Abstract
The performance of stand-up comedy is variously isolating, inviting, linear, and transactional. The stand-up comedian occupies the stage alone, appearing distinctly independent from the audience. Simultaneously, the audience offers their feedback consistently through the presence or absence of laughter. Audience responses to, and judgment of, the stand-up comedian’s performance forms the inexorable bond between these two parties. As such, this (inter)relationship between the comedian and audience is co-created, interdependent, and dynamic. Through the lens of Mikhail Bakhtin, and a review of relevant narrative scholarship, this paper explores the use of narrative by comedian Louis C.K. as being a mode of self-disclosure that connects him with his audience. In particular, I examine how C.K.’s comedic narrative functions to build stronger dialogic connections with his audiences.
Recommended Citation
Granelli, Steve
(2017)
"“This Is Totally Inappropriate”: Louis C.K.’s Use of Narrative to Build Dialogic Connections,"
Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal of Qualitative Communication Research: Vol. 16, Article 5.
Available at:
https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/kaleidoscope/vol16/iss1/5