M A L M Ö H Ö G S K O L A K O N S T , K U L T U R O C H K O M M U N I K A T I O N M E D I E - O C H K O M M U N I K A T I O N S V E T E N S K A P Stand-up comedy around the world: Americanisation and the role of globalised media Juan Sjöbohm Kandidatexamen Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap Vårtermin 2008 Abstract: Stand-up comedy around the world: Americanisation and the role of globalised media The purpose of this study is to determine how stand-up comedians outside the U.S. have succeeded to adapt the art of stand-up comedy to their own regional contexts and to define the extent of the influence of American comedians on comedians from other countries, discussing the concept of Americanisation and globalised media. Two stand-up comedy presentations, one by American comedian Bill Hicks, Revelations; and one by Swedish comedian Magnus Betnér, Inget är heligt, were analysed using comparative content analysis in order to determine similarities and differences in the subjects addressed during the presentations along with similarities and differences in the style of performance. In-depth interviews were conducted as part of this research with professional comedians from Costa Rica: actor and stand-up comedian Hernán Jiménez, and members of the comedy group “La Media Docena” Édgar Murillo and Erik Hernández. Author: Juan M. Sjöbohm Year: 2008 University: School of Arts and Communication, Malmö University, Sweden. Keywords: Stand-up comedy, globalised media, Americanisation, Bill Hicks, Magnus Betnér, Hernán Jiménez, La Media Docena. 2 1 INTRODUCTION 4 1.1 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY AND LIMITATIONS 4 1.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 4 2 BACKGROUND 4 2.1 WHAT IS STAND-UP COMEDY? 4 2.2 THE AMERICAN ORIGINS OF STAND-UP COMEDY 6 3 THEORY 7 3.1 PREVIOUS RESEARCH 7 3.2 AMERICANISATION 7 3.3 USES AND GRATIFICATIONS 10 4 METHODOLOGY 11 4.1 COMPARATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS 11 4.2 IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS 12 5 MATERIAL 13 5.1 INTERVIEWS 13 5.1.1 INTERVIEW WITH HERNÁN JIMÉNEZ 13 5.1.2 INTERVIEW WITH ÉDGAR MURILLO AND ERIK HERNÁNDEZ 14 5.2 PRESENTATIONS 16 5.2.1 BILL HICKS 16 5.2.2 MAGNUS BETNÉR 19 6 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 22 6.1 PRESENTATIONS 22 6.2 INTERVIEWS 23 6.3 DISCUSSION 25 7 REFERENCES 27 7.1 BOOKS 27 7.2 ARTICLES 27 7.3 ONLINE RESOURCES 27 7.4 AUDIOVISUAL 27 7.5 INTERVIEWS 28 8 ANNEX – GESTALTNING AND INTEGRATION 29 8.1 GESTALTNING PROCESS 29 8.2 INTEGRATION 30 3 1 Introduction Stand-up comedy is based on a very old concept that spawned a rather new form of art, starting in the U.S. and slowly spreading to 1.2 Research questions other latitudes. For the last ten years I have learned to appreciate stand-up comedy, How have non-American comedians initially from American comedians but succeeded to appropriate and adapt the genre eventually expanding my taste with British, of stand-up comedy to their own regional Latin American, Spanish and Swedish contexts? comedians as well. Some of the aspects that attracted me the most besides the obvious What has been the role of the globalised entertainment value of this comedic genre, is media as an influence in this process of that it has been a valuable tool for learning adaptation? Can this be described as a process about and understanding different cultural of Americanisation? aspects related to national identity, traditions, values, and language. It is a very powerful form of communication with great informative possibilities, which ironically has not been 2 Background considered neither in any course nor textbook throughout my years studying media and communication both in Sweden and Costa 2.1 What is Stand-up comedy? Rica. Even other types of humour have gotten some attention, while stand-up comedy has As with most definitions, stand-up comedy been largely overlooked. can be a confusing term to explain, particularly since there is uniqueness in every stand-up act 1.1 Purpose of the study and limitations derived from the personality and particularities of each performer. Swedish comedian Adde Malmberg, in his essay My aim in this study is to define the extent of “Världens näst äldsta yrke: stand-up the influence of American comedians on comedian”, that serves as an introduction for comedians from other countries, along with the book Stå upp! : Boken om stand-up comedy, the extent of the role of different media in this lays down a few basic rules in order to try to process of influence. Another purpose is to define the term. These rules are: open the doors for further discussion and research on stand-up comedy from the 1. One has to be funny 2. One has to be alone perspectives of media and communication. 3. One has to stand up 4. One has to talk directly to the audience 5. One has to be oneself, neither wearing costumes This is a study of a qualitative nature based on nor interpreting a character specific cases, approaching the issues from a 6. One should not be dependant upon the context, stand up by oneself without much specific rather limited point of view, due to lack of explanations economic and human resources. In order to 7. One shall not use props give the research questions a more general 8. One shall not use a written script perspective several sources from different countries should be consulted, but the Malmberg points out that those ground rules intention of this paper is to work as a starting are not definitive, as there are far too many point for an eventual more extensive research. exceptions to each rule. Some comedians might perform sitting down, such as Irish comedian Dave Allen; some might make use of characterisations, some might use props for 4 certain routines, and so on (Malmberg in musicians. This practice would be regarded as Crispin & Danielsson 1992: 5-6). Malmberg plagiarism in the context of stand-up comedy. also quotes American comedian Jerry Seinfeld, Thus, a comedian has to come up with his or who explains that standup comedy is a her own material, or alternatively with dialogue, not a monologue (ibid: 10). original material provided by a writer, even when addressing similar subjects with similar This affirmation by Seinfeld can be debated, points of view present in the material of other since there might not be a dialogue, in the stand-up comedians. A comedian performing sense of a mutual exchange of ideas between at the repertoire of another comedian is least two persons, in this case between the uncommon, if not inexistent, in the context of comedian and the audience. The audience is stand-up. there to listen and deliver the laughter, although there can be verbal interaction in the Mintz goes into further detail mentioning the form of heckling, a term used to refer to those in range of stand-up performance, that is, the the audience who disrupt the act by making verbal tools employed by comedians to fun of the comedian’s inability to make them construct their discourse. Those tools are: laugh. The comedian might also address 1. One liners specific members of the audience, making 2. Verbal games involving puns them part of the act usually as a target for 3. Malapropisms 4. Double-entendres jokes. Thus, a stand-up comedy act can be 5. Violation of socially acceptable language taboos regarded as a dialogue, although with a very 6. Insult comedy limited interaction between performer and 7. Parodies 8. Put-downs of current popular culture audience. 9. Social & political criticism American professor Laurence E. Mintz, who On the role of stand-up comedians, Mintz has researched American humour extensively, refers to them as comic spoke persons, provides a more detailed definition of what mediators, articulators of our culture, social stand-up comedy is in his article “Standup commentators, and our contemporary comedy as social and cultural mediation”. His anthropologists (Mintz, 1985: 6). The basic definition is nonetheless quite similar to dialogical approach used throughout the Malmberg’s: whole presentation is perhaps the most basic characteristic that separates stand-up comedy A strict, limiting definition of standup comedy would describe an encounter from other comedy acts that might make use between a single, standing performer of the tools proposed above by Mintz. The behaving comically and/or saying funny things directly to an audience, stand-up comedian addresses the audience unsupported by very much in the way of directly throughout the whole presentation, costume, prop, setting, or dramatic vehicle (Mintz 1985: 2). whereas other types of comedians do it seldom, as the main focus of their Given this basic descriptions, stand-up presentation might be impersonations, comedy can be regarded as a very simple characterisations, magic tricks, props such as performance art in terms of production. a wooden dummy in the case of Props, costumes and scenery are used by ventriloquists, etc. certain comedians, although those are not the main focus of the performance and are used Some comedians, particularly outside the very sparsely. One key rule that is perhaps English-speaking world, might not be overlooked by the aforementioned authors is regarded as stand-up comedians even though originality, which is of utter importance in they might follow most of the aforementioned stand-up comedy, perhaps more than in any definition and rules, as their act is mostly other performance art. In music for example, based upon traditional humour/jokes not it is a common and widely accepted practice, constructed as a dialogue but as fictional to interpret note by note the work of other stories.