Beyond A Joke explores the myriad ways English film culture has used forms of parody, from the 1960s to the present day. It provides a contextual and textual analysis of a range of works that, while popular, have only rarely been the subject of serious academic attention, from Morecambe & Wise to Shaun Of The Dead to the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.

Combining the methodologies both of film history and film theory, Beyond A Joke locates parody within specific industrial and cultural moments, while also looking in detail at the aesthetics of parody as a mode. Ultimately, such works are shown to be a form of culturally specific film or televisual product for exporting to the global market, in which Englishness, shaped in self-mocking and ironic terms, becomes the selling point.

Written in an accessible style and illustrated throughout with a diverse range of examples, Beyond A Joke is the first book to explore parody within a specifically English context and makes an invaluable contribution to the scholarship on both English and global film culture.

First published: Saturday 30th July 2016