Laughing at life, learning through laughters : a study of stand-up comedy.

ABSTRACT

Erio Rahadian Pamungkas FanggidaE (2015). Laughing at Life, Learning Through Laughters: A Study of Stand-Up Comedy. Yogyakarta: English Language Studies, Graduate Program, Sanata Dharma University.

Examining the brief history of Stand-Up Comedy, one would understand that it has many differences when compared to other forms of entertainment as it focuses on the wittiness of its performers rather than their physical abilities, which are the nuts and bolts of singers, dancers, jugglers, contortionists, and other entertainers. Given that major difference, Stand-Up Comedy, slowly but surely, earned its own recognition, having been only a minor part of a ministrel performance. After its evolution, Stand-Up Comedy is as it is today, an independent show which heavily relies on its performers, the so-called comics and their ability to play with words, to provide entertainment for its audience.

Comics, comedians who perform on a Stand-Up Comedy stage, however, should not be misunderstood as merely jesters who try to make audience laugh, rather they also have more important contents to communicate to their spectators. Interested in the contents delivered by comics, this thesis attempts to show that comics actually deserve credits for surfacing issues which are sometimes overlooked. Furthermore, the writer also would like to point out that the jokes delivered also offer audience different ways of looking at various issues, hoping that audience would come home enlightened. Even further than that, this thesis also argues that the contents of Stand-Up Comedy reflect as a hidden yearning for a national identity, seen from the use of language.

Besides analyzing the contents of bits in several Stand-Up Comedy shows, this thesis also argues that the delivery of contents in Stand-Up Comedy shows also provides some useful insights for students of Public Speaking given that both comics and speakers are responsible to constantly bridge themselves with the audience in order to communicate the content of their bits or speeches.

ABSTRAK

Erio Rahadian Pamungkas FanggidaE (2015). Laughing at Life, Learning Through Laughters: A Study of Stand-Up Comedy. Yogyakarta: Magister Kajian Bahasa Inggris, Sanata Dharma University.

Dengan mengamati sejarah singkat Stand-Up Comedy, kita akan dengan cepat mendapati banyaknya perbedaan antara Stand-Up Comedy dengan bentuk hiburan yang lain, karena pertunjukan Stand-Up Comedy berpusat pada keterampilan mengolah kata seorang penampil dan bukan kehebatan secara fisik, yang merupakan suatu keharusan seorang penyanyi, penari, dan bentuk hiburan lainnya. Karena perbedaan besar itulah, secara perlahan tapi pasti, Stand-Up Comedy mendapat pengakuan untuk keberadaannya setelah dulunya hanya sebagai bagian kecil dari pertunjukan ministrel. Evolusi yang dialami Stand-Up Comedy telah membawanya pada kondisinya hari ini, sebuah pertunjukan yang berdiri sendiri dan menonjolkan

para penampilnya, disebut juga komik (‘comics’), dan keahlian mereka dalam

mengolah kata demi menghibur para penikmatnya.

Yang patut dipahami adalah bahwa komik pada pertunjukan Stand-Up Comedy bukanlah seorang badut yang akan melakukan apapun untuk membuat penonton tertawa, namun mereka juga memiliki materi khusus untuk disampaikan pada penonton mereka. Oleh karenanya, thesis ini ditulis untuk membahas akan dalamnya pesan yang ingin disampaikan oleh para komik, yang seringkali gagal ditangkap oleh penonton. Lebih jauh lagi, penulis thesis ini ingin menunjukkan bahwa salah satu tujuan Stand-Up Comedy adalah menawarkan sudut pandang yang berbeda untuk mengamati berbagai macam isu dan berharap penonton akan pulang

meninggalkan ruang pertunjukan sambil membawa ‘bekal’ berupa pencerahan.

Selanjutnya, thesis ini akan secara dekat mengamati bagaimana penggunaan bahasa dalam pertunjukan Stand-Up Comedy merefleksikan pencarian akan identitas nasional.

Selain mengamati isi (materi) yang disampaikan pada beberapa pertunjukan Stand-Up Comedy, thesis ini juga disusun sebagai pembuktian bahwa Stand-Up Comedy dapat juga digunakan sebagai referensi bagi mahasiswa Public Speaking, karena baik komik maupun pembicara dalam konteks public speaking sama-sama dituntut untuk selalu bias menjembatani diri mereka dengan penonton (atau pendengar) supaya materi mereka dapat tersampaikan dengan baik.

F O Y D U T S A : S R E T H G U A L H G U O R H T G N I N R A E L , E F I L T A G N I H G U A L D N A T

S -UPCOMEDY

S I S E H T A s t n e m e r i u q e R e h t f o t n e m ll if l u F l a it r a P a s a d e t n e s e r P e h t n i a t b O o

t Magi tse rHumaniora( M.Hum )Degree e g a u g n a L h si l g n E n

i Studies

y b il a M i a G n i v l a C s u n it s u Y n e d u t

S tNumber :126332045

y b y B E a d i g g n a F s a k g n u m a P n a i d a h a R o i r E 5 0 0 2 3 3 6 0 1 : r e b m u N t n e d u t S S E I D U T S E G A U G N A L H S I L G N E N I M A R G O R P E T A U D A R G E H T Y T I S R E V I N U A M R A H D A T A N A S A T R A K A Y G O Y 1 0 2 5

LAUGHING AT LIFE, LEARNING THROUGH LAUGIITERS: A STUDY OF STAI\D.I'P COMEDY

Erio Rahadian Pamungkas FanggidaE Student Number: 10 6332 005

Approved by

..rZ

?na'|/'te

/7

'

Albertus Budi Susanto. S.J.. Ph.D.

LAUGHING AT LIFE, LEARNING THROUGII LAUGHTERS: A STT]DY OF STAI\D.IIP COMEDY

Presented by

Erio RP FangeidaE

106332005

Defended Before the Thesis Committee and Declared Acceptable

THESIS COMMITTEE

Chairperson

Secretary

Members

P. Sarwoto, S.S., M.A., Ph.D.

Albertus Budi Susanto, S.J., Ph.D.

l)

Patrisius Mutiara Andalas, S.J., S.S., S.T.D.

2) Elisa Dwi Wardani, S.S., M.Hum.

SVA?"",2"4

.

trJ:il;#!"'{'

Yogyakarta, September 7, 2015 The Graduate Program Director

This is to certifr that all ideas, phrases, $entences, tmless otherwise stated are the ideas, phrases, and sentences

of

the thesis writer. The uriter understands of the

fuIl

consequences including degree cancellation

if

he took somebody else's ideas, phrases, or sentences without proper references.

Yogyakarta, August I 1, 201 5

Erio Rahadian Pamungkgs FanggidaE

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA

ILMIAH

.

UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertandatangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma: Nama

:

Erio Rahadian Pamungkas FanggidaE

Nomor Mahasiswa

:

l0 6332 005

Demi perkembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

Laughing at

Liie,

Learning Through Laughters: A Study of Stand-Up Comedy

Beserta perangkat yang diperlukan. Dengan demikian saya memberikan hak kepada perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma untuk menyimpan, mengalihkan dalam

media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendistribusikannya secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya

di

internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta

ijin

dari saya maupun memberikan royalty kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal: 11 Agustus 2015 Yang menyatakan

vi

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

‘I was always certain that life was a comedy. Until I decided to analyze comedy’. (Rio 2015)

It was a journey I had always wanted to be a part of, since 2008. The journey, I had realized, was going to excitingly enlightening, with all its ups and downs. And although I had never expected it to be this excruciatingly long, this is one of my life’s journeys I will forever cherish, because to be able to reach this point, much I have enjoyed, endured, and eventually survived from. That I was never alone throughout this journey is of a certainty, therefore this section is dearly dedicated for everyone who has sincerely accompanied me until the end of this unforgettable trip.

To the Almighty Jesus Christ my biggest gratitude I send for He has always stood by me at all times from day one of my Sanata Dharma chapter. His protection has always been second to none during my frequent Salatiga – Jogja trips as well as in my Jogja years. My amazement never ceased as from Him I am blessed with loving people around me. My family who have always been there, my father and my mom, and Bapak, and Mamah, whose prayers on my success keep me going even on my most uninspiring days. My brothers and sisters also, for their love. Mas Eko, without whom I would not have had such motivation to take brave steps forward.

A special paragraph of love and appreciation for my special one, Gita Hastuti, whose supports were annoyingly effective to rejuvenate the leader in me. We have survived distance and now a more exciting chapter awaits, and although the future is not ours to see, with you I know it would either be delightful or splendid.

Friends, who are family that we choose, and who choose us. My list can go long and contain hundreds of reasons why I you are on this page. Christian Rudianto, Ardian Nugroho, Ferdinand Boonde, Tri ‘Dede’ Sugiarto, Youviansa ‘Joe’, Birantara Putra, Angga Widitama, Cindy Alvionita, Andyka, Gita Febiola.

vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLEPAGE... i

APPROVAL PAGE... ii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE... iii

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY... iv

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PUBLIKASI... v

ACKNOWLEDMENTS ... vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... vii

ABSTRACT... ix

ABSTRAK... x

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ... 1

A. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY………..………. 1

B. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY………... 4

C. RESEARCH QUESTIONS………... 8

D. SCOPE OF THE STUDY……….. 8

E. THEORETICAL APPROACH………. 9

F. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY……….……… 11

G. PRESENTATIONS OF THE STUDY……….. 12

H. DEFINITION OF TERMS……… 13

CHAPTER II : LITERATURE REVIEW: THE SOCIAL SCOPE…………. 15

A. ON MEDIA……….………….……….. 15

1. MEDIA AND SOCIETY……… 15

2. OF TELEVISION: PAST AND PRESENT……… 22

B. ON COMEDY……….…..….. 29

1. STAND-UP COMEDY: ITS BIRTH, GROWTH, AND PRESENT……….. 35

2. STAND-UP COMEDY: THE INDONESIA CHAPTER……….……….. 38

3. STAND-UP COMEDY: ITS ATTRIBUTES……….. 40

4. STAND-UP COMEDY TODAY………... 44

viii

6. COMICS: THE MESSENGERS OF CHANGE…….………….. 47

a. RUSSELL PETERS………...……….…. 49

b. CHRIS ROCK……… 51

c. SAMUEL D. PUTRA……….…... 52

d. PANDJI PRAGIWAKSONO………. 54

CHAPTER III: LITERATURE REVIEW: THE ACADEMIC SIDE………… 56

A. EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING………..……….………….…...…… 56

B. POLITICS OF LANGUAGE………..……….……… 63

CHAPTER IV: THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF STAND-UP COMEDY… 68 A. RUSSELL PETERS………...………. 68

B. CHRIS ROCK……….. 70

C. SAMUEL D. PUTRA………...……… 71

D. PANDJI PRAGIWAKSONO………...……….. 75

E. COMICS’ SELECTION OF BITS: THE CREATION OF COMMON ENEMIES……….. 78

F. THE SIGNIFICANT SMALL THINGS: STAGE ACCESSORIES THAT MATTER……….…. 88

CHAPTER V: THE ACADEMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF STAND-UP COMEDY………. 91

CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS…….……….. 97

A. CONTENT………... 99

B. DELIVERY……… 100

x i T C A R T S B A 2 ( E a d i g g n a F s a k g n u m a P n a i d a h a R o ir

E 015 .) Laughing a t Lfie , Learning Through d n a t S f o y d u t S A : s r e t h g u a

L -Up Comedy.Yogyakatra :Englsih Language Studies ,Graduate . y ti s r e v i n U a m r a h D a t a n a S , m a r g o r P d n a t S f o y r o ts i h f e ir b e h t g n i n i m a x

E -UpComedy ,onewouldunder tsandt hati tha smany r

e ff i

d ence swhen compared t o othe rform so fente trainmen ta s ti f ocuse son t he wtiitnes so f ti s , s r e c n a d , s r e g n is f o s tl o b d n a s t u n e h t e r a h c i h w , s e it il i b a l a c is y h p r i e h t n a h t r e h t a r s r e m r o fr e p r o j a m t a h t n e v i G . s r e n i a tr e t n e r e h t o d n a , st si n o it r o t n o c , s r e l g g u

j di fference ,Stand-Up Comedy , l e rt si n i m a f o t r a p r o n i m a y l n o n e e b g n i v a h , n o it i n g o c e r n w o s ti d e n r a e , y l e r u s t u b y l w o ls d n a t S , n o it u l o v e s ti r e tf A . e c n a m r o fr e

p -UpComedyi sasi tsit oday ,ani ndependents howwhich o s e h t , s r e m r o f r e p s ti n o s e il e r y li v a e

h -called comic sand thei rablitiy to play wtih words ,to . e c n e i d u a s ti r o f t n e m n i a tr e t n e e d i v o r p s c i m o

C ,comedians who pe frorm on a Stand-Up Comedy tsage ,however ,should no tbe a y e h t r e h t a r , h g u a l e c n e i d u a e k a m o t y rt o h w s r e ts e j y l e r e m s a d o o ts r e d n u si

m slo have more

m

i po tran tcontent sto communicate to thei rspectators .Intere tsed in the content sdeilvered by s e u s si g n i c a fr u s r o f s ti d e r c e v r e s e d y ll a u t c a s c i m o c t a h t w o h s o t s t p m e tt a s is e h t s i h t , s c i m o c ir w e h t , e r o m r e h tr u F . d e k o o lr e v o s e m it e m o s e r a h c i h

w te raslo would ilke t o poin tout t hat t he t a h t g n i p o h , s e u s si s u o ir a v t a g n i k o o l f o s y a w t n e r e ff i d e c n e i d u a r e ff o o sl a d e r e v il e d s e k o j e h t t a h t s e u g r a o sl a s is e h t si h t ,t a h t n a h t r e h tr u f n e v E . d e n e t h g il n e e m o h e m o c d l u o w e c n e i d u a d n a t S f o s t n e t n o

c -UpComedyr elfec ta sa hiddenyearningf o ranaitonal i denttiy ,seen rfomt he . e g a u g n a l f o e s u d n a t S l a r e v e s n i st i b f o s t n e t n o c e h t g n i z y l a n a s e d is e

B -UpComedys how ,st hsit he is saslo d n a t S n i s t n e t n o c f o y r e v il e d e h t t a h t s e u g r

a -Up Comedy show saslo provide ssome usefu l o t e l b is n o p s e r e r a s r e k a e p s d n a s c i m o c h t o b t a h t n e v i g g n i k a e p S c il b u P f o s t n e d u ts r o f st h g is n i s ti b r i e h t f o t n e t n o c e h t e t a c i n u m m o c o t r e d r o n i e c n e i d u a e h t h ti w s e v l e s m e h t e g d ir b y lt n a ts n o c .s e h c e e p s r o

x K A R T S B A a P n a i d a h a R o ir

E mungka s FanggidaE (2015 .) Laughing a t Lfie , Learning Through d n a t S f o y d u t S A : s r e t h g u a

L -Up Comedy. Yogyakatra :Magi tse rKaijan Bahasa Inggrsi , . y ti s r e v i n U a m r a h D a t a n a S d n a t S t a k g n is h a r a j e s it a m a g n e m n a g n e

D -UpComedy ,ktiaakandengancepa tmendapat i banyaknya perbedaan antara Stand-Up Comedy dengan bentuk hiburan yang lain ,karena

d n a t S n a k u j n u tr e

p -UpComedyberpusa tpadaketeramplianmengolahkatas eorangpenampi ldan r a n e p , i y n a y n e p g n a r o e s n a s u r a h e k u t a u s n a k a p u r e m g n a y , k is if a r a c e s n a t a b e h e k n a k u

b i ,dan

d n a t S , it s a p i p a t n a h a lr e p a r a c e s , h a l u ti r a s e b n a a d e b r e p a n e r a K . a y n n i a l n a r u b i h k u t n e

b - Up

l i c e k n a i g a b i a g a b e s a y n a h a y n u l u d h a l e t e s a y n n a a d a r e b e k k u t n u n a u k a g n e p t a p a d n e m y d e m o C d n a t S i m a l a i d g n a y i s u l o v E . l e rt si n i m n a k u j n u tr e p i r a

d -Up Comedy telah membawanya pada , a y n li p m a n e p a r a p n a k l o j n o n e m n a d i ri d n e s ir i d r e b g n a y n a k u j n u tr e p h a u b e s ,i n i ir a h a y n is i d n o k a r a p r u b i h g n e m i m e d a t a k h a l o g n e m m a l a d a k e r e m n a il h a e k n a d , )’ s c i m o c ‘( k i m o k a g u j t u b e si d . a y n t a m k i n e p m o k a w h a b h a l a d a i m a h a p i d t u t a p g n a

Y ikpadape trunjukanStand-UpComedybukanlah a k e r e m n u m a n , a w a tr e t n o t n o n e p t a u b m e m k u t n u n u p a p a n a k u k a l e m n a k a g n a y t u d a b g n a r o e s s is e h t , a y n a n e r a k h e l O . a k e r e m n o t n o n e p a d a p n a k i a p m a si d k u t n u s u s u h k i r e t a m i k il i m e m a g u j a d n a k a s a h a b m e m k u t n u s il u ti d i n

i lamnyapesanyangi ngindsiampaikanolehparakomik ,yang n a k k u j n u n e m n i g n i i n i si s e h t si l u n e p , i g a l h u a j h i b e L . n o t n o n e p h e l o p a k g n a ti d l a g a g i l a k g n ir e s d n a t S n a u j u t u t a s h a l a s a w h a

b -Up Comedy adalah menawarkan sudu tpandang yang berbeda b i t a m a g n e m k u t n

u erbaga imacam siu dan berharap penonton akan pulangmeninggalkan r uang a r a c e s n a k a i n i s is e h t , a y n t u j n a l e S . n a h a r e c n e p a p u r e b ’ l a k e b ‘ a w a b m e m l i b m a s n a k u j n u tr e p d n a t S n a k u j n u tr e p m a l a d a s a h a b n a a n u g g n e p a n a m i a g a b i t a m a g n e m t a k e

d -Up Comedy

n e p n a k is k e lf e r e

m cairanakani denttia sna isonal .

d n a t S n a k u j n u tr e p a p a r e b e b a d a p n a k i a p m a si d g n a y ) ir e t a m ( i si i t a m a g n e m n i a l e

S - Up

d n a t S a w h a b n a it k u b m e p i a g a b e s n u s u si d a g u j i n i s is e h t , y d e m o

C -Up Comedy dapa tjuga i k a e p S c il b u P a w si s a h a m i g a b i s n e r e f e r i a g a b e s n a k a n u g i

d ng ,karena baik komik maupun a m a s g n i k a e p s c il b u p s k e t n o k m a l a d a r a c i b m e

p -sama dtiuntu tuntuk selalu bia smenjembatan i n a g n e d n a k i a p m a s r e t t a p a d a k e r e m i r e t a m a y a p u s )r a g n e d n e p u a t a ( n o t n o n e p n a g n e d a k e r e m i ri d . k i a b

1

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Being exposed to one thing or event on a daily basis does not automatically enable us to recognize their true values and what actual meanings and values they have to offer to our life. This phenomenon is due to various reasons, with our tedious routines being one of the possible causes that prevent us from having the luxury of time to be aware of what is around us, let alone to deeply digest how things are affecting us or what contributions we have made to the development of the many different objects.

Although the description above seems alien to most of us, that anomaly is actually an apt representation one main characteristic of the subject of this study, Popular Culture. As previously stated, there are things taken for granted, presence of things we are ignoring and how they have successfully evolved without us recognizing our own contributions to their development or extinction. In brief, things that are common to us, that we are watching, enjoying, wearing, using, liking or disliking, that help us to express ourselves1, and are here today but can be gone tomorrow, can all be classified under the big umbrella of Popular Culture.

1

Popular Culture, however, is not defined by only a sole characteristic as stated above. Bernie Howitt2 summarized and exemplified the nature of Popular Culture as below:

1. Being associated with commercial products. Barbie has, for many years, stood as a very good example of the point as sales of Barbie-related merchandise has been at a constant height.

2. Developing from a local, national, to global level. For example, Elvis Presley, who emerged to a national and then global icon from a relatively unknown artist back in Memphis.

3. Allowing consumers to have widespread access to it. During the Michael Jordan era back in the 1990‟s, it was nearly impossible not to find a mention of his name in wide variety of media, TV, newspapers, magazines, etc.

4. Constantly changing and evolving.

The above four characteristics of Popular Culture show how the so-called Popular Culture has actually been in close contacts with a wide variety of elements. Referring to the explanation, those elements are economics (business), icons with their ability to hypnotize others with their ability, with the help of the next element, media, and the most importantly, people, who consume the culture. A closer analysis on the culture being

2_{Ho itt, Ber ie. Nature of Popular Culture . De e er . We}

http://hsc.csu.edu.au/society_culture/popular_culture/nature/pcnature/pcnatureofpopculture.html#con stantly.

discussed will reveal how any examples of Popular Culture are solidly supported by those prevailing characteristics, be it gadgets like BlackBerry, TV shows such as American Idol, entertainment icons like Korean artists, or sports idols as represented by Lionel Messi, the aforementioned objects or people, given their status as Popular Culture icons cannot be separated from the four characteristics.

Despite the hypnotizing power of Popular Culture, however, criticisms have also been directed to it. One of them came from Adorno who saw Popular Culture as a standardized media which offers nothing fundamentally new (197) and furthermore encourages conformity. This thesis, however, is interested in discussing a different branch of Popular Culture than what Adorno criticized about; rather than discussing popular music, this thesis would focus on Stand-Up Comedy, which despite having its universal patterns, has more confidence in bringing up topics other than a man lamenting a lost love.

Popular Culture, however, owes much to an invention that has been very helpful

in sealing its „popular‟ status, the magic box, television. Because without television, the

spread of an emerging culture would not have been as rapid as it is nowadays.

Television, or TV as its more familiar nickname, has taken the world by storm right from its introduction for its ability to bring forms of entertainment right to the heart of a family. Given what this magic box can do, no wonder the sales of TV took a giant

step forward as Stephens (2011) exposed a fact stating in 1940‟s only thousands of homes in the US had a TV set, nothing compared to what happened in the late 1990‟s, where

approximately 98% houses in the US have at least one TV set3. That simple fact convincingly shows how in US alone the number of people who have fallen under the spell of TV has increased very significantly. A further analysis on that increase reveals how at least three parties are taking advantages from the life-changing invention. The first party is audience who find TV useful. This group consists of people from many different backgrounds, from children craving for daytime entertainment, business people in need of accurate input before making important decisions, families finding warmth around TV, to professionals hungry for quick updates. Producers who benefit from the growth of sales belong to the second group, only little need to be said to explain how they take advantage from the phenomenon. The third group works in a very subtle manner, as they are not involved in the sales of TV nor can they be simply classified as audience. This group consists of different parties who are responsible for the production of TV programs. Although not exposed on the screen, people belonging to this group possess

the power to influence millions of viewers given TV‟s ability to cover wide areas.

Anyone or groups who belong to the third group are said to have that kind of power because they are equipped with various skills to design numerous programs to impress

audience while slowly but surely penetrating into the audience‟s minds specific messages

carrying specific purposes.

An example of a show produced by the off-the-screen genius is stand-up comedy

shows. The writer understands that although some find it difficult to find „messages for specific purposes‟ in „comedy‟, TV people have a completely different ideas in mind by

3

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 as „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 Ross4. 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

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 knowledge5. 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 he/she 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

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 ofobservation 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 his/her 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

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 which 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.

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 comedy6.

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.

H. DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. Stand-up Comedy: A form of entertainment performed by a single comedian,

usually referred to as a „comic‟, whose topics usually portray everyday-life events. Different from story-telling, a Stand-up Comedy show does not only focus on a certain topic, rather it covers a very wide range of topics, random, at many

times. However, a show‟s random delivery does not mean that the way a topic is

delivered, in a joking manner, does not follow a certain structure. A typical scheme applied in most Stand-up Comedy shows are best described in the following three terms related to Stand-up Comedy shows.

2. Setup: As briefly stated above, there is a certain structure in how jokes are delivered, and in so doing, Dean explained that jokes in Stand-up Comedy shows

are usually begun with a „setup‟ which according to Dean is „the first part of a

jokes used to misdirect audience into making a preliminary conclusion based on

what they heard from a setup‟.

3. Punch: A punch is what follows a setup. Dean wrote that a punch, as the second part of joke, is where the funny part lies. This is the part of a joke where

audience‟s assumption, based on what was previously said in the setup, often finds a completely unpredictable continuation. A „Punch‟ is synonymous to „Punch Line‟.

4. Riffing: This technical term refers to an activity in which a comic tries to make sure that there is a connection between him/her and his/her audience. It can be

done by asking questions to audience. Besides that, riffing is also a common strategy to rejuvenate the mood of a performance whenever a comic, in the middle of his/her show, senses a wane in the mood.

5. Butt of jokes: Objects of certain jokes. Understanding the nature of Stand-up Comedy will lead one to understand that there are certain points (people or everyday events) comics will try to criticize or simply offer their opinions about

them. The term „butt of jokes‟, therefore, refers to who or what is being put as an

object of scrutiny through jokes delivered by comics.

CHAPTER II

A. THE „MEDIA‟ OF STAND-UP COMEDY

As stated in the previous chapter, this thesis was written to express its two interests: how Stand-Up Comedy held significance both socially and academically. The answers were to be found out using library research and interviews. Of the two methods,

the former covered researches on the role of media, because the writer‟s thesis was

interested in discovering how media (in this case television and Stand-Up Comedy itself) offered alternative ways to look at social issues. Therefore, this chapter was dedicated to present a brief history of how influential media had been in communicating certain messages. This chapter, furthermore, did not only discuss TV as the only media, but more than that it also viewed comics who delivered jokes in Stand-Up Comedy shows as media themselves.

1. MEDIA AND SOCIETY

Prior to the writing of this sub-chapter, which is dedicated to media and how it

has become an integral part of human‟s life, the writer experienced a brief flashback to

times where the knowledge he learned at school mentioned that in this life human had a

list of necessities. However, in the list, there was never a single mention of „media‟,

suggesting that way back then, media was seen as a luxury and not everybody had access to different types of media. Gone are those days, though, as right now media has become an irreplaceable part of human life. Not only has it become one of the most sought-after things in life, but more than that, it is being sought-after by so many individuals that, consequently, media has transformed itself into a plethora of forms, tailored to the needs of its audience, which seems to always grow despite its already-gigantic size.

Of the forms of media, discussions can (and will) go deep and wide, because as stated above, media, from its early stage of life as an embryo, has now been reshaping itself into different figures no one would have dared imagining a decade ago, and there is never going to be any way back, that the writer has enough confidence to envision that despite the off-the-chart development of media, it is still likely to gather more pace with the help of technological advancement.

Technological advancement, the writer understood, has been the lynchpin of the fast growth enjoyed by media. This time, for no sentimental reason, the writer offered another trip to the past when technology, albeit present, was not as advanced as it is today. Those were the undisputed glory days for newspapers, books, magazines, and fixed-line telephones, to mention a few examples of media taken from a not-so-thick imaginary Big Book of Media of The Yore. Then suddenly the complexion of the game took never-seen-before dramatic twists and turns with the invention of digital technology, introduction of digital technology to media, and finally the stage when digital technology itself became the prevailing media, not to belittle the role of content, although too often we find (anything) digital more interesting than the actual content. One press on the fast forward soft key, and suddenly we are here, inundated by abundant examples of modern day media. The list is long; personal computer, TV, smartphone, tablets, newspapers, e-newspapers, books, e-books, personal music players, games consoles, and the Internet (and its seemingly-unlimited contents), to mention some of the most popular media amongst us.

Given how important the presence of media is in human‟s life is, Hodkinson argues that where we live right now can be rightly labeled „media society‟ or „media

culture‟ (1). What he proposed provided an obvious pointer of how our life system has now been strictly controlled by media (of any kinds). As a result, absence of media would cause a direct effect on its frequent users, who have been so used to the presence of media. Absence of media they are used to, therefore, would leave a void in their lives.

Before this sub-chapter becomes a shrine to praise the enormous spell of media under which human race have willingly surrendered to, it is vital that we went back to the heart and soul of media itself; the plural form of the term „medium‟, the essence of media was always be communicate contents, from a sender to a receiver (Hodkinson 1). Understanding in that very basic concept of media is necessary because in spite of the many forms of media nowadays, a media-related discussion should revolve around the issue of how media was used between a sender and a receiver to exchange ideas between them, if the connection was intended to be reciprocal.

During the writer‟s observation on media, a paradox was discovered. That was in the fact that although the development of technology has always been fast-paced and never looked as if it was ever going to slow down, actually the first and foremost medium that was the real driving force of technological development was human (Hodkinson 2). That said, human would always sit right at the heart of any media we could think of. Still on the pivotal role of human, Hodkinson added that human, with their speeches, facial expressions, and gestures, is irreplaceable, and therefore the roles of artificial media were

Hodkinson suggested from that argument was a perfect illustration of how human and media have collaborated in such a way that both would benefit. The benefit enjoyed by human was in the way that technological development could now cover their human performances like never before, in terms of audio visual quality and also that such development has allowed receivers to „break barriers‟ that once stood between them and senders of messages. On the other, the writer found a challenge to mention how media itself has benefited from technological development because it was not easy to write on behalf of something inanimate, however, the writer could safely conclude that the equation of that benefit enjoyed by human was evident in the way human treated their own invention, one of them was by constantly upgrading what has existed. Observing that would result in the above-mentioned conclusion that rapid technological development has pleased human and media alike.

In relation to the main subject of this thesis, Stand-Up Comedy, the writer has begun seeing connections how comics (as senders) were getting huge amount of help in their attempts to communicate their messages (their bits) to their audience (as receivers) given the benevolence of technological development. This mutual relation between the two parties was getting even better in different areas: technology has been given so many upgrades with the main aim to bring more pleasures to audience (audio visually).

The application of how Stand-Up Comedy and media, however, would be later

discussed as this thesis reached its „Discussion and Interpretation‟ section down in the

fourth chapter, where the writer argued that media played a major role in amplifying messages sent by comics in their shows to their audience. Before getting there, the writer

decided it was necessary to present three different patterns which connected media with

society. The writer would again use Paul Hodkinson‟s book, „Media, Culture, and

Society: An Introduction‟ as the reference. In that book, Hodkinson thoroughly exposed

that the relations between media and society, i.e. the role of media in society, could be explained into three different ways:

a. Media as shaper of society. The application of this connection referred to media playing a more active role in its relations to society because this was the approach which argued that media had the ability to influence individuals, and later on, society (Hodkinson 4). In real life setting, the writer observed that this approach has been well-practiced by the likes of the currently-booming TV shows produced by South Korean production houses. Take for example, Korean dramas depicting life stories of their teenagers and young adults which never failed to influence Indonesia audience, mostly belonging to same age groups as the actors and actresses on TV, to dress like them, or more extremely, to insert Korean words and expressions to their daily conversations – which by now has become a confusing mix between much Indonesian, a little English, and little Korean; and this was how media claimed its victory in dictating its audience to do what, according to media, was desirable, correct, and „in‟. The relation between media and society can be understood more clearly with the help of the below diagram.

FIGURE 1.1 Media as shaper

b. Media as mirror of society. While the previous approach pointed out the superiority of media over its audience, the second approach was the complete

opposite as the presence of media was merely as „a follower‟ with its main task to just portray real situations in the society. Hodksinson‟s examples for

this case was when he wrote how American movies, usually the heroic ones,

had been changing their nation‟s enemies in order that they were successful in

bringing real life stories to the screen. Among his examples he mentioned how

the „bad guys‟ way back in the 1980‟s movies were the former Soviet Union, while Middle-East countries were placed in the unfortunate spot in American

movies produced during the 1990‟s. Those changes in the roles of „national enemies‟ were rightfully done to accommodate media‟s role to mirror the

society, hence its function as „a follower‟ (Hodkinson 4). The writer, however, found an interesting finding from this point, that although media functions only as a mirror, hence a passive participant in the media – society communication, still, media did preserve its mighty power which earned it a

„bullet-proof‟ status. What the writer means by that was that no matter how bad the content of a broadcast is, media could always hide behind the „do not

kill the messenger‟ old cliché, simply because media was only mirroring what

had been going on in the society. The figure below describes best the media – society relation in which media functioned as the mirror to the society.

FIGURE 1.2 Media as mirror

c. Media as representation of society. The above points above have staged, in two different ways, how powerful media was that it could put society under its spell and earned itself an impenetrable immunity system. Point number three was another showcase of media having the versatility to select and present (real life events) as well as to structure and shape (society as its audience) (Hall 64). Given this ability, the writer has become even more convinced that media was more than able to play the divisive role of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, realizing that media could either be a friend or a foe almost simultaneously. This, without any doubt, agrees with Lasswell‟s question of „Who says what

in which channel to whom?‟ a question that highlighted the subjectivity of

media which projected the innate subjectivity of who were behind media itself, human. Therefore, by now, the adage of „There are three kinds of truth:

my truth, yours, and the truth itself‟ is more easily understood. Following is a figure to provide a visual guide to how media and society are connected.

S o c i e t y

Media representation

FIGURE 1.3 Circular model of representation and influence

By now, the writer has listed the three kinds of roles media has played in its continuous interaction with society: as a shaper, follower, and representative of society. Added with the facts that media, in its each function, has shown three very specialized capabilities: ability to influence, privilege to mirror, and versatility to select what was in or out (that would later lead to a desired outcome), the writer has gained a deeper understanding of how beneficial it would be if human had media on their side for with the

possession of media along came the incontestable chances to influence, show, and „own‟

society.

2. OF TELEVISION: PAST AND PRESENT

Television has always been one of the most talked-about human inventions since

it was made commercially available way back in the 1920‟s. Given its versatility in

carrying out a wide variety of functions and popularity, it is easy to understand that a

quick Google search using „television‟ as the key word would result in over one billion entries only in seconds. That statistics alone serves a good lead to show how wide the influence of television is globally.

It was stated previously that the aim of this thesis is to find how television, through its programs, is a potential agent of social constructions and a quick visit to

delivered in colors or monochrome7. However, as a preparation to going more deeply with how television programs are responsible for social constructions, the writer deems it important to observe what has been written about the influential invention which is television itself. Melinda stated that television programs which are designed by experts have done incredible jobs in providing viewers with relevant information as well as helping society gain deeper knowledge on a particular piece of information8. From that statement, it is obvious to spot that there are two main elements, experts (who designed television programs) and information (designed by experts). Analyzing the statement more carefully will safely take us to come to the conclusion that people involved in television programs are not merely ordinary people, rather people with expertise in their specific fields with their specific goals in mind when designing specific programs. Therefore, even before the birth of a program, it is already equipped with special missions neatly wrapped in the main jersey of television, which is communication. Of the various way missions are communicated, this thesis will later be discussing one way among the others, which is the highly popular stand-up comedy show.

Taking a brief step back to see the long road television has taken en route to its current fame is also a good way to trace get other information the established success of the magic box in terms of hypnotizing its viewers while sending messages through its programs.

7 _{Tele isio , Ja uar , (http://}

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television).

8_{Ber adetha N. Meli da, The Use of Tele isio i the A eri a Preside tial Ele tio , thesis., U of}

The long and featured history of television began in Berlin, Germany, when a student, Paul Nipkov attempted to send pictures from one place to other places through

air between 1883 and 1884. Nipkov‟s success in the image transmission earned him the acknowledgment of the „father‟ of television (J.B. Wahyudi, B.A., 1983). Ever since that

seemingly humble yet monumental beginning, the development of television shifted to a higher gear and never seemed to look back thanks to the unending technological development that never stops helping television evolve to its present shape. The introduction of television to the United States, however, still had to wait for over sixty years after its birth in Germany, when in 1939 television was first watched publicly in New York. Suffering from a seven-year halt due to World War II, activities of media television resumed in 1946 as stated by Melinda9. Coming to play many years after its initial appearance in Germany, however, was not an excuse for television to quickly make its marks in the United States. It did not take too much time for television to become a necessity there as various programs were served to satisfy viewers‟ needs of information, entertainment, and an outlet for their ideas and expressions.

Still highlighting the rapid development of television in the United States, Melinda pointed out that after the World War-inflicted halt between 1939 and 1945, there were only some transmitters across the country, however, due to technological advancement and high demand of better quality broadcast, there were now around 750 transmitters (2007). The increasing number of transmitters in the USA is a valid

9_{Ber adetha N. Meli da, The Use of Tele isio i the A eri a Preside tial Ele tio , thesis., U of}

representation of how television has become people‟s favorite when it comes to mass

communication. Furthermore, the same fact has also attracted the writer to dig deeper to find how television is today being used as a tool for social reconstructions.

Speaking of using television to initiate social reconstructions, professionals behind a program, as this thesis has mentioned above, play an important role. Not only do they have the expertise in inserting messages in their programs, but more importantly, they are as well peerless in the way they combine important messages and entertainment altogether, so that TV viewers can get the messages while being entertained rather than feeling dictated. Television practitioners, as a result, deserve the plaudits for the staggering fact that around 90% of USA households were equipped with a TV set and to mention that many of them have more than one TV set, a remark by Uchjana, which is another fact to cement the hegemony television has over its audience10.

Public views on television, like on everything else, however, are divided into two contradicting poles, positive and negative views. While contradictions seem to be endless as they have been going on since the early days of television, reasons behind the two views are worth-discussing as they contribute a lot to the development of television programs. It is so because television practitioners must keep close contacts with

audience‟s reactions in order to make right choices that will also determine the future of the stations they work for.

Exposing the positive sides of television, the writer understands that the discussion is very likely to touch too many different aspects of life. Therefore, not to risk

10

the discussion to reach irrelevant width, the writer decided to limit it into how television influences its audiences in two major fields, namely entertainment and education as two individual entities, as well as when both are combined to form a kind of entertainment that educates.

When it comes to presenting an advantage television has in terms of mass communication over other forms of media, a fact is not to be overlooked, that is the fact that television possesses the longest reach to greet, arguably, people belonging to all social classes. From world leaders to lay people, the have to the poor, the educated to their complete reverse, all have access the marvel rich varieties of entertainment offered

by the „Wonder Box‟. The writer is in full awareness that among the many fans of

television, the possibility of the majority‟s inability to decode educational messages embedded in television entertainment is big. Besides that, the writer fully understands that television and the TV habit that is derived from the very invention, has always been a playing ground for pros and cons. An example of how television is accused of bringing bad effects cannot be presented in a more obvious way than in what Neil Postman wrote. According to him, television is the smartest way to make people fool as Postman claimed that materials presented in television programs are guilty of making its viewers as nonsensical, dangerous, and absurd just as the programs11. However, the writer believed

that Postman‟s firm statement about the foolishness generated by television programs is based only on a harsh generalization which is probably accompanied by the inabilities of television to carry out the responsibilities burdened to it, to bring about positive social

11

Neil Postman. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Business. (United States: Penguin, 1985) 30-39.

changes and educate its viewers, for instance. The writer sensed impatience in the making of that conclusion considering that Postman did not mention what specific programs were caught red-handed making people fool every passing minute. Nevertheless, a bright side is found in such a sarcastic statement about television as the writer was determined to turn the statement around by going into a more specific object of observation that was hoped to reveal good sides of television; that is by examining the potentially revolutionary power of televised Stand-up Comedy shows in bringing to surface issues that have been in years kept from public discussion and in the long run, to educate its viewers.

The „potentially-revolutionary power‟ mentioned above does not take a complicated math equation to get justified, meaning that the bigger the number of people watching television, the chance of a program to have its messages sent is bigger, and so the reverse. Ross acknowledged that television, with its enormous wingspan, has a similarly-enormous potential to influence its viewers in any ways it wishes given the very wide varieties of program it offers.12 What the writer meant by „in any ways it wishes‟

above refers to an individual TV station‟s philosophy of broadcasting and their

sociopolitical preference, acknowledging that a TV station has their own unique goals as well as unique ways of pursuing their goals. Unique ways to reach their distinctive goals can be found in how different TV stations are trying to position themselves by airing programs that best represent their philosophy. While one station sticks to constantly airing news, another one might choose to bring its viewers different forms of

12

entertainment, while yet another station uses another genre to keep their viewers engaged while trying to send specific messages in the most subtle manners. So that is how Ross‟ claim above can be explained, that with its huge loyal mass, television has a clear advantage when it comes to spreading influence.

Discussions on the wide and deep roles of television have long captured the attention of many media observers. On the very topic, Melinda, in her thesis which highlighted the power of television, repeatedly wrote that nowadays television holds significant roles in the society13. The argument she had in her thesis about the massive power of television found backups in a statement by a television psychologist, Michael Shapiro, who stated that the power of television programs lie in the supporting personnel and technology that allowed them to quickly be delivered to its viewers with almost no delay 14. Such advantage, to relay without delay, is an attribute not possessed by other forms of mass media and with the presence of moving images to feast on, television has more power that makes it almost impossible for other forms of media to strip television

off its current position as the „leader‟ of mass media.

Nowadays, getting much help from technological advancement, television keeps cementing its status as the form of mass media with the widest wingspan that can reach simply anyone belonging to any social groups. This fact is enhanced by observations that led to conclusions stating that television is now not only bringing entertainment to its

13 _{Bernadetha N. Melinda, The Use of Tele isio i the A eri a Preside tial Ele tio , thesis., U of}

Gadjah Mada, 2007, 39.

14

Michael Shapiro and McDonald. I am Not a Real Doctor But I Play One in Virtua Reality, Implication of Virtual Reality for Judgment About Reality. 1992

viewers, but way beyond that, it also plays a major role in helping the viewers to develop intellectually, as asserted by Gordon. Furthermore, Gordon stated that besides the before-mentioned intellectual development, television has also been successful in presenting imaginations of how perfection should look like. By perfection, Gordon elaborated that the „ideal condition‟ refers to social order and close attention to morality15. That statement offered by Gordon is an obvious indication of how television has gone so deep

into the minds of its audience that it has earned an honorable status of „educator‟ for the society.

B. ON COMEDY

Unlimited are the ways to entertain TV audiences nowadays, from movies, music programs, until the more informative programs such as news. While the mentioned programs above are still selling well in many different places, there is one relatively new form of visual entertainment which is slowly but surely given more attention by various TV stations because of encouraging responses from their audiences, that is the Stand-up Comedy show. While it is understood that the presence of such entertainment on television screens is something new, Stand-up Comedy has actually been around for more than five decades now. Mintz‟ observation even revealed that Stand-up Comedy is actually the oldest form of humorous expression 16, given that fact, drawing a conclusion that relatively recent introduction of Stand-up Comedy to television is motivated by

belated awareness that the very genre is „more than just a comedy show‟ is safe.

15

Scott Gordon. The History and Philosophy of Social Science. (London: Routledge, 1991) 148-151.

16_{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.

Otherwise, such show would be forever flying under the radar, elusive from most television consumers. Therefore, due to the late introduction of Stand-up Comedy to a very public sphere, which is television, it is also understandable that the number of comedy-related studies are not-too-surprisingly low. Mintz had a clear understanding in the tendency and shared in a journal that the few studies of comedy usually began with a typical opening in which an apology to comedy is underlined due to acute undervaluation of the ability of how comedy could have played way more significant roles in the society, culturally and socially 17.

It was best, however, that a discussion on comedy be preceded by how it was defined in contrast to tragedy, in order to give a clear-cut differentiation between the two. To do so, nobody did better than Aristotle, who, as quoted in Britannica Encyclopedia shared his observation of the contrasting genres. Aristotle wrote that while tragedy was an imitation of the grand, i.e. people who were better than us, comedy was defined as an imitation of those who were worse than us. That being said, the writer understood that

people who delivered comedy shows must view themselves „better‟ than the object they were imitating. A special attention was to be given to the word „better‟ as it could have

multiple meanings, but to put it in social contexts, when a comic in a Stand-Up Comedy show decided to mention names in their bits, it was safe to conclude that the person whose name got a mention in a show has, to some extent, failed to fulfill the hopes of many to function accordingly. Hence the oft-mentions of politicians and authority in

17 _{Lawre e Mi tz. Sta d-up Co ed as So ial a d Cultural Medi atio . A eri a Quarterl 7.}

Stand-Up Comedy shows. It was also mentioned that although the subject of comedy

often belonged to „men lower than average‟, it did not mean that comedy was low in

value. Rather, comedy was viewed as a form of entertainment which offered the energy of creativity, and even more importantly, an opportunity for a contemplative moment so that the minds a comedy show audience could feel what was addressed by Henri Bergson,

„the corrective purpose of laughter‟. To agree with that was Kierkegaard‟s statement that

it was the contradiction in life which was the ingredient of comedy. On the term

„contradiction‟, the writer understood that it meant any discrepancy shown by an object of a comedy show: an expected social function and how the object actually functioned in the society.

Before providing more detailed explanation about what Stand-up Comedy really is, the writer sees the importance of drawing a clear line that will set this kind of comical performance from other forms of entertainment designed to produce laughter from their audience. The label itself is actually self-explanatory and the activity can be loosely

defined as „an activity of making others laugh done by a comic who is standing‟.

However, going into a more specific fashion will allow us to find at least a more powerful definition of such show, as Ross gave a more vivid statement about the very activity by opining that Stand-up Comedy show is the rock-and-roll kind of comedy which is usually performed on-stage by a comic, usually male and young whose missions include entertaining his audience while trying to make connections with them18. Still in the same book in which Ross offered that definition on that form of entertainment, Ross

18

acknowledged that other forms of entertainment aimed at making audience laugh do exist. She mentioned that apart from Stand-up Comedy, there are various spoken humor presented on television and in the radio, but she pointed out that the differences between Stand-up Comedy and the spoken humor presented in those two media are huge. The main difference she mentioned lies on the manner in which they are presented, while Stand-up Comedy shows are presented live, the other forms of spoken humor are pre-recorded and take longer steps of recording and editing to ensure a kind of „protection‟ so that a show is appropriate enough to be launched to public sphere19. In other words, Stand-up Comedy shows are different from the „usual‟ existing spoken humor in television and radio, because it offers direct interaction between comics and their audience, risking all kinds of imaginable responses, be they pleasingly encouraging or the complete reverse. That difference is a good explanation to the nickname given to Stand-up Comedy as „the rock-and-roll‟ of comedy because of its „wilder‟ nature compared to

other forms of comedy shows. „Wilder‟ is used to describe the unpredictability of comic -audience interactions and reactions, as well as the content of jokes delivered by comics. The elaboration of both the reactions and content of shows will be more thoroughly discussed as this study reaches chapters three and four.

Its unpredictable and wild nature, however, should never give any impression that Stand-up Comedy exists only as mere entertainment whose messages vaporize as soon as laughters fade. Instead, there are evidence that this kind of entertainment has potentials outside the world of entertainment waiting to be revealed. Out of the many examples this

19

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 settings20 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

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 propaganda22, 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.

CHAPTER VI

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

The writer took a deep breath of relief having reached this section of his observation as finally there have been answers to the questions around Stand-Up Comedy. The writer‟s arduous journey could now end here, having discovered that there were more to mere entertainment when it came to discussing Up Comedy. Stand-Up Comedy shows, as observed by the writer, also had their social significance stored in two big categories:

A. CONTENT

The term content here referred to what bits were delivered by the four comics observed for the purpose of this thesis writing. That comedy could bring people together has been mentioned in the second chapter of this thesis, and as this observation kept unfolding, the writer discovered other functions of Stand-Up Comedy shows, they are:

1. A reminder for audience to be more critical when it comes to dealing with media,

as seen from Russell Peters‟ bit. It was so because of the strong tendency that media has been a site for conflicting interests.

2. A reminder that it was fine to laugh at ourselves, as the writer learnt from Chris

Rock‟s bits. The writer argued this because, more often than not, laughter could

3. A prompt for an advanced way of handling problems. This is what the writer

observed from Pandji‟s bits, where he clearly explained his points in relations to

issues at hands as well as suggesting possible solutions to the issues.

4. A handy guide to anyone that sometimes mentioning names was necessary considering the importance of an issue. The thing the writer deduced from Sammy led to this conclusion. The writer found it a maverick-yet-effective method to be practiced in a society where politeness is given a high regard. However, a call for directness could be the final answer to overcome specific issues.

Apart from those above details, however, the writer has discovered that Stand-Up Comedy does have concealed potentials. Based on the writer‟s observation, Stand-Up Comedy shows are actually more than just entertaining shows, because in their performance comics, through their bits, find a channel through which they can inform their audience about essential issues of varying scales (local, national, international) in entertaining manners. Although comics are driven by their desire to provide informative entertainment, the writer believes that what follows that information exchange session is massive; audience who are well-informed will now shift into the next stage, in which contemplation of certain issues is happening in enlightened individuals, later on, whether audience are poised enough to take actions remains to be seen as this thesis writing is limited to only finding the potential powers of Stand-Up Comedy rather than going the extra mile to see how audience would react upon leaving a show.

B. DELIVERY

Apart from examining bits used in Stand-Up Comedy shows, the search for meaning could also be done by paying closer attention to other things than what was said in a show. Therefore, the thesis also resulted in a conclusion that non-verbal parts of a

show such us stage properties, lighting and audio system, and performers‟ fashion

selection all contributed to the whole efforts of meaning search.

Although inundated by satisfaction of having completed this observation, the writer realized that there were still rooms for future improvement, given the vast area Stand-Up Comedy has. Therefore, the writer suggested that future endeavors to the depth of Stand-Up Comedy be accompanied with more varied approaches from Literature, Linguistics, or Social fields to guarantee more satisfying outcomes. And all in all, the writer could now take a few steps back from this observation, to later return for improvement in this camaraderie.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Adorno, Theodor W. Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: A Reader. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1998.

Anderson, Benedict. Language and Power: Exploring Political Cultures in Indonesia. (1990).

During, Simon. Postmodernism or Post-Colonialism Today. (1993).

Eble, Kenneth J. Teaching American Literature: A Journal of Theory and Practice (1:2). 2012.

Gordon, Scott. The History and Philosophy of Social Science. (London: Routledge, 1991) 148-151.

Hodkinson, Paul. Media, Culture, and Society: An Introduction. University of Surrey: SAGE Publications Ltd.

http://www.russellpeters.com/biography.aspx, retrieved on July 16, 2013.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Peters#Notable_performances, retrieved on July 16, 2013.

Lewis, Melinda. „Renegotiating British Identity‟. Thesis, 2009.

Littlejohn, Stephens W. Theories of Human Communication. New York: Free Press,

1999. Melinda, Bernadetha N. “The Use of Television in the 2000 American Presidential

Election,” thesis., U of Gadjah Mada, 2007, 14.

Mendrinos, Jim. History of Comedy Article.

http://historyofcomedy.blogspot.com/2004/12/first-stand-up.html. February 28, 2013. Mintz, Lawrence. Stand-up Comedy as Social and Cultural Medication. American Quarterly 37.1 (1985): 71-80.

Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Business. (United States: Penguin, 1985) 30-39.

Pragiwaksono, Pandji. Merdeka Dalam Bercanda. (Yogyakarta: Bentang, 2012), xviii. "Rethinking Popular Culture and Media.”: Introduction. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Aug. 2013. Roozen, Kevin. Journal of Basic Writing

Ross, Alison. The Language of Humour. (London: Routledge, 1998), vii.

Schulze, Taylor. “What‟s So Funny?”. Exploring Comedy, Humor, Laughter. December 3, 2012.

Sejarah Stand-up Comedy Masuk di Indonesia.

http://www.websejarah.com/2012/09/sejarah-stand-up-comedy-masuk-di.html. Retrieved on July 16, 2013.

Shapiro, Michael and McDonald. I am Not a Real Doctor But I Play One in Virtua Reality, Implication of Virtual Reality for Judgment About Reality. 1992

Sjöbohm, Juan. Stand-up Comedy Around the world: Americanisation and the role of globalised media. Malmö. 2012.

Stand-up Comedy and Comedians.

http://www.comedy-zone.net/standup/comedian/index.htm. Retrieved July 16, 2013

Television, January 11, 2013 (http:// http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television).

Types and Forms of Humor. http://www.dailywritingtips.com/20-types-and-forms-of-humor/. Retrieved on July 17, 2013.

Uchjana, Ocong. Ilmu, Teori, dan Filsafat Komunikasi (1993).

„World Laughs With You‟.

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/comedy/world-laughs-with-you-20100513-v1ce.html as cited in

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Peters#cite_note-18, retrieved on July 16, 2013.