However, he also shows that between the two kinds of awkwardness there is what he calls cultural awkwardness meaning that even when there is a set of social norms, one feels that it is impossible to follow them or even to fully understand them. Kotsko states that, "Just as it is easier to criticize than to create something, a social order in decline maintain its ability to tell you what you're doing wrong even as it is losing its ability to provide a convincing account of what it would look like to do things right" (Kotsko 16). In this paper I will explore the relationship of awkwardness and how this compelling element was utilize in the world of comedy. .
In the "Comedy at the Edge," Zoglin offers an in-depth explanation of the ten-year period when comedians stood with microphone in hand and at the white hot center of popular culture. These were new comedians who served to stretch the boundaries of the comedy genre for the purpose of becoming voices of their generation. In addition to that, Zoglin offers his audience with a backstage view of this period of stand-up comedy. He shows how this was an outrageous time showing the comics lives and inspirations, the scenes, the clubs and after-hours joints, the great gags, and bad behavior (Zoglin 171). All these factors are included in the book after extensive interviews with club owners, producers, and agents as well as extraordinary access to comedians themselves. Zoglin clearly shows the extremist nature of this period when a new side of comedy was emerging. The new comedians that were emerging came with much force such that they considered themselves as rebels drastically changing the way people used to view comedy. .
Going back to "Awkwardness" by Adam Kotsko, Kotsko shows that the tensions that are accompanied by awkwardness tend to indicate that no social order is self-evident or accounts for every possibility.