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What's So Funny about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 October 2020

Paul Cefalu
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Abstract

During the past several decades, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) has been widely represented in novels, memoirs, film, television, and other genres and media. What distinguishes representations of OCD from depictions of other mental disorders is the frequency with which OCD is treated with humor and levity. Drawing on genre theory, disability studies, and philosophies of humor, this essay explains why OCD symptomatology evokes laughter and resonates with contemporary popular culture. The essay focuses on the ways in which popular portrayals of OCD distort the actual experience of the disorder.

Type
Research Article
Information
PMLA , Volume 124 , Issue 1 , January 2009 , pp. 44 - 58
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 by The Modern Language Association of America

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