Abstract
The narrative pattern and discursive strategies of stand-up comedy in Nigeria reveal some tropes and motifs that are contemporary to the socio-political realities of the country. These narrative/discursive strategies demonstrate three discourse types: salutation/greeting discourse, reporting discourse and informing discourse. With these discourse types, stand-up comedians use themselves as the victims of the jokes in order to evoke laughter in the audience. The performances of stand-up comedy, however, have not been accorded due recognition of the functional arts that can be used to critique the failure of the ruling elite in the Nigerian State. This is because stand-up comedy is class-selective and occasion-driven. To evoke laughter in the audience and to comment on the reality of existence, stand-up comedians deploy language aesthetics, kinesics and atmosphere. The modal transition from pure oral stage to the technological phase of performance informs the conceptualisation of media mediated performance (MMP) through recorded VCDs/DVDs and the social media. Data on the stand-up comedy of AY and Elenu are collected through media mediated performances (MMP) on VCD. Data on the subject matter, topicality and discursive strategies of AY and Elenu’s (these are among ace stand-up comedians in Nigeria) jokes are analysed and discussed. With the subject matter and topicality of the jokes, this paper suggests that stand-up comedy performs the utilitarian functions of literary and performing arts. It entertains, moralises, satirises and educates members of heterogeneous audiences on some values and ethos of the contemporary Nigerian society.
The narrative pattern and discursive strategies of stand-up comedy in Nigeria reveal some tropes and motifs that are contemporary to the socio-political realities of the country. These narrative/discursive strategies demonstrate three discourse types: salutation/greeting discourse, reporting discourse and informing discourse. With these discourse types, stand-up comedians use themselves as the victims of the jokes in order to evoke laughter in the audience. The performances of stand-up comedy, however, have not been accorded due recognition of the functional arts that can be used to critique the failure of the ruling elite in the Nigerian State. This is because stand-up comedy is class-selective and occasion-driven. To evoke laughter in the audience and to comment on the reality of existence, stand-up comedians deploy language aesthetics, kinesics and atmosphere. The modal transition from pure oral stage to the technological phase of performance informs the conceptualisation of media mediated performance (MMP) through recorded VCDs/DVDs and the social media. Data on the stand-up comedy of AY and Elenu are collected through media mediated performances (MMP) on VCD. Data on the subject matter, topicality and discursive strategies of AY and Elenu’s (these are among ace stand-up comedians in Nigeria) jokes are analysed and discussed. With the subject matter and topicality of the jokes, this paper suggests that stand-up comedy performs the utilitarian functions of literary and performing arts. It entertains, moralises, satirises and educates members of heterogeneous audiences on some values and ethos of the contemporary Nigerian society.
References
Adetunji, A. (2013). ‘The interactional context of humour in Nigerian stand-up comedy’. Pragmatics 23.1, pp. 1-22.
Akinyemi, A. (2011). ‘African oral tradition then and now: A culture in transition’. CentrePoint Journal (Humanities Edition) 14.1, pp. 27-51.
Dore, M. (2018). ‘Humor negotiation in intercultural stand-up comedy’, in Tsakona, V. and Chovanec, J. (eds.), Dynamics of Interactional Humor: Creating and Negotiating Humor in Everyday Encounters, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 105-126.
Double, O. (2014). Getting the Joke: The Inner Workings of Stand-up Comedy. 2nd edition, London: Bloomsbury.
Esuh, P. (2006). ‘Introduction to rhetoric’, in Wilson, D. (ed.), Fundamentals of Human Communication, Ibadan: Stirling-Horden Publishers, pp. 222-237.
Fashina, N. O. (2000). ‘Lit-orature development, world peace and the challenges of literary theory/criticism’. Journal of the Nigeria English Studies Association 11.1, 101-113.
Filani, I. (2015). ‘Discourse types in stand-up comedy performances: an example of Nigerian stand-up comedy’. European Journal of Humour Research, 3.1, pp. 41-60.
Gilbert, J. R. (1997). ‘Performing marginality: Comedy, identity and cultural critique’. Text and Performance Quarterly 17, pp. 317-330.
Greenbaum, A. (1999). ‘Stand-up comedy as rhetorical argument: an investigation of comic culture’. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research 12.1: pp. 33-46.
Izevbaye, D. (2014). ‘Literature and technology: A Nigerian perspective’. The Savannah Review 3, pp. 47-72.
Layiwola, D. (2010). A Place Where Three Roads Meet: Literature, Culture and Society. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press.
Lockyer, S. and Myers, L. (2011). ‘It’s about expecting the unexpected: Live stand-up comedy from the audiences’ perspective. Participations: Journal of Audience and Reception Studies, 8.2, pp. 165-188.
Maynard, K. K. (1991). Thomas Hardy’s Tragic Poetry: The Lyrics and the Dynasts. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.
Mujumdar, S. (2013). ‘Bertolt Brecht’s concept of ‘epic-drama’ and alienation theory and ‘Tamasha art’ in Marathi theatre: A comparative study. Lapis Lazuli: An International Literary Journal 3.1, pp. 1-13.
Odebunmi, A. (2010) ‘Code selection at first meetings: A pragmatic analysis of doctor-Client conversations in Nigeria’. InLiSt, 48, pp. 1-41.
Ogundeji, P. A. (2014). Yoruba Drama in Time Perspective. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press.
Ogunleye F. M. (2012). Thespians and Cineastes as Engineers of the Nigerian Soul. Ile-Ife: OAU Press.
Olorunyomi, S. (2008) ‘Orality as text in mutation’, in Raji-Oyelade, A. and Okunoye, O. (eds.), The Postcolonial Lamp, Ibadan: Bookcraft, pp. 190-204.
Ong, W. J. (2002). Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word. London and New York: Routledge.
Onogu, W. S. (2014) ‘Quality assurance and stand-up comedy in Nigeria’. Nigerian Theatre Journal 13 .1, pp. 44-52.
Osundare, N. (1981). ‘From oral to written: Aspects of socio-stylistic repercussions of transition. Journal of African and Comparative Literature, 1, pp. 1-13.
Renza, A. L. (1980). ‘The veto of imagination: A theory of autobiography’, in Olney, J. (ed.), Autobiography: Essays Theoretical and Critical, Princeton: Princeton University Press, pp. 268-95.
Roberts, R. E. (2000). ‘Standup comedy and the prerogative of art’. The Massachusetts Review 41.2, pp. 151-160.
Rutter, J. (2000). ‘The stand-up introduction sequence: Comparing comedy comperes. Journal of Pragmatics 32, pp. 463-483.
Sarangi, S. (2000). ‘Activity types, discourse types and interactional activity: the case of genetic counselling’, in
Sarangi, S. and Coulthard M. (eds.), Discourse and Social Life, Harlow: Longman, pp. 1-27.
Schaniel, W.C. (1988). ‘New technology and culture changes in traditional societies’. Journal of Economic Issues 2 (1), pp. 491-502.
Schipper, M. (2010). ‘”Who am I?” Facts and fiction in African first-person narrative’, in Olaniyan, T. and Quayson, A. (eds.), African Literature: Anthology of Criticism and Theory. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, pp. 345-352.
Sesan, A. A. (2014). ‘Yoruba folktales, the new media and postmodernism’. Khazar Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 17.2, pp. 74-87.
Sigvartsen, A. L. (2013). Consciousness and Autobiography: A Search for the Roots of Referentiality in Life Writing. M. A. Thesis. University of Oslo.