Laughing at the Darkness: Postmodernism and Optimism in American Humour

Given that postmodernism has been associated with

doubt, chaos, relativism and the disappearance of

reality, it may appear difficult to reconcile with

American optimism. Laughing at the

Darkness demonstrates that this is not always the

case. In examining the work of, among others,

Sherman Alexie, Woody Allen, Douglas Coupland,

Jonathan Safran Foer, Bill Hicks, David Mamet, and

Philip Roth, McDonald shows how American

humorists bring their comedy to bear on some of the

negative implications of philosophical

postmodernism and, in so doing, explore ways of

reclaiming value.