constantly airing stand-up comedy shows. Their persistence in doing so is what attracts the writer to dig even deeper to find what are actually the „specific purposes‟ embedded
in such shows as later chapters of this thesis will reveal.
B. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The main objectives of this study are threefold. Firstly, socially, the writer is keen to show that stand up comedy shows have potential power to get people to see that comedy
can be an effective tool to address marginal-yet-important issues. Besides discussing how comedy can be used to highlight important issues, the study also aims at promoting
comedy as a mild-yet-effective way of getting its audience to learn about social issues in relatively more pleasant ways, through entertainment, instead of tragedy, which in the
past was believed to be a more effective vehicle to moral education. Through this study, the writer holds a big hope that people who are interested in Stand-up comedy shows, in
the future, will find not only entertainment but also some inspiration to communicate ideas, especially those deemed a
s „sensitive‟, in more communicative ways, if not entertaining. A study on comedy reveals that despite the content, be it political a satire or
mere joke, comedy holds a vital role in establishing relationship, argues Ross
4
. The writer develops faith in what comedy is capable of doing, breaking communication barriers to
let messages flow more smoothly in an entertaining manner. Taking that argument of Ross as a starting point, the writer is getting more confidence in the extensive power of
comedy, given the writer‟s belief that comedy is more capable of becoming a reliable
4
Alison Ross. The Language of Humour. London: Routledge, 1998, vii.
agent of social changes. It is so because in order for social changes to really take place, the presence of an established relationship among people in a society is undoubtedly
indispensible, and it is through comedy which such desired rapport among members of society is made achievable.
Secondly, this study is hoped to bring benefits to education in a wider scope. The writer believes that if comedy can indeed provide „education‟ to people of different walks
of life, than academia might see comedy as an alternative method in their teaching- learning activities. Relevant modifications are to be applied, without a doubt. The writer
supports the idea presented by Eble who asserted that in teaching-learning processes it is imperial that educators are to master the art of improvising, in other words, educators are
hoped to insert the element of „performing‟ in their teaching sessions to ensure one goal of education, transfer of knowledge
5
. Furthermore, one who is fervently involved in Stand-up Comedy, especially as a comic, will get into the habit of doing researches about
a topic heshe is going to deliver in order to come up with smart jokes, which is a huge plus point in this kind of entertainment. It is the sense of preparation that the writer
deems as another significantly positive side of Stand-up Comedy. If how Stand-up Comedy requires participants, students, in this context, to do a small research before
performing is not convincing enough to show how Stand-up Comedy can be academically useful, then we might have to go a little deeper than doing researches, that
is by acknowledging the very core of researches, casual observation of casual events in students‟ casual daily lives. Not only doing so will help them generate interesting ideas,
5
Kenneth J. Eble. Teaching American Literature: A Journal of Theory and Practice 1:2. 2012.
but further than that, observing their surroundings will trigger them to discover some never-seen-before funny sides of seemingly-boring daily events. If properly done and
creatively delivered, one‟s result of observation will be unique as one‟s views of a single event is bound to be different from that of another, therefore two interestingly different
points of view will emerge, and this is where dreams of free-speaking society is heading for a fulfillment as each person has the right to say what they wish to say as a result of
their own personal observation. Benefit number three that the writer hopes this study would generate is how the study
of Stand-up Comedy as well as the practice of it will help students of English language. The writer understands that there are various skills of English language being taught in
„frozen‟ manners which heavily rely on seriousness in order to transfer knowledge. Given that knowledge, the writer puts a high hope in this study that in the not-so-long future, a
„warmer‟ approach involving informalities, while still promoting equity, is given a bigger opportunity, considering the success of Stand-up Comedy shows in their efforts to
address specific issues and keep audience engaged during the delivery. Going deeper, the writer suggests that Stand-up Comedy, or the likes, be applied in Speaking classes where
constant engagement between a speaker and hisher audience is vital. It is not without reason that the writer proposes such idea, because the writer has observed that there are
similarities in structure of delivery in Stand-up Comedy shows and Speaking classes, as both demand interesting openings, clear delivery of messages, and firm closings.
Appropriate additions of comical touches, the main attribute of Stand-up Comedy shows, will only help speakers develop into better speakers with their tested ability to grab their
audience‟s attention from minute one until the closing remark. However, the writer
encourages that a clear line be drawn between „being funny‟ and „being communicative‟
in classroom settings. It is wisest to keep in mind that the goal of writing this thesis is not to change classrooms into comedy clubs, rather than for classroom activities to adapt
numerous useful approaches in Stand-up Comedy shows which are proven to be effective in getting attention from audiences of different backgrounds. The writer also understands
that mastery of skills possessed by Stand-up Comedy will make good ingredients for a tasty serving drama performance, a field the writer is going to teach about upon the
completion of this master‟s study. One‟s ability to continually make connections with audience is not the only thing needed to create an interesting show, but borrowing other
significant elements of Stand-up Comedy will certainly help students of Drama classes in the future step to a more advanced level of acting. The other „significant elements‟
mentioned above include the necessities of deploying relevant facial expressions as well as using accurate gestures, both to be done for the sake of entertainment, enjoyment, and
engagement to both issues being delivered and anybody on a stage delivering those issues.
From how delivery of messages in social contexts or knowledge in academic settings can get an enormous help from the use of comedy, comes the writer‟s
confidence that comedy should indeed be given a wider space to play in order to spread its influence, in positive ways, because its critical-yet-friendly influence can be one of the
most responsible elements as far as putting glues to attach the many pieces of a society, the main ingredient of unity, is concerned.
C. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. How does Stand-Up Comedy provide an experiential learning of addressing social issues?
2. How does Stand-Up Comedy offer help to public speaking practitioners?
D. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
To find the answers the research questions, the writer is going to watch and analyze the content of recorded Stand-up comedy shows, American and Indonesian. The
shows used for the analysis are delivered by two American comics, Russell Peters and Chris Rock. While the Indonesia comics whose shows are used for deeper analysis in this
thesis are Pandji Pragiwaksono and Samuel D. Putra. The selection of the four comics are not without reasons as the writer has spent an
ample amount of time studying what dominant topics are usually delivered by the four and other comics. However, the writer noted that the four are interesting in their
consistency to surface topics w hich are seen as „sensitive‟ or „taboo‟, therefore the writer
decided to choose their stand up show contents because of their relevance to the ultimate goals of this study.
E. THEORETICAL APPROACH
