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When the differences between ethnicity
and ‘race’ are established, the line between humour that empowers an ethnic
minority, and humour that marginalizes an ethnic minority becomes clearer.
Generally speaking, humour that is told by a person deemed knowledgeable
about the ethnicity being joked about (due to their own identifications
with that ethnicity), in order to educate and increase the knowledge of
the audience, is seen as undermining negative stereotypes. On the other
hand, humour based on superficial stereotypes, told by someone ignorant
to the realities of the ethnicity being joked about, is considered to
be encouraging of stereotyping. The effects of ethnic humour are dependent
on contextual factors like location, environment and who is present.
The primary research delivered conflicting perspectives on the effects
of ethnic humour in relation to eradication of negative attitudes towards
ethnic minorities. Whilst some argued it reinforced stereotypes and discouraged
socio-cultural literacy, others strongly believed ethnic humour was an
effective mode of educating people about the realities of the discrimination
encountered by ethnic minorities. All participants found the stimulus
materials engaging and reacted with laughter, which suggests that humour
is an effective form of communication, even if it is not obvious exactly
what is communicated. The clearest explanation is that positive ethnic
humour is a form of humour dealing with ethnicity, and that negative expressions
of stereotypes in humour are considered racist humour. However, this explanation
undermines the ambiguities that must be considered in an analysis of ethnic
humour.
This research has demonstrated that ethnic humour is a complex phenomenon
that does not have a single widely shared interpretation, but evokes a
variety of reactions. The research also demonstrated how ubiquitous stereotypes
of ethnic minorities are in contemporary Australian society, and ambiguities
in relation to ethnic humour suggest immense confusion in relation to
these. It is clear from focus group data that ethnic humour is a common
part of everyday interaction, as people were able to amply discuss their
perceptions and experiences of ethnic humour, prior to being shown stimulus.
The prevalence of comedy and humour as interactions suggests it is a highly
influential aspect of a person’s micro and macro world, and impacts normative
perceptions of social groups and stereotypes.
As a result of the research, an enhanced understanding of racism as a
real concept, and race as a false one has been achieved. This has assisted
an understanding of the role of these concepts in society, and how stereotyping
is combined with these, to effect the norms and values of society. An
analysis of the complex social interaction of humour has assisted social
and cultural literacy as it provides insight into a variety of factors
that influence a person’s socialisation process and their beliefs. The
methodological process enhanced the researcher’s understanding of society
and culture through application of effective methods that exposed relevant
and complex issues necessary to explore in order to achieve social cultural
literacy.
It is clear that further research regarding humour is necessary in order
to clarify the reasons for ambiguities of ethnic humour. Further research
is also necessary in relation to other forms of humour that do not involve
ethnicity, but deal with other forms of social and cultural issues such
as gender non-conformity, homosexuality, and disability prejudices.
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