23rd Annual Student Research Conference
30 Rock : Post-Modern Comedy the Rockefeller Way
Haley Ray
Dr. Elizabeth M. Clark, Faculty Mentor
30 Rock is a multiple-award winning television show created by SNL star, Tina Fey. This three-time Emmy award winner for Outstanding Comedy Series boasts top ratings. A brilliant ensemble cast, and quick-witted, creative humor that is unlike anything else on TV. The shows overarching success can be attributed to carefully crafted characters, the use of parodic allusion in humor, and its appeal to an intelligent audience. The incongruity theory reveals the shows use of character-focused plot layers to develop a successful comedic narrative. As a narrative 30 Rock incorporates complicated levels of conflict and plot that are focused more heavily on satellite scenes than kernel scenes directly related to the main plot. The use of post-modern analytical perspectives, such as intertextuality and reflexivity, demonstrates that 30 Rock exists in an integrative popular culture environment that enhances reader response. These two analytical approaches expose important aspects of comedic strategy.
Keywords: 30 Rock, Television, Narrative, Post-Modern, Critical Analysis
Topic(s):Communication
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 60-4
Location: VH 1320
Time: 3:30