Abstract

This thesis will show how the Comedic Device Penis (CDP), an original concept to this work, elicits laughter and shock from an audience but remains strictly within the confines of a conservative, heteronormative sphere. This thesis expands on previous scholarly work showing the need to critically engage with the images of men and the male body. Chapter One deals with Sedgwick’s theory of Male Homosocial Desire (MHD), from her book Between Men (1985), which is corroborated and/or exemplified in Hollywood comedies. The analysis shows how MHD is illustrated very well in Hollywood comedies, such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin (Judd Apatow 2005), and Old School (Todd Phillips 2003), among others. Chapter Two extrapolates on theories from Lehman’s book Running Scared (1993), and a subsequent article “Crying Over the Melodramatic Penis”(2001) and the new concept of the CDP is conceived. Through a detailed textual analysis focusing on the aesthetics of film, this thesis will show how the representation of the penis is not eroticized and any positive references to homosexuality are avoided. The six Hollywood comedies that exemplify this new concept are: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Jake Kasdan 2007), Observe and Report (Jody Hill 2009), The Hangover (Todd Phillips 2009), Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg 2008), Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Kevin Smith 2008), and Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Nicholas Stoller 2008).