Sounding Funny - Sound and Comedy Cinema - Mark Evans

Sounding Funny - Sound and Comedy Cinema - Mark Evans

Austin Powers: Intentional Music Man

Sounding Funny - Sound and Comedy Cinema - Mark Evans

Liz Giuffre [+-]
University of Technology, Sydney
Dr Liz Giuffre is a Senior Lecturer in Communication at the University of Technology Sydney. She also regularly works in the national independent arts press as a journalist and commentator, including work as the regular contributing editor for Metro magazine, a regular contributor to Critical Studies in Television, and columnist for The Conversation.
Mark Evans [+-]
University of Technology Sydney
Professor Mark Evans is Head of the School of Communication at the University of Technology Sydney. He is Series Editor for Genre, Music and Sound. Recent books include Sounding Funny: Comedy, Cinema and Music (with Phillip Hayward) and Moves, Movies and Music: The Sound of Dance Films (with Mary Fogarty), and The New Music Industries: Disruption and Discovery (co-authored with Hughes, Morrow and Keith), published by Palgrave Macmillan.

Description

The Austin Powers franchise has gained much attention for Mike Myers. Commonly thought of as spy film spoofs, this chapter seeks to look more broadly at the range of comedic devices employed in the films. In particular we draw out Myers’ play on the musical and its exaggeration for comedic effect, showing how this genre crossing appeals to a range of audiences across generations and with a variety of modes of address. We argue that parody, pastiche and intertextuality are used masterfully by Myers and a strong part of the films’ appeal, however also acknowledge that audiences without in depth knowledge of the original texts are still able to participate in the comedic address. We also draw comparisons between Myers’ film work here and his earlier development as a sketch television artist, showing how his use of multiple characters and settings has been influenced across media contexts. Ultimately we argue that Myers’ film comedy is rich in its range and scope – a complexity of audio visual engagement that is rarely acknowledged in comedy screen analysis.

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Citation

Giuffre, Liz; Evans, Mark. Austin Powers: Intentional Music Man. Sounding Funny - Sound and Comedy Cinema. Equinox eBooks Publishing, United Kingdom. p. 74-91 Jan 2016. ISBN 9781845536749. https://www.equinoxpub.com/home/view-chapter/?id=24490. Date accessed: 28 Mar 2024 doi: 10.1558/equinox.24490. Jan 2016

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