalent nature of Vicky Pollard's representation, the article argues that whilst Little Britain's characterisation of Vicky Pollard largely contributes to contemporary widespread demonisation of the working class, there are moments within Little Britain when a more sympathetic tone towards the poor working class may be read, and where chav identities are used to ridicule the pretensions, superficiality, and falsity of middle-class identities. The article concludes that television comedy has been, and continues to be, a significant vehicle through which serious concerns, anxieties, and questions about social class and class identities are discursively constructed and contested

An eye to offensiveness The discourse of offence and censure in Private Eye

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DXN055157 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

What women want:Barriers to female entrepreneurship in the West Midlands

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the barriers that inhibit the development of female entrepreneurship in the West Midlands. This region is characterised by pronounced low levels of participation in higher education and entrepreneurship. With the support of funding from the Lifelong Learning Network (LLN), the paper contributes to a re‐evaluation of the current support available to women entrepreneurs and informs and aligns the provision of services to the needs of women across the region and beyond.Design/methodology/approachA study was commissioned by the LLN to identify the main barriers to female entrepreneurship in the Staffordshire, Telford &amp; Wrekin and Shropshire areas. The main business support provision available to assist female entrepreneurs in June 2009 was mapped and these data were used in an online questionnaire to identify the level of awareness of this support provision amongst women in the target area, as part of the larger pilot study. An extensive online questionnaire consisting of 44 questions was designed in Version 1.82 of LimeSurvey, an open source PHP based survey tool. The survey was designed to capture information on the relationship between aspirations to start a business, demographic information, past experience of entrepreneurship, current skills levels, perceived barriers and knowledge of current business support provision.FindingsWhilst for many women accessibility to training was a major issue, an area of greater concern was found to be financial risk and the belief that women are less likely to start a business if they have a friend or family member with a business. The research findings suggested that even vicarious exposure to the pressures of running a business was a positive deterrent to entrepreneurship.Social implicationsThe research findings suggest that the mechanisms (business support agencies) through which information and support are provided to potential entrepreneurs needs to be reviewed. This preliminary research suggests that the existing infrastructure is inadequate and as business support is becoming more streamlined as a result of the public sector spending review, it could inform the nature and range of support provided to women entrepreneurs within the region and beyond.Originality/valueIn addition to contributing to development of strategy within the region, the authors feel that the research could have wider implication for regions with a similar economic profile to the West Midlands.</jats:sec

Dynamics of partisan journalism: journalist–source relations in the context of a local newspaper's anti-paedophile housing agenda

This article explores the influence of partisanship on the framing of a local news agenda. Using a case study approach, it explores how one local newspaper in the East Midlands of England, the Nottingham-based Evening Post, reacted with hostility to leaked Home Office plans housing high-profile paedophiles in its locality (albeit inside the grounds of the local jail). Within weeks, though, the paper's news frame had shifted from hostility toward the Home Office to a more sympathetic news frame reporting how local professionals would manage risks posed by paedophiles in Nottingham. In order to make sense of the local dynamic underpinning this changing news frame, the paper uses interview data to explore interactions between local journalists and key protagonists to understand the predictable and unpredictable factors that shaped the terms of their reporting. The article concludes by discussing the significance of partisan dynamics on the framing of a highly charged local and national paedophile-related issu

Alternative Comedy Now and Then: An Introduction

This chapter challenges narratives that have grown up around alternative comedy in the 40+ years of its existence, by showing that 1980s alternative comedy—or ‘alternative cabaret’, as it was often known—was more diverse than is often remembered. Flyers from CAST New Variety are analysed to show how diverse the acts could be, in terms of both performers’ identities and performance genre. It goes on to explore manifestations of alternative comedy from the 1990s to the present on both sides of the Atlantic, arguing that—as with the 1980s scene—they are often characterised by rejecting the dominance of conventional stand-up. It finishes with an outline of the book, explaining the focus of each section and how each chapter contributes to our understanding of alternative comedy

Controversial images: an introduction

This looks at the role of Web 2.0 (moblogging, in particular) on mainstream TV news coverage of Saddam Hussein’s capture and execution, thereby exploring Steve Mann’s concept of sousveillance (watching the institutional watchers)

The sickest television show ever: paedogeddon and the British Press

This paper explores the controversy caused by Paedogeddon, a one-off special of the Channel 4 series Brass Eye broadcast on July 26, 2001. Although the program sought to satirize inconsistencies in the way the British media treats and sensationalizes child sex offenders and their crimes (Clark, 2001), it offended many viewers and caused considerable controversy. More than 900 complaints were made to the Independent Television Commission, almost 250 complaints to the Broadcasting Standards Commission, and 2,000 complaints to Channel 4, “officially” making Paedogeddon the most complained-about television program in British television history at that time. This paper examines the nature of the objections to Paedogeddon as played out on the pages of the British national press and contributes to debates about morally acceptable televisio