BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: Laughing Matters

DC -- Natl Museum of American History -- Exhibit: Laughing Matters:

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Description of Pictures: Laughing Matters
July 22, 2016 – October 3, 2016
Laughing Matters is a display that looks into the stories of three comedians who changed the face of comedy. The showcase highlights the power of laughter in the realm of social and political discussion through the careers of Phyllis Diller, Carol Burnett, and Miss Piggy, a creation of Jim Henson. The case features the “charwoman” costume, donated by Burnett to the museum in 1988, along with a costume worn by Diller during Bob Hope’s USO Christmas Tour in 1967, gifted to the museum by Diller, the hand and rod puppet, Miss Piggy, donated to the museum by the family of Jim Henson in 2013. The display includes other objects defining the power of laughter.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SIAHLM_160806_03.JPG: Laughing Matters: Getting a laugh depends on a performer having shared social, political, and cultural experiences with the audience. In American culture, comedians can highlight inequalities and prejudices using the disarming power of humor to invite reflection and debate on uncomfortable topics.
2. SIAHLM_160806_05.JPG: "You all watched a sketch about feminism and you didn't even know it because of all the jokes. It's like when Jessica Seinfeld puts spinach in kids' brownies. Suckers!" -- Tina Fey, Bossypants
3. SIAHLM_160806_11.JPG: In the Works! In 2018, the third floor of the Museum's west wing will reopen with new exhibitions and experiences. We will be exploring how American culture embodies the dynamic character of the American people, providing a forum in which to debate and proclaim national values -- including democracy, opportunity, and freedom. Tell us about a time when a show, movie, or performance touched on a topic or value of importance to you.
4. SIAHLM_160806_16.JPG: Costume, 1967 On Bob Hope's USO Christmas tour in the South Pacific, Diller was unlike the sexy, young women who danced and sang for the troops. Diller offered a brief relief from the stress of wartime military service with her humor.
5. SIAHLM_160806_24.JPG: Phyllis Diller: Phyllis Diller (1917-2012) was a comedian and entertainer whose career spanned nearly fifty years on radio, television, live tours, and film.
6. SIAHLM_160806_26.JPG: Phyllis Diller premiered her stage persona on television in the fall of 1952 with the show Phyllis Dillis, The Homely Friendmaker, a twist on the idea of the "happy homemaker." Performing with fright wigs and outrageous costumes, Diller delivered rapid-fire, sharp jokes and one-liners -- with a cackling laugh -- about her life as a bad housewife. Diller's comic persona played against the stereotypical notions of her era that being a woman meant being a beautiful, selfless wife and nurturing mother. Audiences laughed at, and with, Diller as her comedy acknowledged the discord between idealized and real-life experiences.
7. SIAHLM_160806_30.JPG: Photograph Around 1950 Actor Janet Leigh appears in this photograph by Nickolas Muray, taken for the cover of the December 1950 issue of Modern Screen magazine.
8. SIAHLM_160806_37.JPG: The success of many of Phyllis Diller's jokes was built around shared cultural experiences. One example of a 1950s definition of beauty that contrasted her character's can be found on the cover of a celebrity magazine. A strong sense of insisting women be good housekeepers, a skill her character claimed not to possess, can be found between the manual and the children's book. Taken together, we can see a dialogue building between everyday realities and cultural expectations.
9. SIAHLM_160806_42.JPG: Housekeeping Violette Sealock, Nov. 7, 1964 These modern girls go for plots and plans, not pots and pans. [Phyllis Diller joke card]
10. SIAHLM_160806_51.JPG: Miss Piggy 2000s One of Jim Henson's most famous Muppets, Miss Piggy is a hand-and-rod puppet made of foam, felt, and cloth. Her costuming often changes.
11. SIAHLM_160806_52.JPG: Miss Piggy: Miss Piggy (introduced in 1974) is a beloved Muppet character that embraces idealized feminine charms veiling her naturally rough, sometimes violent personality. She is a member of Jim Henson's The Muppet Show performed for much of her run by Frank Oz.
12. SIAHLM_160806_54.JPG: Miss Piggy rose in popularity and national recognition as a unique female voice during a period of debate over feminism and women's rights. Presenting the Muppets without visible puppeteers gave the characters clear, and now celebrity, personalities. Miss Piggy has aspired to high-powered jobs in entertainment and fashion, asserted herself romantically, and stood up for her personal sense of justice. In June 2015 Miss Piggy received an award from the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art and prompted a Time magazine article attributed to the character, titled "Why I Am a Feminist Pig." Through humor, the fictitious character was able to address larger social and political issues.
13. SIAHLM_160806_63.JPG: Photograph Around 1937 This photograph by Will Connell, titled Make-Up, appeared in the photographer's book in Pictures: A Hollywood Satire.
14. SIAHLM_160806_65.JPG: Magazine 1972 Wonder Woman graced the cover of the first monthly issue of Ms. magazine, from July 1972.
15. SIAHLM_160806_72.JPG: Costume 1962 Carol Burnett wore this charwoman, or cleaning woman, costume on her television show in numerous skits. The closing credit panel of her show was a cartoon of Burnett as this iconic character cleaning up after the show.
16. SIAHLM_160806_78.JPG: Carol Burnett: Carol Burnett (b. 1933) is best known for her popular variety show, The Carol Burnett Show (1967-1978). With recurring characters, guest stars, and a regular cast of veteran film and television actors, she brought music and comedy sketches into American living rooms.
17. SIAHLM_160806_83.JPG: Carol Burnett's comedic skits poked fun at office work, family dynamics, and celebrity culture. Burnett's charwoman character skewered long-standing stereotypes about cleaning women. In one sketch with Lucille Ball, their characters cleaned the offices of movie executives. They discussed contracts, actors, and deals while emptying trashcans and clipping the used ends off of cigarettes to be resmoked. Burnett's character had intelligence and aspirations but was trapped by gender and class struggles.
18. SIAHLM_160806_89.JPG: Carol Burnett's charwoman, or cleaning woman, was familiar as a comic vaudeville character often based on ethnic stereotypes. Through her character on television, she brought attention to the people who clean offices and homes and humorously imagined their private dialogues.
19. SIAHLM_160806_90.JPG: Poster 1920s This poster advertised Biddy the Irish Wash Woman on a mutoscope, an early motion picture viewer.
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