2023 Theses Bachelor's

The Joke Is On You: Comedians As Curators of “Cancel Culture” In A New Public Sphere

Ramakrishnan, Anjali

In recent years, the term “cancel culture” has emerged as the newest addition to the cultural lexicon as a hotly contested term, with many questioning if it is even real. A field that has engaged with “cancel culture” in particular is comedy, where material has newfound backlash amidst a changing social climate. This thesis investigates the concept of “cancel culture” in relation to comedy, unpacking why comedy has been uniquely impacted by “cancel culture” as a narrative and examining its repercussions on the field. The research methods in this thesis consist of an in-depth content analysis that looks at four different comedians as “canceled” case studies by analyzing their stand-up material and their responses to their “cancellations.” Section 1 will investigate the genealogy of “cancel culture” as a term and the history of comedy as a field in America and the unique characteristics it possesses. Section 2 will contain an analysis of Habermasian-inspired theories of the public sphere and the emergence of digital media and how it applies to cancel culture and comedy. Section 3 will include a content analysis and discussion that will demonstrate that “cancel culture” has become embedded in public discourse and yet has allowed comedians to defend and redefine comedy as a field. In this, Dave Chappelle emerged as a curator of “the canceled comedian” and the proponent of the discourse that compels others to join.