SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

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

In order to find answers of the two above research questions, the writer deploys two methods, library research and content analysis. The former is used to trace what has been written about humor in general and Stand-Up Comedy, the more specific object of the study. Through extensive readings, the writer found relevant comedy-resources which cover more or less enough background for this study, ranging from different meanings of comedy, its place in the society, and to help the writer to answer the first research question, how comedy can be a helpful tool when it comes to surfacing issues that used to be seen as „taboos‟ and „marginalized‟ to later help create a more open communication in the society. Besides library research, the writer will also use comparative content analysis, a method widely used in social sciences. As the basis of the analysis, this research uses Aristotle‟s view on comedy, which asserts that comedy gives opportunities to contemplate about life in a lighter way than tragedy. The method will be of a huge help when it comes to analyzing contents of the comedy shows, especially in parts where the writer puts the American and Indonesian shows in comparison to get the answer for the second research question. The materials to later be analyzed using the comparative content method will be heavily rely on video files of various Stand-up Comedy shows performed by two established American comics, Russell Peters and Chris Rock, and a couple of top-notch Indonesian comics in Sam D. Putra and Pandji Pragiwaksono. The writer selected those comics because their topics of stage performances are the most relevant to help the writer answer his research questions, which revolve around social issues and possible social changes, all wrapped in comical-yet-critical fashion. Since this thesis discusses Stand-Up Comedy, a form entertainment that relies heavily on words, it also focuses on how Benedict Anderson‟s theory on „Language and Power‟ is brought to life as this thesis argues that bits delivered by comics in their shows are more than just rhetoric; words are used in the clearest way without causing too much confusion. Finally, to deepen the observation of the said cultural phenomenon, the writer also utilized different points of view provided by Semiotics when it came to non-verbal elements of four Stand-Up Comedy shows being scrutinized. The insertion of Semiotics was done in order to justify the notion that the staged shows brought entertainment and messages not only through what was said comics‟ words but also in what was shown comics‟ gestures and postures as well as properties present during shows.

F. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Despite the writer‟s enthusiasm in doing this research and optimism in the study‟s results contribution for further studies in the same field, the writer realizes that the study still has rooms for improvement due to some reasons. The first reason is the potentially wide scope of the study because of the ever- spreading phenomenon of Stand-up comedy. Although the mushrooming of the entertainment can be beneficial, it, in many different occasions made the writer rethink when it came to selecting the objects of this study, especially to find shows in Indonesian settings appropriate for analysis. Eventually the writer decided to select the mainstream shows in both countries represented by the four comics mentioned above. The writer originally wanted to observe local comics, however, the idea was then altered because the writer found out that there was a very strong tendency that local comics merely copy the contents delivered by mainstream comics hence the final comic selection. Limited previous academic researches on stand-up comedy is the second limitation that the writer found in the writing process of this study that caused some difficulties when it was time to decide what the focal point of the study. A Sweden-based researcher, Sjöbohm, conceded that it was lack of reference materials that forced him to heavily rely on only a few books dedicated to stand-up comedy 6 .

G. PRESENTATIONS OF THE STUDY

This thesis is presented in five chapters and is strictly discussing the contents of recorded stand-up shows delivered by the four comics whose names are mentioned above. 6 Juan Sjöbohm. Stand-up Comedy Around the world: Americanisation and the role of globalised media. Malmö. 2012. Chapter 1 as the opener of the thesis hosts all the basics of the study, inviting readers to pay a bit more attention to stand-up comedy shows which, as the writer will analyze in depth later, does not only offer verbal entertainment but deeper than that, such shows are pregnant with sensitive issues which can smoothly be communicated when using comedy as the outlet. The very chapter furthermore also states the goals of this thesis as well as exposing some limitations conceded by the writer in his attempt to provide strong backups to the thesis. The following chapter is the home to theories. General theories about comedy and more specifically about stand-up comedy occupy a bigger part in the said chapter; it is so for an obvious reason, because the thesis is revolving around stand-up comedy. The vehicle through which stand-up comedy shows are presented, television, however, is also given a reasonable portion of the chapter as the data of this thesis are taken from recorded stand-up shows broadcasted on television. Chapters three and four are where the two research questions find their answers with one chapter hosts thorough analysis of each question. Finally, to the fifth chapter conclusions of the thesis and suggestions will go. Upon the completion of this thesis, the writer is hoping that results of the study will open more eyes to the seemingly-hidden importance of comedy as presented in stand-up comedy shows as well as call for other researches to be conducted on comedy-related issues for comedy to be acknowledged for its potential power.