Subverting Laughter: Unveiling Transgressive Humor and Shaping Public Perception in Stand-Up Comedy

Abstract

Satire has always served an important role in shaping public opinion, undermining authority, and focusing the spotlight on social issues. Satire has changed a lot in stand-up comedy, what used to be intelligent, thoughtful humor has become more provocative and sometimes even controversial content. Drawing upon Relief Theory and Public Opinion Theory, this research attempts to analyze the satirical humor in stand-up comedy and focuses on comparing an older generation of stand-up comedians with contemporary comedians, including American (George Carlin with Hasan Minhaj, Max Amini), Pakistani (Amanullah Khan, Umer Sharif with Tabish Hashmi), and Indian (Johnny Lever, Raju Srivastav with Saurabh Rawat, Madhur Virli, Sumit Mishra, Harsh Gujral, Pranit More, Munawar Farooqui). Relief Theory claims that humor relieves psychological tensions in society, while Public Opinion Theory asserts that the public opinion towards the issue is formed by the media. Satire was first used by older comedians to provoke critical thinking, and nowadays, modern comedians employ exaggerated, provocative humor with a notably higher entertainment factor than a critical one. This study will analyze exaggeration, absurdity, social criticism, and audience perception of comedy through thematic analysis of verbal speeches. This research is significant because it indicates whether modern stand-up comedy continues to be a form of powerful social criticism or has become a medium for controversy-driven entertainment rather than intellectual discourse.