{"product_id":"aint-that-a-knee-slapper-rural-comedy-in-the-twentieth-century-9781934110737","title":"Ain't That a Knee-Slapper: Rural Comedy in the Twentieth Century","description":"There was a time when rural comedians drew most of their humor from tales of farmers' daughters, hogs, hens, and hill country high jinks. Lum and Abner and Ma and Pa Kettle might not have toured happily under the \"Redneck\" marquee, but they were its precursors. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eAin't That a Knee-Slapper: Rural Comedy in the Twentieth Century\u003c\/i\u003e, author Tim Hollis traces the evolution of this classic American form of humor in the mass media, beginning with the golden age of radio, when such comedians as Bob Burns, Judy Canova, and Lum and Abner kept listeners laughing. The book then moves into the motion pictures of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, when the established radio stars enjoyed second careers on the silver screen and were joined by live-action renditions of the comic strip characters Li'l Abner and Snuffy Smith, along with the much-loved Ma and Pa Kettle series of films. Hollis explores such rural sitcoms as \u003ci\u003eThe Real McCoys\u003c\/i\u003e in the late 1950s and from the 1960s, \u003ci\u003eThe Andy Griffith Show\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Beverly Hillbillies\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGreen Acres\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHee Haw\u003c\/i\u003e, and many others. Along the way, readers are taken on side trips into the world of animated cartoons and television commercials that succeeded through a distinctly rural sense of fun. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhile rural comedy fell out of vogue and networks sacked shows in the early 1970s, the emergence of such hits as \u003ci\u003eThe Dukes of Hazzard\u003c\/i\u003e brought the genre whooping back to the mainstream. Hollis concludes with a brief look at the current state of rural humor, which manifests itself in a more suburban, redneck brand of standup comedy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University Press of Mississippi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/08\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781934110737\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.07lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.18h x 6.31w x 0.72d","brand":"Tim Hollis","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52537444597941,"sku":"9781934110737","price":21.25,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_0091670f-7f09-499a-bf84-54257572c31a.jpg?v=1779169580","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/aint-that-a-knee-slapper-rural-comedy-in-the-twentieth-century-9781934110737","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}