Book Details

	Andy Kaufman: Wrestling with the American Dream By: Keller, Florian Published By: University of Minnesota Press PDF for Digital Editions Price: $58.50 Available to read online in eb20 (what's this?) PDF for Digital Editions	EBOOK OPTIONS ADD TO CART ADD TO WISHLIST TELL A FRIEND RECEIVE ALERTS
	When Andy Kaufman succumbed suddenly to lung cancer in 1984, some of his fans believed that his death was yet another elaborate prank. Over the previous decade, Kaufman had achieved improbable fame for his bizarre antiperformances—lip-synching the Mighty Mouse theme song, reading The Great Gatsby aloud in its entirety when people expected comedy, asking audience members to touch a boil on his neck—that perplexed, annoyed, or offended his viewers.In Andy Kaufman, Florian Keller explores Kaufman’s career within a broader discussion of the ideology of the American Dream. Taking as his starting point the 1999 biopic Man on the Moon, Keller brilliantly decodes Kaufman in a way that makes it possible to grasp his radical agenda beyond avant-garde theories of transgression. As an entertainer, Kaufman submerged his identity beneath a multiplicity of personas, enacting the American belief that the self can and should be endlessly remade for the sake of happiness and success. He did this so rigorously and consistently, Keller argues, that he exposed the internal contradictions of America’s ideology of self-invention.Keller posits that Kaufman offered a radically different—and perhaps more potent—logic of cultural criticism than did more overtly political comedians such as Lenny Bruce. Presenting close readings of Kaufman’s most significant performances, Keller shows how Kaufman mounted—for the benefit of an often uncomprehending public—a sustained and remarkable critique of America’s obsession with celebrity and individualism.

Related eBooks

More eBooks in this subject Freakonomics The Ascent of Money Unequal Childhoods

Related Subjects

• Academic > Literature > Drama > Special types > Special regions or countries
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Comedy > General works
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Comedy > Special topics
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Tragedy   > General works
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Tragedy   > History and criticism
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Tragedy   > Special topics A-Z
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Historical Plays > General works
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Historical Plays > Special topics A-Z
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > History > Comprehensive, American and English
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > History > Compends, outlines, etc.
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > History > Medieval, general works
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > History > Medieval miracle plays, mysteries,
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > History > Renaissance, general works
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > History > Renaissance, special topics
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > History > Modern, general works
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > History > Modern, special topics
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > History > 17th century
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > History > 18th century
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > History > 19th century
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > History > 20th century
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Technique of dramatic composition > General works, American and English  
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Technique of dramatic composition > General works, German
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Technique of dramatic composition > Tragic effect
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Technique of dramatic composition > Irony
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Technique of dramatic composition > Character treatment
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Technique of dramatic composition > Play within a play
• Academic > Literature > Drama > Special types
• Academic > Literature > Authorship > Technique. Literary composition, etc.
• Academic > Performing Arts > Special regions or countries > United States
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Technique of dramatic composition
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Study and Teaching
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Criticism
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Biography of Critics
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > History
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Historical Plays
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Tragedy  
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater > Comedy
• Academic > Performing Arts > Theater
• Academic > Performing Arts > Special regions or countries
• Academic > Literature > Periodicals
• Academic > Literature > Societies
• Academic > Literature > Authorship
• Academic > Literature > Drama
• Academic > Literature
• Academic > Performing Arts
• Academic > Humanities
• Social Science > Anthropology > Cultural
• Current Events > Mass Media
• Performing Arts > Comedy
• Biography & Autobiography > Entertainment & Performing Arts
• Social Science > Anthropology
• Social Science
• Biography & Autobiography
• Performing Arts
• Current Events

Latest Release Alerts

Stay ahead of the game! Register your subject interests to receive an email alert when we release new ebooks in your field of interest. There are over 50 subjects to choose from.

Receive occasional email alerts when we receive new eBooks on the site.

Register »

eBook Formats

The eBook you are interested in is available for purchase in the following formats: