Stand up comedy in India

Abstract

7 newlineAbstract newlineThis dissertation is an exploration of the limits of feminist engagement possible through newlinethe form of stand-up comedy. I focus on the ways in which the women in the industry engage with newlineand critique the oppressive structures that they encounter both within the industry and elsewhere. newlineI argue that the women in the industry, rather than overtly performing political comedy assert a newlineform of cultural citizenship through which they lay personal claims over the nation, thus building newlinetheir own narratives of critique in relation to it. newlineExploring the limits of feminist activism and engagement, I further explore other avenues, newlinesuch as spaces of activism where stand-up comedy has been prominently used in order to critique newlinedominant oppressive structures including patriarchy. Doing this, I draw out the roles that stand-up newlinecomedy plays in bringing social change. Being a form of performance that is equally present in newlineboth online and offline spaces, I observe the culture of humour in the Indian digital spaces newlineproduced by comedians, content creators as well as feminists and the concurrence and distinctions newlinebetween these different players. Arguing that the expression of feminist political commitment newlineinvolves grappling with cultural, economic and political forces which often mean that comedians newlineand activists alike have to find other, subtler ways to question the powers that be. newlineFinally, I look at the #MeToo movement as it played out in the comedy industry. I argue newlinethat the comedians, as is the nature of their profession, have to be visible, and regularly perform newline(both as themselves and as comedians) in public. I analyse the public statements made by some of newlinethe major players in the industry as they were accused of complicity in sexual harassment of fellow newlinecomedians. Looking at the entire ecosystem of humour, comedy, performance in digital and offline newlinespaces, and studying the intersections between feminist discourses and humour and stand-up newlinecomedy, I argue that the question perhaps may not be whether comedy can aid feminism become newlinemore accessible or feminism can inform comedy to be more socially aware. I point out how all newlinethese different states and level of political commitment exist simultaneously, are constantly in flux newlinewith each other and inform each other in conscious and unconscious ways. The task is not in newlinemaking one or the other adhere to certain ways of being, but to simply understand the complexities newlineinvolved in the negotiations that both men and women, activist, comedians, feminist, or non- newlinefeminist make in the process. newline