STAND-UP COMEDY: MAPPING THE TRAJECTORY OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION THROUGH ENTERTAINMENT

Abstract

Comedy as a form of expression has never existed in isolation, it is always germinated within the political and social contexts of that time. Societies have often found humor as an avenue to discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of their existence. It has transcended from old uncle sitting beneath a peepal tree talking about the establishment to political comedians tweeting their opinions to their oh-so large followers these days. Rise of stand-up comedy as a cultural phenomenon has led to more and more researchers studying its effects on the audiences and the increasing demand for such consciousness to recognize the social evils and punch-up the response in the favor of the marginalized. Its roots can be traced back to Foucault’s idea of parrhesiastes, which defines an individual as “the one who uses parrhesia, i.e., is the one who speaks the truth.” This Greek figure of speech Parrhesia which stands for free speech can be used to refer the modern comedians and their unintentional crusade to inform the people.

Never in time was there a clearer distinction between the different genres of comedy and their artists than today. This branding of political comedian is not a mere distinction in the content of their art but a label which has its own set of responsibilities towards the community. This paper using some scientific methods will theoretically verify the effect of youth accessing online stand-up comedy on political sophistication.