Tall Poppy Syndrome & Patriarchal Femininity: An Auto-ethnographic Investigation into New Zealand’s Female-identifying Comedians BY KATIE HILL A thesis submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of a Master of Arts in Theatre Victoria University of Wellington 2021 - 2 - Abstract This practice-based and auto-ethnographic research project explores the correlation between Tall Poppy Syndrome (TPS) and patriarchal femininity in the performances of female-identifying stand-up comedians in New Zealand. I identify ways TPS, as a patriarchal ideology, has an impact on the subconscious/and or conscious choices of New Zealand’s self-deprecating female-identifying comedians in contemporary performance. I have chosen to analyse TPS through an intersectional feminist lens, focusing on ways the historical construction of patriarchal femininity directly relates to the cultural phenomenon of Tall Poppy Syndrome. I aim to connect this relationship to the ways New Zealand female-identifying comedians ‘perform’ autobiographical comedy, as part of expected social and cultural conventions. As I want to investigate the impact of TPS in an exclusively New Zealand context, my research isolates its case studies to comedians who make comedy primarily for a New Zealand audience, discussing international comedians as a point of comparison. - 3 - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the invaluable guidance and support of my peers, friends and family. To my supervisor, Dr. Nicola Hyland - your counsel on my academic, practical and wellbeing needs was immensely helpful. Many of my anxieties were eased by your kind and understanding approach to teaching. To Dr. Lori Leigh and Bethany Taylor - thank you for encouraging me to pursue comedy when I thought I couldn’t. To Charlotte Glucina - it is a continually rewarding experience to perform alongside my closest friend. Thank you for your empathy and grace. To my Mother and Father - thank you for your support mentally and spiritually. This thesis is dedicated to my best friend and biggest supporter -Thomas Robinson. Thank you for your endless positive affirmations and love. - 4 - TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 4 List of Figures 6 Glossary 8 Introduction Christmas Cracker Jokes 9 Chapter One Self-deprecating Humour In New Zealand – A Historical Overview 12 Chapter Two The Historical Construction of Patriarchal Femininity and its Relationship 31 to the Cultural Phenomenon of Tall Poppy Syndrome PART. I Patriarchal Femininity 31 PART. II Tall Poppy Syndrome 42 Chapter Three Social and Cultural Expectations: Female-Identifying Comedians 'performing' 53 Autobiographical Self-deprecating Comedy in New Zealand PART. I Live Comedy 54 PART. II Conversations with Comics 61 Chapter Four A Phenomenlogical and Auto-ethnographic Investigation 74 PART.I Script Analysis: Horny and Confused 76 PART. II Performance Reflection: Horny and Confused 2 90 Conclusion 97 Endnotes 100 List of References 102 Appendices 120 - 5 - LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1 …… John Clarke as Fred Dagg 1975. 15 2 …… Ginette McDonald as Lynn of Tawa. 16 3 …… The Topp Twins as Ken and Ken. 18 4 …… Billy T James 1985. 20 5 …… Flight of the Conchords- Jemaine Clement and 22 Bret Mackenzie. 6 …… Taika Waititi as 1600’s vampire, Viago in the film, 24 What We Do in the Shadows. 7 …… The poster for the 1988 December season of Hen’s Teeth. 27 8 …… Laura Daniels and Rose Matafeo in Funny Girls. 29 9 …… Melanie Bracewell for the 2017 Comedy Festival Gala. 37 10 …… Ruby Esther as the winner of the 2017 Raw Comedy Quest. 51 11 …… Auckland comedian Lana Walters. 61 12 …… Wellington comedian Lucy Roche. 61 13 …… Auckland comedian Sarah Hughes. 61 14 …… Wellington comedian Lesa Macleod-Whiting. 61 15 …… Auckland comedian Brynley Stent. 61 16 …… Auckland comedian Bridget Davies. 61 17 …… Christchurch comedian Audrey Porne. 61 18 …… Auckland comedian Angella Dravid. 61 19 …… Auckland comedian Hannah Campbell. 61 20 …… Wellington comedian Alayne Dick. 61 21 …… Auckland comedian Katie Longbottom. 61 22 …… Wellington comedian Tui-Lou Christie. 61 23 …… Christchurch comedian Georgie Sivier. 61 24 …… Wellington/Auckland based comedian Janaye Henry. 61 25 …… Performance of Horny and Confused at the 2020 77 Fringe Festival. 26 …… Horny and Confused Script Excerpt 1. 78 27 …… Horny and Confused Poster. 79 28 …… Horny and Confused Script Excerpt 2. 80 29 …… Horny and Confused Script Excerpt 3. 84 - 6 - 30 …… Horny and Confused Script Excerpt 4. 85 31 …… Horny and Confused Script Excerpt 5. 85 32 …… Horny and Confused Script Excerpt 6. 86 33 …… Horny and Confused Script Excerpt 7. 88 34 …… Horny and Confused 2 Poster. 90 35 …… Horny and Confused 2 Performance Example 1. 93 36 …… Horny and Confused 2 Performance Example 2. 93 37 …… Horny and Confused 2 Performance Example 3. 93 38 …… Horny and Confused 2 Performance Example 4. 95 - 7 - GLOSSARY TERM DEFINTION Tall Poppy Syndrome The cultural phenomenon of deliberately attacking other’s successes. Absurdity Curve The assumption in comedy and improvisation that a scene or set which gets more progressively more absurd will hold the audience. (Salinsky and Frances-White 485). Antipodean Of, or pertaining to Australia or New Zealand. Bomb To say a joke that receives no laughs. Comedic tension A line or series of comments made by a comedian that may cause an audience to feel tense, typically released with a punchline. Femophobia An oppressive tool that preserves the rules of ‘proper womanhood’ and discourages “culturally sanctioned forms of femininity” (Blair & Hoskin 102). Immasculation The opposite of emasculation - women are deprived of their identity by men as coined by Judith Fetterley in The Resisting Reader (xx). Kiwiana Specific, often Pākehā-centric items and icons pertaining to New Zealand’s heritage and culture particularly from the 20th century. Low-hanging fruit The most easily achieved task. In comedic context, it refers to the most obvious joke. Offer Anything said or done that advances the scene or set. Typically used in improvisational comedy. Pākehā Te Reo for white New Zealanders primarily of European descent - originally applied to English-speaking Europeans living in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Patriarchal Femininity Homogenised femininity that is reproduced through an expected adherence to intersecting racial, able-bodied and cis-gender norms (Hoskin and Taylor 283). Punching down To make a joke at the expense of someone in a lower socio-political group than oneself. Punching up To make a joke at the expense of someone in a higher socio-political group than oneself. The butt of the joke An object of derision, abuse, or (esp.) ridicule. The person or thing the joke targets (OED online, ‘butt’ n.7 def. 5b). - 8 - INTRODUCTION Christmas Cracker Jokes Stand-up comedy is all about nerve--a battle between aggressor and victims with wit as the weapon and laughter as the prize. Different from prize fights that pit people against one another in the presence of paying spectators, comedy pits the fighter against the paying customers, with silence as the killer, and the detonation of laughter as the victory. (Ruth R. Wisse, No Joke: Making Jewish Humor 2013). Pulling Christmas Crackers was an essential event at my Nana’s Christmas parties. It was ‘first on the agenda’ as my family sat at a small round table in mismatched chairs gathered from all corners of Nana’s suburban Christchurch flat. With one hand inside a cracker on both left and right, there would come a cacophony of snapping sounds, and “hold on, I haven’t grabbed the tab”, “oh, my paper hat’s ripped” and “where’s my toy gone?” The gifts would be compared, (with swaps made if necessary) and, despite the lack of accommodation for larger heads, the paper Christmas hats went on. The jokes came last, consisting of badly written puns that we willingly entertained. To my Father, this was the main event; the badly written puns were mere provocations for the creation of better, wittier anecdotes. By the night’s end, everyone’s chairs would be angled to face my father; he held the floor, and he was excellent at it. Taking heed from my Father, I learnt how to hold the attention of a dinner table and make the best possible comment for maximum laughs. My brother also learnt this skill, but arguably (and he would disagree), with less success than me. Despite generating regular laughter from my family, I felt defeated at their persistence to call my brother, “just like his father” when the statistics pointed in my favour. The laughter my brother received poured excitedly out my family’s mouths, while the laughter I received reflected a tonal opposite - it was brash, and grew in volume as if to say, “I wasn’t expecting that”. I read their reaction as a personality failing. In my later teens, the resentment I felt towards my brother transformed into defeat. Despite evidence to the contrary, I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t funny; perhaps my jokes were good in form, but I could never be perceived as ‘funny’ - that just wasn’t my role. In the final year of my undergraduate degree, a comedy paper was offered: THEA 321: “Pass the Mic” (VUW, 2019). I applied to expand my repertoire as an actor, with little hope for my success. My best friend Charlotte and I found solace in our equal self-consciousness. Quickly our fears were proven true, with our offers in class falling flat, leaving us feeling exposed and embarrassed. This was sufficient evidence to continue the self-perception that I was not funny. We grew jealous at the effortless confidence of our male peers, whose offers were consistently more well-received. The turning point for - 9 - Charlotte was the first heat of our Improvisation show, Mission Improv-able (2019).