“Laughing with” or “laughing at” people with disabilities? Love on the Spectrum and Derek

Abstract: This paper explores the charged line between “laughing with” and “laughing at” people with disabilities. It documents how “the line” is structured, how the line between “laughing with” and “laughing at” is manifested, and how we might reasonably surmise when it has been crossed. Two television series are examined and compared. The first, Love on the Spectrum, is an Australian reality series that follows a number of young adults on the autism spectrum, as they search for love and go on dates with others who also are on the spectrum. Much of the charm of the series is that it evokes laughter, frequently at the seriousness of the people it portrays. The laughter raised during Love on the Spectrum is compared with the laughter encouraged by British comedian Ricky Gervais’s 2012–2014 series Derek, which is about a character who many viewers identified as being on the autism spectrum. The paper discusses similarities between the two series, but concludes by proposing that the laughter invited by the protagonists’ seriousness during these two series in fact is structured very differently.

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: “Laughing with” or “laughing at” people with disabilities? Love on the Spectrum and Derek ; volume:37 ; number:3 ; year:2024 ; pages:307-328 ; extent:22 ; Humor ; 37, Heft 3 (2024), 307-328 (gesamt 22)

Contributors, Places and Time

• Creator: Kulick, Don

Further information

• DOI: 10.1515/humor-2023-0162
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2407131548014.616845241685
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 14.08.2025, 11:02 AM CEST