Intertextuality, mediation, and members’ categories in focus groups on humor

Abstract

This paper extends studies on intertextuality into a more explicitly interactional context. I examine the actual process of intertextuality where comedy audiences construct recombinant selves through making sense of various membership categories as well as through making sense of a certain kind of comedy. The examination of this process requires receptive research; however, most studies leave the interpretive process unanalyzed. Conducting both a sequential analysis and a membership categorization analysis will reveal that categories are not "pre-formed" but "per-formed" in situ. To illustrate these points, I report on a receptive study of Local comedy in Hawai'i.

Membership categorization analysis as means of studying person perception

“…Recent research has become increasingly interested in using visual materials as research data. Among others, Francis and Hart (1997), Furukawa (2012), Raudaskoski (2011), Roca-Cuberes andVentura (2016), and Stokoe (2012) have utilized TV programs, news, and commercials in research on membership categorization. Videos have been used, for instance, by Burdelski and Fukuka (2019), Edwards and Fitzgerald (2015), Evans and Fitzgerald (2017), Licoppe (2015), Reynolds (2017), Rintel (2015), Smith (2017), and Watson (2005).…”