A new public sphere? English-language stand-up comedy in India

Paul, Subin

doi:10.1080/09584935.2017.1321618

Cited by 19 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…While Asian countries are beginning to catch up with the trend, the scholarship pertaining to the power of political humour, especially the ones disseminated by the new media can still be considered to be in a nascent phase. In India, in the last two decades, the studies about political satire are usually conceptual in nature like the works of Punathambekar (2015), Kumar (2015), and Paul (2017) in which Kulkarni (2017) adds to the occasional empirical studies on the subject. The effects discussed in these researches are predominantly at the cognitive level that is only useful in the development of a working hypothesis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Realizing the ability of Seriously Frivolous: A Narrative Review of the Global Effects of Political Humour on Political Sophistication ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts 532 political comedy to serve as a free space for democratic discussions, some researchers conceptualize these platforms as a modern public sphere. Paul (2017) in his study "A New Public Sphere? English-Language Stand-Up Comedy in India" discusses the contribution of English-language stand-up comedy as a modern public sphere where opinions about social, political, and cultural aspects of local, national, and international issues are shared and further given feedback in the form of applause, silence (in case of live performance), likes and subscriptions and further discussed and debated in the comment section.…”

Section: Political Humour and Political Participation: Political Expr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seriously Frivolous: A Narrative Review of the Global Effects of Political Humour on Political Sophistication

Rani

Yadav

2023

ShodhKosh J. Vis. Per. Arts

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A politically conversant and sophisticated public is a major requisite for the development and functioning of a sound democracy. However, politics being an intricate subject doesn’t usually catch a fancy of an average man. This poses the demanding challenge of simplifying political discourse and making it more appealing to the larger population. Studies show that political comedy can qualify as one of its competent solutions due to the inherent power of humour to not just amuse but also facilitate attention-grabbing, information retention, and recall Fitzpatrick (2010). Also, the application of humour in serious matters like politics makes it less subject to scrutiny Feldman & Young (2008) further motivating people to express themselves freely without being intimidated by the fear of criticism. The realization of these advantages of political comedy led to an influx in research and discussions around the implications of the same. Hence, in light of the rising popularity of various formats of political humour in contemporary times, the present paper employs the technique of narrative literature review to identify various approaches through which the effects of political humour have been studied so far and explores whether or not it impacts the current political landscape. The investigation of the secondary sources yields that the recent scholarship on political humour effects is mostly centered around television satirical shows and myriad of its formats on the internet. The paper is arranged according to five central themes found by the careful examination of the available literature, which are; a) political humour as a mediator of political knowledge, b) implications on political efficacy and cynicism, c) political humour and political participation/ engagement, d) persuasive impacts of political humour, and e) factors influencing the effects of political humour.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Political Humour and Political Participation: Political Expr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Seriously Frivolous: A Narrative Review of the Global Effects of Political Humour on Political Sophistication

Rani

Yadav

2023

ShodhKosh J. Vis. Per. Arts

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“…Studies are also now emerging that focus on the role of audiences in the success of a performance and how they respond to it (Lockyer and Myers, 2011; Hattingh, 2018). Studies that focus on the Indian stand-up scene primarily look at stand-up comedy as a means of self-expression, the building of a new public sphere, as an important popular cultural artefact also look at the construction of identities through the form of stand-up (Kay, 2018; Miller, 2020; Paul, 2017; Sahoo and Das, 2018; Sohail and Hasan, 2018). In addition, no studies so far have attempted a methodological enquiry into the analysis of a stand-up comedy performance in the digital space.…”

Section: Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

Mediatisation, digital spaces and live performance: Understanding Indian stand-up comedy and evolving performance landscapes

Shivaprasad

2023

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Med

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This paper is a reflection on the points of convergence between live performance and the media within Indian stand-up comedy. Traditionally, live performance has been seen in opposition to the media. While the former is defined by spatial and temporal co-presence of the audience and spectators, the latter has neither (Auslander, 2012). While stand-up comedy is primarily live, digital and mass media are used extensively by comedians to build a professional reputation for themselves through their presence and participation on social media. However, after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, much of performance art – including stand-up comedy – has moved online. That is, comedians are experimenting with the online media: Zoom, Instagram Live, Facebook Live and so on, to put up live performances that would otherwise have been performed within a comedy club or café. This paper derives its theoretical basis from Philip Auslander’s postulation of liveness in a mediatised culture and digital liveness which ‘results from our conscious act of grasping virtual entities as live in response to the claims [technology makes] on us’ (2012: 13). The paper attempts a theoretical reflection on how to ‘read’ a stand-up comedy performance for pedagogical purposes in these different contexts as the idea of liveness, mediatisation and our experience of the live evolves with time and context.

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“…In India, comedians themselves have hailed the stand-up comedy industry as "one of the most progressive" entertainment fields (Film Companion, 2017). As Subin Paul (2017) notes, Indian stand-up comedy and its potential to critique social structures and inequalities becomes particularly important because freedom of speech, particularly of journalists, is being heavily curtailed in India owing to the political climate. However, the comedy industry is not as "intersectional" as it is purported to be because of the existing structural barriers in the industry (Sahoo & Das, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Humour and the Margins: Stand-Up Comedy and Caste in India

Shivaprasad¹

2020

ijmcf

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Stand-up comedy as an art form has been known as one of the most powerful forms of expression to speak truth to power. In India, political satire as stand-up is highly popular. However, there is a serious gap in recognising and critiquing social hierarchies, particularly the Indian caste system. Most comedians, including the women who are known as strong critics of patriarchal structures within Indian society and the comedy industry in India, do not see the lack of representation of a Dalit voice in the industry as a structural problem. When caste is specifically named in the routines performed by them, all of them incidentally are a reference to their upper-caste identities in a non-ironical manner. Through critical discourse analysis, the article analyses stand-up comedy videos by these comedians online videos, as well as other non-humorous critiques they have offered on other platforms such as social media in order to understand the implications of these references. The article argues that these narratives reflect the general dominant caste discourse that the upper-caste comedians are a part of and also reconstitute the same by reiterating their own locations within the caste system. Finally it reflects on the significance of humour and particularly stand-up comedy to effect change. Recognising that humour and laughter are social activities also means to acknowledge that they hold potential to break existing stereotypes. How and under what conditions would that become possible?

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A new public sphere? English-language stand-up comedy in India

Cited by 19 publications

References 21 publications

Seriously Frivolous: A Narrative Review of the Global Effects of Political Humour on Political Sophistication

Seriously Frivolous: A Narrative Review of the Global Effects of Political Humour on Political Sophistication

Mediatisation, digital spaces and live performance: Understanding Indian stand-up comedy and evolving performance landscapes

Humour and the Margins: Stand-Up Comedy and Caste in India

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