Comedy and Tolerance: Vir Das, Standup Comedy and Religious Tolerance in India
Comedy and Tolerance: Vir Das, Standup Comedy and Religious Tolerance in India
Author(s): Daniel RussoContributor(s): Iveta Jansová (Editor)
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Communication studies
Published by: Univerzita Karlova v Praze, Fakulta sociálních věd
Keywords: comedy; stand-up; religion; hegemony; india; politics; secularism; identity; community; social movements
Summary/Abstract: This essay examines the relationship between stand-up comedy and identity representation.The methods for examination begin with an overview of relevant humour theories, culminating in a case study of comedian Vir Das’s role in cultivating a collective secular identityin India. The case study takes on the method of critical textual analysis. By contextualizingthe content of Vir Das’s 2018 Netflix stand-up special, Losing It, in relation to the historicaland present landscape of religio-politics in India, I argue that stand-up routines like VirDas’s represent humour being used as a tool to promote secularism and religious tolerance.I then conclude by suggesting that the use of this type of humour in India should continue inorder to foster an Indian collective identity that promotes secularism, religious freedom, andreligious tolerance. Unexpectedly, I also conclude that Vir Das’s religious-themed humourtakes on a more tolerant, encompassing approach to mocking religious hegemony, comparedto Western comedy approaches.
Journal: Mediální studia
- Issue Year: 14/2020
- Issue No: 02
- Page Range: 242-256
- Page Count: 15
- Language: English
