thesis is going to present, what Roozen wrote about Charles, one of his students, can serve to strengthen the writer‟s claim of the potential power Stand-up Comedy possesses.
Charles, as told by Roozen, had problems in classes that required him to speak in public, who eventually found a remedy for his public communication jinx by participating as a
comic in Open Mic Night performances held in his university. Although it all seemed trivial, what Charles gained from his decision to be involved in such activity did give him
the much-needed boost in his performance in academic settings
20
as later it was reported that Charles, thanks to his frequent participation in his university‟s Stand-up Comedy
activities, was able to dramatically improve his „D‟ grade to an „A‟ in the following term. Roozen‟s observation on Charles‟ involvement in the activity hints that there are
probably more benefits waiting to be seized from Stand-up Comedy and that is just what this research is going to unearth.
Impacts Stand-up Comedy has that will be given vast elaboration here, however, as stated in the previous chapter, are not going to be limited to the narrow sense of
education. Rather, the writer felt the impending necessity to promote the potentials of Stand-up Comedy, socially, and in so doing, the writer owed a great deal to what Lewis
had in her thesis, in which she quoted from Medhurst about the very powerful functions of comedy, saying that comedy provides
“brief embrace in a threatening world, a moment of unity in a lifetime of fissures a haven against insecurity, a refuge from dissolution, a
point of wholeness in a maelstrom of fragmentation, a chance to affirm that you exist and
20
Kevin Roozen. Journal of Basic Writing.
that you matter” 35
21
. That was an important remark on the role of comedy, that once again confirmed that it did not only get people to laugh, but also gave much-needed
elements of life: safety, unity, and acknowledgement of human existence. The writer tipped off from what Lewis statement about the importance of comedy,
emphasizing in her thesis that comedy provides spaces to challenge issues as well as reinforce unity through humor, something which is doable by comedy because comedy
did not normally work as propaganda
22
, hence came its ability to bring forth people of different walks of life to come together and examine socially-relevant issues. Therefore,
in itself lies a „teacher‟ wanted by many students, as something that could lead its „students‟ to issues that are worth-discussing and lead the „discussion‟ in an entertaining
and not face-threatening manner. In relation to that previous statement, Schulze put forward more practical manners through which comedy could really flourish its true
strengths, claiming that correct employment of comedy would bring advantages to its audience because the positive feelings it brought to its audience would allow them to
sharpen their cognitive abilities which eventually enabled them to organize matters more efficiently to achieve the final goal which is problem solving. Furthermore, Schulze
added that it was by having fun that audience would be open to new experiences, new ideas, and new literature 8
23
21
Meli da Le is. Re egotiati g British Ide tit . Thesis, 9.
22
Meli da Le is. Re egotiati g British Ide tit . Thesis, 9.
23
Ta lor S hulze. What s So Fu ? . E plori g Co ed , Hu or, Laughter. De e er ,
.
1. STAND-UP COMEDY: ITS BIRTH, GROWTH, AND PRESENT
Tracing the history of Stand-up Comedy brings the writer amazement given the fact that despite its relatively young age, it has successfully attracted many people from
different walks of life. Furthermore, although this genre of entertainment bears the word „comedy‟ in it, it entertains its audience in many ways unimaginable, and therefore
unemployed, by other genres of comedy. Those unimaginable, or simply put, unique, characteristics of Stand-up Comedy then deserves an independent sub-chapter for a
thorough discussion, put right after this one. When the writer used the term „young age‟ to represent the actual age of Stand-up
Comedy, he did so in relation to the presence of other genres of entertainment. Although their missions were similar, that is to entertain their audiences, there are huge differences
among them, and the characteristics possessed by Stand-up Comedy are not the same as, take for example, a very old kind of entertainment which involved jugglers throwing stuff
into the air who were at their primetime way back in the Shakespearean era or mute films, spearheaded by Charlie Chaplin in the early 1900‟s. Stand-up Comedy, in a short
comparison to other existing genres and age-wise, is a form of comedy which is very young yet offering a set of completely different characteristics when put side-by-side
with other forms of entertainment.
On Stand-up Comedy, a reading on Jim Mendrinos
24
‟ „History of Comedy Article‟ appropriately serves us with knowledge that Stand-up Comedy is indeed a „new
species‟ in the wide world of entertainment. Found there is a comprehensive history of Stand-
up Comedy, and more importantly, Jim‟s statement of the „young age‟ of his subject, Stand-up Comedy. That kind of show, he stated, actually had a long history,
dating back to the 1800‟s when Thomas Dartmouth Daddy Rice was unintentionally given the label of „The Grandfather of Stand-up Comedy‟ thanks to his invention of the
minstrel shows. However, it took another century for the term „Stand-up Comedy‟ to finally earn an acknowledgment in both the Oxford English Dictionary and Webster‟s
Collegiate Dictionary. Mendrinos wrote that the inclusion of the now-famous term to both dictionaries did not happen until their 1966 editions. The writer believes that it
happened because although minstrel shows are considered to be the roots of Stand-up Comedy, what minstrel shows offered to their audience were not focused to only one
kind of attraction, rather it included other performances such as dancing and musical shows. Therefore, the introduction of the word „Stand-up Comedy‟ whose activities only
focus on one single thing, entertaining audience using jokes while excluding other things such as dancing and singing, had to wait until 1966. Using that, we can make a
conclusion that Stand-up Comedy has now been around for more or less fifty years since its birth in the USA. Having been around that long, Mintz explained that Stand-up
Comedy has cemented its position in the American culture with the facts that it had ambiguous and paradoxical motives in its efforts to bring into surface interesting and
24
Jim Mendrinos. History of Comedy Article. http:historyofcomedy.blogspot.com200412first-stand- up.html. February 28, 2013.
current issues which deserved attention in a wider scope. Understanding this importance, Mintz was confident in concluding that the presence of vaudeville and burlesque would
not have been possible without the existence of Stand-up Comedy as the indispensible backbone
25
. Discussions on the history of Stand-up Comedy, however, should not be done in a
complete isolation from minstrel shows as the former does owe something to the latter. As explained above, minstrel shows offered various forms of entertainment, with a
comedy show being one of them, which is why it was mentioned that Stand-up Comedy has one of its roots deeply planted in the life of minstrel shows. Another look at
Mendrinos‟
26
writing will bring us into knowing that among the many shows displayed in a minstrel show was indeed „something similar to the present Stand-up Comedy‟, in a
way that it was a monologue presented before a live audience, and that is only one similarity among others. Another likeness between the monologue in the minstrel show
and today‟s Stand-up Comedy show is about the topic selection. Both shows tend to bring forward topics about recent issues and to make the resemblance even clearer, both are
famous for their consistence in presenting their monologues in sarcastic-but-funny manners aimed at criticizing what was happening in their surrounding, such as political
conditions and personal issues regarding some public figures, while at the same time
25
La re e Mi tz. Sta d-up Co ed as So ial a d Cultural Medi atio . A eri a Quarterl 7. 1985: 71-80.
26
Jim Mendrinos. History of Comedy Article. http:historyofcomedy.blogspot.com200412first-stand- up.html. February 28, 2013.
trying to educate their audience by bringing realities, no matter how bitter, right in front of their eyes. The success enjoyed by minstrel shows and people related to the shows
would later build a path for Stand-up Comedy to follow, that low-maintenance entertainments indeed had enough power to earn their status as mainstream entertainment
27
. By „low-maintenance‟ here, Mendrinos must have compared minstrel shows and Stand-up Comedy shows to other forms of staged entertainment which usually demanded
more properties, costumes, and other technical aids meanwhile what minstrel shows and Stand-up Comedy demanded for them to take place are merely a decent place which
allows direct interactions between speakers and audience. In brief, both shows put forward aim for practicality that as long as goals of the shows are met, success is already
within grasp, regardless the absence of sumptuous properties.
2. STAND-UP COMEDY: THE INDONESIA CHAPTER
The task of tracing the history of Stand-up Comedy in Indonesia was both relatively easy and challenging. It was easily done because this form of entertainment is
considerably young in Indonesia, therefore the writer did not have to hop on a time machine as most initial Stand-up Comedy-related activities in the country can be traced
back as nearly as the 1970‟s with the emergence of the legendary comedian trio of Dono, Kasino, Indro who at that time began building their road to glory through radio broadcast.
27
Jim Mendrinos. History of Comedy Article. http:historyofcomedy.blogspot.com200412first-stand- up.html. February 28, 2013.
Other names such as Taufik Savalas and Ramon Papona would later be mentioned as practitioners of Stand-up Comedy who would be responsible for the birth and early years
of it
28
. However, the writer also found it difficult to conclude the real birth of Stand-up
Comedy in Indonesia, because what was believed to be the actual birth of Stand-up Comedy could have been the end of the same thing. This is due to the fact that it was not
long after its birth that Stand-up Comedy was inactive for quite a long time. Pandji Pragiwaksono, who is currently known as one of Indonesia‟s most recognized comics,
subtly acknowledged the blurry history of Stand-up Comedy in Indonesia that he chose to go as close as the early 2000‟s and referred to „Bajaj Bajuri‟, a sitcom, as the beginning
of Stand-up Comedy in Indonesia
29
. Despite all the confusion about when the „real‟ birth of Stand-up Comedy in
Indonesia is, the writer would stick to what has been written in numerous personal blogs about the history of Stand-up Comedy in Indonesia. Taken from several sources, most of
them agreed that as far as the distinctive factor of Stand- up Comedy being a „clever joke‟
instead of „physical‟, then, again, the legendary Warkop trio of Dono, Kasino, Indro got the honorable mention as the first people who introduced Stand-up Comedy in this
country
30
. The writer was fully aware that acknowledging them as the „founding fathers‟
28
Sejarah Stand-up Comedy Masuk di Indonesia. http:www.websejarah.com201209sejarah-stand-up- comedy-masuk-di.html. Retrieved on July 16, 2013.
29
Pandji Pragiwaksono. Merdeka Dalam Bercanda. Yogyakarta: Bentang, 2012, xviii.
30
Sejarah Stand-up Comedy Masuk di Indonesia. http:www.websejarah.com201209sejarah-stand-up- comedy-masuk-di.html. Retrieved on July 16, 2013.
of Stand-up Comedy, Indonesia chapter, would come in as one package with controversies. It is so because what they did was completely different from what is
expected from Stand-up Comedy shows nowadays. It was different in a way that they did it in their movies, instead of doing it on a stage, like recent comics do. However, it was
once again Pandji who came to the rescue when he stated in one of his books that despite the many different forms in which Stand-up Comedy is served, as long as the concept of
Stand- up Comedy, i.e. „smart jokes‟ is there, then we should quickly bury the hatchet and
focus on what is similar rather than having prolonged disagreement on what is different
31
. That is how the history of Stand-up Comedy in Indonesia is concluded. It was
always good to know that it has been marvelously developing in Indonesia, thanks to huge roles of media. It is now not only entertaining, but also educating. A deeper dig of
how Stand-up Comedy in Indonesia has been maturing would be presented under a dedicated sub-chapter.
3. STAND-UP COMEDY: ITS ATTRIBUTES
The writer was deeply interested in what Mintz had to say about understanding Stand-up Comedy, that was by giving well-deserved acknowledgment to comedians who
had the so- called „traditional license‟ to behave and express themselves defiantly
32
.
31
Pandji Pragiwaksono. Merdeka Dalam Bercanda. Yogyakarta: Bentang, 2012, xviii.
32
La re e Mi tz. Sta d-up Comedy as Social and Cultural Medi atio . A eri a Quarterl 7. 1985: 71-80.
However, the writer was aware that almost all comedians did not behave in normal ways in order to get their messages transmitted, therefore, in order to find what is truly unique
about Stand-up Comedy, the writer spent a little time doing internet researches and, not surprisingly, found that besides Stand-up Comedy, there are around twenty other ways of
how the basic concept of „comedy‟ can be presented
33
. From that explanation it was clear that Stand-Up Comedy was only a tiny part when the big realm of humor was being
discussed. That same explanation also shows that each of the around twenty types of comedy has their own exclusive elements that made them stand out from the others. The
same is true for Stand-up Comedy, as the writer discovered the terms below that are almost-exclusive properties of Stand-
up Comedy. They are „almost-exclusive‟ because some of them also appear in few other types of comedy, although most of the time they
are brought to audience in different ways. Thus, because Stand-up Comedy and the other types do represent the wider concept of comedy, they sometimes share some elements.
Some technical terms which are closely related to Stand-up Comedy are: a.
Bit: A bit is the technical term used in Stand-up Comedy shows which more or less has the same meaning as „topic‟. If a comic intends to deliver hisher messages about
corruption, then it can also be said that heshe is going to deliver hisher bit on corruption. The length of a bit really depends on a comic. A comic may opt to use
hisher session to talk about one bit, but a comic may also have several bits in a session.
33
Types and Forms of Humor. http:www.dailywritingtips.com20-types-and-forms-of-humor. Retrieved on July 17, 2013.
b. Set-up: It is understood that comics come onto the stage to deliver something funny.
It is also understood that audience come to a show to be entertained by something funny. However, this is the funny part of a set-up, that it is actually the smaller part of
a bit that is not meant to be funny. A set-up contains the premise of a bit, it gives audience very little clues of what is to come in the next part. An example of a set-up
is, „My close friend is heavily-built‟. Seen from all possible academic angles, one will be forced to spend long minutes in order to spot what is funny from that one liner,
only to realize that there is nothing funny to be laughed at there. That sentence is neither linguistically funny nor socially entertaining. The same sentence is not
politically significant nor is it economically lucrative, because it stands alone as a set- up, used as a bait to make audience start anticipating what is to come after that
sentence. c.
Punchline: After seconds of delayed gratification caused by the funnily-not-funny set-up, a punchline will come to do its job, to provide a surprising continuation to its
set- up. Punchlines would give shocking twists to audience‟s initial expectation to an
existing set-up. Using the previous set- up, of „My rich close friend is heavily-built‟, a
possible punchline could be „That he has to rub his entire body with a bottle of baby oil in order to be able to enter his car. „. While a brief moment of silence after the
set-up is allowed to make audience anticipate of what was to come, the unexpected punchline contains an exaggerated remark to highlight that the comic‟s friend is that
big that it would take a bottle of baby oil to help the friend enter his car. That is exactly how set-ups and punchlines work together to create verbal entertainment.
Both work closely like lightning and thunder, where a flash of an unfunny statement could lead to thunderous roars of laughter.
d. Riffing: This is where direct communication between a comic and audience takes
place. Riffing is done for several purposes, depending on which part of a show riffing is done.
- When it is done at the beginning of a show, riffing serves as a greeting. A comic
might focus on one person among the audience and ask „Where are you from, Sir?‟
to make sure that a connection between the two parties, a comic and audience‟ is already established. This kind of riffing could also function as a set-up, and
consequently triggers a punchline to appear in somewhat impromptu fashion, like the example below:
Comic C: „Where are you from, Sir?‟ Audience A: „I am a monk from Tibet.‟
Comic C: „Oh, no wonder you are levitating over your seat.‟ -
Riffing done in the middle of a show is usually a comic‟s strategy to make sure that hisher audience is still with himher. It works like a connection check to ensure that
a comic‟s messages get through the audience. C: „Anybody here from New Jersey?‟
A: Audiences raise their hands. C: „People from South Florida?‟
A: Audiences raise their hands. -
When done at the end of a show, the motive is obvious, it functions as a leave- taking to indicate the end of a show.
C: „That‟s me, good night And enjoy your flight back to Tibet referring to the monk mentioned at the beginning of the show.
e. Butts of jokes: As sarcastic as the name, the function of a butt of jokes is really to
address a „common enemy‟ presented in a comic‟s bit. Options of who deserves to be an unfortunate butt of jokes are as unlimited as a comic‟s ability to observe
hisher surr ounding. While some comics have a deep interest in observing teenagers‟
life, some are keen on putting their eyes on the life of senior citizens. And while a number of comics have specialty in bringing out funny things out of lay people‟s
dailies, some have developed sharp observation, sharp enough to laser-view what wrongdoings have been committed by government. It does not feel good to be in the
butt of jokes, but as far as social changes are concerned, somebody has to fill the emptiness.
4. STAND-UP COMEDY TODAY
Looking at how far and influential Stand-up Comedy has grown until today, nobody in its early years would have dared to predict how it would grow, let alone how
the whole things that started merely as entertainment would expand its influence to different sides of life. The writer noticed that there are at least three aspects of life who
have been benefiting from the rapid development of Stand-up Comedy. They are the
world of entertainment, industry, and education. Evidence to support how Stand-up Comedy has given its influences were compiled from various places, not limited to only
the United States and Indonesia, in which this thesis is focusing.
5. STAND-UP COMEDY MIDDLE CLASS SOCIETY
That Stand-Up Comedy shows were intended to enrich the already-stocked forms of entertainment was beyond any shadow of a doubt. However, that was always only a
beginning, because viewed from social perspectives, this thesis spotted out how people belonging to „middle class society‟ contributed hugely in the development of Stand-Up
Comedy, although their contributions were shared on their audience seats, rather than from the limelight-showered Stand-Up stages. Hence the contributions middle class
audience gave to the show‟s development was „there and later‟, rather than the „here and now‟ effects given by comics performing on stages, but still people belonging to the
group could never be belittled given their role as the ones who consumed what was offered by comics.
The term „middle class society‟ itself was defined as an ambiguous group of people whose social class floated between the upper class people and those in the lower
stratum. A more evident definition of the term was proposed by Kharas and Gertz that members of the group were no strangers to a relatively comfortable life resulting from
individuals‟ job security which, more often than not, would also give them access to necessities such as housing, insurance, healthcare, education, and leisure activities 2.
Based on the definition, the writer understood that vast majority of Stand-Up Comedy
shows audience came from the group whose members have fulfilled life‟s basic needs and therefore could afford to splash their extra cash to find entertainment, confirming
their status as „consumers‟. In brief, they would not mind spending more as long as they saw opportunities to elevate their quality of life.
In a more intricate relationship to Stand-Up Comedy shows, therefore, the writer viewed the constant presence of people from the class as a potential to be unlocked for
betterment in various fields. It was so, because their relatively comfortable life could be a telling reflection of their intelligence, therefore digesting a wide range of topics bits
delivered by comics would not be a hard task. Furthermore, given the facts that topics in Stand-Up Comedy shows were often criticisms on daily issues in which middle-class
audience were a part of, and that they have been identified as individuals who were willing to walk the extra mile to improve their life quality, it was now justifiable to
conclude that they would not have problems finding themselves stuck in problem-rich societies as portrayed by comics‟ bits to later do something in order to earn themselves
a more desired condition. Thus it was now obvious that the middle class society and Stand-Up Comedy shared a mutual relationship; the former were willing to practice what
the latter preached.
6. COMICS: THE MESSENGERS OF CHANGE
Discussions on rapid growth of Stand-up Comedy elsewhere will revolve around its most important factors whose contributions are undeniably vital. There are at least
three elements without which this genre of oral entertainment is impossible to reach the lofty level it is now. The trio consists of comics, audience, and messages, which in this
form of spoken amusement serves as the bridge for the first two elements. Although the writer understands each element is there of complete one another, the writer is certain
that special credits must go to the first element, the comics, without any intention to undervalue the other significant essentials.
In order to justify the above claim that „special credits‟ are to go comics‟ way, the writer came up with an analogy that can put that claim into perspective. Given that the
main reason of writing this thesis is to reveal how comics actually thrive to educate their audience in fluid, informal ways, then the writer thinks it is good to borrow from what
has been happening in the real world of education, or simply put, what fundamental elements exist in classroom settings and how the fundamentals interact with one another.
Basically, there are also three intact elements as far as activities of educating are concerned: educators or refer to them to „teachers‟, students, and teaching-learning
materials. In order for any process of educating to take place, the presence of the three parts is a must; losing any one of them, then away goes the true essence of education.
Nowadays, with technology advancing at an unprecedented speed, one might question the urgency of having educators around. However, it is ever-vital for educators to be present,
because although there have been shifts of roles in teachers‟ tasks in recent years, they are still needed to guide students to enter different topics which will eventually equip
students with numerous abilities. By „numerous abilities‟ here, the writer refers to competence related to the world of education which will prove to be significant in the
long run. Such competence can be gained through giving lecturers although nowadays it might be deemed „one-sided‟, leading discussions, stimulating reflections, and constant
practice of looking at specific issues from various points of view. What the writer can conclude is that despite the fact that educators in recent years are not as dominant as they
were in last decades, still, educators have to be „there‟ when it comes to the world of education.
Interestingly enough, that is how the writer sees how the resurgence of Stand-up Comedy has put comics in a spot as strategic as educators, in terms of having nearly-
unlimited potentials to educate their audience through sets of activities offered when comics are delivering their lines on a stage. The „sets of activities‟ can be, more or less,
very similar to what teachers want their students to do in real classroom ambience, by giving „lectures‟ and giving audience some points to reflect upon long hours after a
Stand-up Comedy show came to an end. That is how comics end up having similar responsibilities traditionally only possessed by teachers.
Looking at the similarities both comics and teachers have, the writer chose four comics who are believed to be bearing multiple responsibilities. They do not only come
onto stages trying to crack jokes that will get their audience breaking into unending streaks of laughter, but whether they realize it or not, whenever they are performing in
their „office‟ under the constant showers of audience‟ stares, comics are at the same time trying to educate their watchers. With that specification, the writer finally came down to
select four influential comics, a pair from the United States, Russell Peters and Chris Rock and another powerful pair from Indonesia, Samuel D. Putra and Pandji
Pragiwaksono. Their names are here because of their entertaining ways of educating many others. Later sub-chapters, therefore, are dedicated to the four of them, explaining
how they really take being comics seriously, as indicated by their styles of jokes, notable performances, books publicatios if any, and a few other indicators that they, as comics,
show some faith that the business of Stand-up Comedy is not an unfortunate example of one thing that will be forgotten overnight. Rather, messages in a show are kinds of
messages that will linger in audiences‟ minds long after it ends.
a. RUSSELL PETERS
Canada is one of the world‟s biggest countries; however, it seems to the writer that it has been one those countries which seem not to be getting enough media attention.
Probably because it is neither very active politically nor is it a jaggernaut in other fields. Nevertheless, the presence of Russell Peters and his outstanding thoughts as performed
on his Stand-up Comedy stages, have more or less put Canada on the map. A Canadian, Peters was born on September 29, 1970 to an Anglo-Indian family.
The Anglo-Indian blood running in him is what gives him confidence to trigger massive laughters in many of his shows with his Indian-related topics. Ironically, it was the same
Anglo-Indian blood that has put him in the uncomfortable zone during his secondary- school years where he suffered bullying
34
. Fast forward to 1989, Peters was already
34
http:en.wikipedia.orgwikiRussell_PetersNotable_performances , retrieved on July 16, 2013.
getting his hands-on Stand-up Comedy experience, and from then on, he would never look back as he began to take stages worldwide by comical storms. Records he has
broken, one of the most notable was when he became the first ever performer to sell 16,000 tickets for his show in Air Canada Center back in March 2007, he ended selling a
staggering total of 30,000 tickets for that occasion alone. Peters, however, was not only stealing the show in his own homeland. In Australia, his name would come down in
history when on May 15, 2010 he braced a total audience of 13,880 in his show in Sydney, making that performance the biggest Stand-up Comedy show ever to be staged
in Australia
35
. His proven influence, quite predictably, does not just stop in the two countries.
Peters, because of his smart and direct jokes, also has wide fan base in several other countries that has allowed him to visit Afghanistan, Germany, Africa, Greenland,
Singapore, and let us remember England, where he broke another record by attracting more than 16,000 Stand-up Comedy enthusiasts to his show back in 2009 and breaking
the UK comedy show sales record in the process
36
. Those are some examples of achievement to confirm his fame in the serious business of Stand-up Comedy, something
achievable only by showing expertise in taking his audience into his flow of thoughts and see the world through the eyes of a critical comic. In terms of making audience laugh and
at the same time reflect, Peters is an expert.
35
World Laughs With You . http:www.smh.com.auentertainmentcomedyworld-laughs-with-you- 20100513-v1ce.html as cited in http:en.wikipedia.orgwikiRussell_Peterscite_note-18, retrieved on
July 16, 2013.
36
http:www.russellpeters.combiography.aspx, retrieved on July 16, 2013.
What allowed him to occupy a different place among other comics is his ability to present sensitive issues is very acceptable manners. While more specific examples of
„sensitive issues‟ will later be presented in the next chapter, here the writer would not mind giving a hint that normal people will not joke around with heavy topics such as
ethnicity, class problems, cultural issues, and black comedy. Doing it requires special skills and deep understanding of various topics, like what is possessed by Peters.
b. CHRIS ROCK
The second comic whose jokes will also feature in this academic writing is Chris Rock, an African-American whose fame extended the fact that he belongs to the minority
racial group which used to be at the receiving ends of racist treatments. Born on February 7, 1965, Rock slowly clawed the cliff of success and picked up various different
expertises in the tedious climb. Right now Rock is an established comic, film star, film producer, and director. Although both Peters and Rock carry similar special missions, to
entertain and educate audiences, they do have their own personal styles in delivering their shows of inspiration. While Peters is considered to be more polite in his shows, Rock is
well-known for his very straightforward style of jokes. Rock was never ashamed when it came to using dirty words in his shows, a habit which not be suitable for some segments
of audience, despite his very good way of delivering his messages, given the relevance of his topics to what was really happening around him.
Strong words aside, Rock has without a doubt cemented his place among the world‟s most prestigious comics, a remarkable acknowledgment to put the icing on his
years of continuous efforts. Comedy Central, a TV channel dedicated to comedy shows, listed him as the fifth greatest comic
37
. That acknowledgment was not the only he would receive as Rock would later be named „the ninth greatest comics‟ by Channel 4, a TV
station, back in 2007. When the list was updated three years later, his name was positioned one spot higher, just a strong indicator of how he has gone wide and deep in
the industry of Stand-up Comedy. Those are just apt examples of how audience welcomes his jokes, which are mainly rich with issues of racism and political, wrapped in
the one-of-a-kind Rock style of jokes.
c. SAMUEL D. PUTRA
Samuel D. Putra is one of the two Indonesian comics whose penetratingly critical jokes will be further discussed in the analysis. Unlike the previous comics, online sources
about Samuel are few and far between, and this should be understood as Samuel is still on his way to establishing his name as one of Indonesia‟s top-class comics, let alone
globally. Therefore, the writer did quite a different method of finding more information about Samuel. One of the things the writer did was by following his Twitter account,
notaslimboy, where enough data about his life as a comic can be retrieved. Furthermore, thorough reading of his personal blog, http:samdputra.wordpress.com,
also proves to be helpful as it provides quite much of his views that he very frequently takes with him to his Stand-up Comedy performances.
37
Stand-up Comedy and Comedians. http:www.comedy-zone.netstandupcomedianindex.htm
. Retrieved July 16, 2013
The writer found using his performances to help complete this academic writing very helpful because his topic selections are relevant to what the writer intended to
achieve. During his career as a comic, Samuel has always been known to have nerves of steel whenever it came to making fun of sensitive topics such as national politics
condition, cultural issues, as well as hot topics such as education, which was seemingly his favorite topic, given his profound concerns in his country‟s youth and educational
system. Despite his confidence in bringing up plenty of serious topics, the way he does that was very casual, showing that he really wanted to make sure his messages be heard
by audience of many different levels education, instead of direct criticisms toward the country‟s policy makers, which, more often than not, will not bring direct effects. Samuel
is also excellent at observing small details, which are actually important parts of much bigger things or issues. What he wrote on his Twitter bio,
„pengamat hal gak penting‟, or „an observer of trivialities‟ sums up well enough what he is capable of doing.
For the commitment he has never been tired of showing in the Indonesian setting of Stand-
up Comedy, Samuel is currently the Chief of Indonesia‟s comics association and consequently responsible for supervising Stand-up Comedy shows in Indonesia while
also performing there.
d. PANDJI PRAGIWAKSONO
Comic number four whose work is widely admired in Indonesia is Pandji Pragiwaksono Pandji, an Indonesian comic who was born on June 18, 1979. Like the
other three comics above, Pandji is also involved in several other different activities. Besides being a comic, he is also a TV presenter, writer, rapper, and radio personality,
simply put, he is in very good positions to reach a great number of people through what he is doing. The better thing than that is that Pandji is using that advantage in very
positive manners, more specifically as a comic, because Pandji is nationally known as a local comic who is one of the best in terms of delivering inspirational, smart jokes. Stand-
up Comedy fans understand that Pandji‟s jokes are special, because he rarely touches trivial issues such as bullying single people which by the way is a strangely popular
topic, nationally. Rather, he chose to dig deeper into „smarter‟ issues which will bring more benefits to his audience.
Pandji‟s topic selections are not much different from his colleague‟s, Samuel. However, one distinctive thing the writer noticed from the way the two delivered their
messages is that while Samuel chose to „attack‟ seemingly-bigger targets, such as his
country‟s government and its leaders, Pandji found comfort in comically sharing his thoughts on more „practical‟ things, like how sports should be utilized to strengthen
nationalism in Indonesia and other t opics which are not „too alien‟ to his audience.
Nationalism, as the writer observed from Pandji‟s performances and tweets, is what he is most interested in. That claim is not without evidence as the 34-year-old is
constantly embracing his fellow comics on various Stand-up Comedy tours labeled „Mesakke Bangsaku‟ My Pitiful Country and writing books on similar topics when off
stage. His books, „Merdeka Dalam Bercanda‟ and „National.Is.Me‟ are places where Pandji pours his views on what has been happening in his country, plus some suggestions
of things doable in order to achieve a „desired condition‟ for a wider scope of Indonesians, whom he refers to as „mesakke‟ or pitiful due to various problems of
national-scale which he so often addresses in his performances.
CHAPTER III
LITERATURE REVIEW: THE ACADEMIC SIDE OF STAND-UP COMEDY
A. EXPERENTIAL LEARNING
Sticking to his argument that Stand Up Comedy offered more than entertainment, thorough observations on how it could benefit academically, the writer found out that
participating in a show as a comic was an excellent example of how Experiential Learning was put in practice to later have its significance aggrandized by how comics
benefited academically through their performances. On how Stand Up Comedy helped comics polish their academic sides, there would be a special sub-chapter dedicated to it,
while in this sub-chapter the limelight was given to the elaboration of Experiential Learning.
It came as no surprise as the writer began scrutinizing for the nuts and bolts of Experiential Learning and found out that many definitions were offered by various
previous observers of the subject. It could be interpreted that the subject had been so interesting it had caught the attention of many education experts.
To start doing an analysis of Experiential Learning is an adventure in itself because in spite of finding a fixed definition of the concept, the writer found out that
actually there was not any „fixed definition‟ which later led to the writer to use Jirásek‟s description of the concept which read that Experiential Learning is “an educational
process, which works with inducing, analyzing, and reflecting experiences with the aim of gaining experience which could be transmittable into the follow
ing lifetime” 15.
Using that statement as the starting point, the writer could see that there are several key words, they are inducing, analyzing, and reflecting. That said, the writer has now got a
clearer understanding about the big concept that the Experiential Learning was a learning process that, if translated into a shape, would take after the shape of a circle due to its
unending process marked by the consistent repetition of the three steps of inducing, analyzing, and reflecting experiences.
Another observation on the said concept, which later confirmed that Experiential Learning was done by Kolb who acknowledged that „personal experience‟ was the central
point in Experiential Learning; Kolb came up with the conclusion in the spirit of drawing a clear distinction among Experiential Learning in which personal experience was given
the limelight against both cognitive theories with its tendency to overly-acknowledge cognition over affect and behavioral learning theories, which according to Kolb, denied
any role of subjective experiences in the learning process 14. That statement was a reaffirmation that Experiential Learning was a learning process which tried to take into
account a doer‟s personal experiences rather than just focusing on the cognitive sides of a learning process. Therefore it showed promises that the Experiential Learning would
allow enormous space for subjective experiences to contribute in a doer‟s attempt to give personal meaning to an activity heshe was involved in which would eventually end in a
possibility that a learning activity ended up in getting so many personal touches, because the more participants there were, the more subjective perspectives were offered on any
learning activities.
To provide a conclusion on the definition of Experiential Learning, based on what Jirásek‟s observation and Kolb‟s endeavor on the subject, the writer now understood that
this is a learning method has allowed participants‟ subjective experiences to occupy a dominant place when it came to giving meaning to a learning activity which has
ironically caused the difficulty in experts‟ attempt to come up with one exact definition of it.
It was now clear that Experiential Learning has allowed personal views and experiences to play significant roles. In his attempt to get more intimate with the broad
ideas of Experiential Learning, the writer was then interested to find how large the coverage of Experiential Learning was, and for that purpose, the writer learnt from
Kohonen who listed quite a list of activities in which Experiential Learning could be best practiced, they were:
- Personal journals, diaries
- Portfolios
- Reflective personal essays and thought questions
- Role plays, drama activities
- Games and simulations
- Personal stories and case studies
- Visualizations and imaginative activities
- Models, analogies and theory construction
- Empathy-taking activities
- Story-telling, sharing with others
- Discussions and reflections in cooperative groups
According to Kohonen, all the above activities had one thing in common that each of them encouraged participants to engage themselves as a whole, intellectually as well as
emotionally 2. Kohonen would later explained that the activities in the list were meant for participants to actively contribute rather than being a passive observer 2.
Upon learning the list activities proposed by Kohonen above, the writer got a huge lift because his phenomenon being the center of this research, Stand-Up Comedy,
was found in at least two of the activities: role playsdrama activities and story- tellingsharing with others. On how Stand Up Comedy offered its participants to be
involved in meaningful, active participations, the writer has provided a separate sub- chapter for interview results with subjects who were active participants in Stand-Up
Comedy events. The above elaboration by Kohonen served as a superb explanation about how Experiential Learning‟s versatility that it was usable in many different areas.
As enchanting as the concept of Experiential Learning may seem, however, the execution of the ideas was not without precaution. Herbert offered a gentle warning
regarding the application of Experiential Learning by stating that it was important that Experiential Learning-
related processes were to carried out in a „safe and friendly environment‟ 16. The writer interpreted the term „safe and friendly environment‟ as a
place where participants of any activities which tried to promote the effectiveness of
Experiential Learning were to perform in a place they were familiar with. Furthermore, it was vital to note that in so doing participants would be getting supports from the
„background‟, be it the physical setting of a place or the atmosphere participants have been familiar with. That being done, participants would have taken a step closer to reality
while still getting support from a place they already knew, a place which was „safe and friendly‟.
Having reviewed several proposed definitions of Experiential Learning, its coverage, as well as a precaution for the concept to be efficiently applied, it was now for
the presentation of the goals that can be achieved by applying the concept. As wide as the concept of Experiential Learning, the goals it offered were as grand. A quote by a
German educator and politician, Kurt Hahn, served as a tell-tale pointer of Experiential Learning‟s ultimate goal. Hahn was certain that the application of the method would
eventually result in the promoted quality of life of the young. Hahn‟s focus on the young was based on his observation on the declining life quality of the young, summarizing the
declines in the areas of physical fitness, lack of initiative, memory and imagination, of craftsmanship skills, self-discipline, compassion, as well as passion to take active
involvement in various activities. P
utting Hahn‟s youth-centered into the pedagogical contexts saw the concept translated by Kolb who argued that the goals of Experiential Learning are many folds as
they cover a set of different features. However, although the goals are plural, Kolb followed
that statement up by arguing that the main goal is to extend a participant‟s, i.e. a learner, comfort zone, and to eventually achieve the ultimate goal, it was essential that
