California and Irony in Mad Men

The world of Mad Men: power, surface and passion.

Mad Men is disturbing to post-millennium viewers, particularly those of a "certain" age, on three counts. First, it invokes a particular historical context of gender oppression; second it captures the prevailing post-War injunction that emotional distress is unseemly and distasteful; and third, it captures the zeitgeist's celebration of surface over substance in relationship. However, just as d...

Frame-Shifting in Humor and Irony 8/12/2006 1 Frame-Shifting in Humor and Irony

Coulson’s (2001) analysis of humor as “frame-shifting” is extended to irony and compared to other current theories of humor and irony, including Giora’s (2003) graded salience model. It is argued that the effects of humor and irony often depend on a subversive relationship between the initial and alternative frames, which adds to both cognitive and social meaning; understanding these effects re...

Charcot's irony and sarcasm.

Jean-Martin Charcot is considered the father of modern neurology and was the first neurologist to hold a professorship of international stature devoted to the study of the diseases of the nervous system. His biographers paint an image of an austere presence, reserved manner, shyness, economy of gestures and an impenetrable, impassive face. However, a wry and sarcastic side of Charcot can be dem...

Mad Men: The Relationship between Psychology and Religion in Chaim Potokâ•Žs The Chosen

Explaining irony

1. Traditional approaches to irony Here are some typical examples of verbal irony: (1) Mary (after a boring party): That was fun. (2) I left my bag in the restaurant, and someone kindly walked off with it. (3) Sue (to someone who has done her a disservice): I can't thank you enough. In each case, the point of the irony is to indicate that a proposition the speaker might otherwise be taken to en...