Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Front Matter i
2. Contents v
3. Illustrations vii
4. Acknowledgments ix
5. The Comedy of Self-Reference 1
6. Slapstick Spectators 15
7. Buster Keaton’s Theory of Film 27
8. Redeeming Vision 53
9. Bodies of Silence, Bodies of Sound 79
10. Hollywood, Television, and the Case of Ernie Kovacs 101
11. Nouvelles Blagues 125
12. The Apotheosis of Failure: Jackass 163
13. Notes 177
14. Bibliography 191
15. Index 201
16. The SUNY Series 207