Author ORCID Identifier
Degree Year
2023
Document Type
Thesis - Oberlin Community Only
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Anthropology
Advisor(s)
Baron Pineda
Committee Member(s)
Jason Haugen
Kip Hutchins
Amy Margaris
Baron Pineda
James Thomas
Jessica Piskata
Keywords
Stand-up comedy, Cultural anthropology, Marginalization
Abstract
With the advent of tools like Twitter and what is colloquially known as “cancel culture”, no celebrity seems more at risk of political controversy than the stand-up comedian. Humor is a powerful rhetorical tool, and in this thesis, I will explore its use in three ways: jokes about white people by Black comedians, jokes about Caitlyn Jenner by cisgender male comedians, and a series of jokes by Dave Chappelle, culminating in an examination of audience response to Chappelle’s most controversial special. In conducting this analysis, I hope to build a theoretical framework that allows us to make well-informed judgments about the political impact of comedy.
Repository Citation
Hahn-Madole, Samson, "Stand-up and Cancel Culture: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" (2023). Honors Papers. 864.
https://digitalcommons.oberlin.edu/honors/864
