Oh The Dichotomies!

After reading Cook and watching Eddie Izzard, it became clear to me that dichotomies are potentially very important to humor. We briefly discussed the inclusiveness and "us vs. them" of humor in class, but I wonder how persona factors into this.

Eddie Izzard's act set up a few different dichotomies: British v. American, crossdresser v. (what's the opposite of a crossdresser? non-crossdresser?)
Cook's work clearly takes up the British v. American point of view (as the narrator tells us, even his best experience in America was "Not half so good as English beer" (26) and most of the time the expectations he has from his British lifestyle ruin any chance for a positive experience in America).

When we add persona to the mix, however, it becomes much more complicated. When Eddie Izzard makes fun of Americans, it's a clear us v. them set up. But he then goes on to make fun of his fellow countrymen (such as when he mocks England's insufficient funds for participation in the moon race). He creates a persona that allows him to make fun of both sides (and that's a good thing, since this particular piece of stand-up was performed for an American audience), but where does that leave him in us v. them? His audience doesn't necessarily consider him one of them, and his crossdressing further removes him from them.

The persona of Cook's narrator, too, plays a large role in the way "The Sot-weed Factor" is read. This narrator shows obvious condecension for America and all things American from the very beginning. An American audience has no doubts that they are being cast as the "them" and that this "us" wants no part of it. There is none of the self effacing humor that arguably allows Izzard to get away with mocking Americans. Instead, Cook's narrator becomes the butt of the joke. Cook develops a character with outsider status and uses it to create the humor. We laugh because he's not one of us; the us v. them gets turned around against him as he fails to fit into his new environment.