Abstract
Maoist Laughter’s three sections map the insidious ways in which the Communist Party established itself as a believable and all-encompassing reality. This review considers three social-psychological themes from Maoist Laughter that arise in its coverage of the Chinese Communist Party’s ideological pruning strategies: 1) comedic texts normalising communist-dominated environments, including texts composed for young audiences, illiterate and non-Mandarin-speaking samples; 2) comedy as a form of social modelling that marks in- versus out-groups, celebrating those who embody communist ideals and ridiculing those who disrespect collective harmony; and 3) laughter as a social lubricant between diverse groups which are now united under a communist China umbrella.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Cha: An Asian Literary Journal |
| Volume | General book review |
| Publication status | Published - 19 Nov 2020 |