This thesis sought to demonstrate that humour and the grotesque are the primary tools by which Mda achieve his postcolonial strategies of &quot / writing back&quot / , that is, of asserting an identity in the face of colonial pressures, apartheid and the growing selfishness of many in the new, post-democratic South African society.

M.A. / South Africa is a multiracial and multicultural society, and the diversity of languages reflect a complex and differentiated nation. This investigative study attempts to show how South Africans from different cultural and linguistic groups experience the humour in the Madam & Eve comic strips and whether, to some extent, they share a common sense of humour. The study starts with an investigation into the relationship between culture and language through the Sapir and Whorf hypothesis. Furthermore the study discusses the relationship between culture, language and humour to show that humour is in many instances culture specific. In culture-specific humour, the humour tends to be at the cost of people from a different cultural group; thus “we” can laugh at “them”. The study also defines humour and investigates the working of humour through the superiority theory, the relief theory and the incongruence theory. The discussion shows that participants in humour need to share the right context and knowledge before they can enjoy the humour. The study looks at comic strips as a genre and how humour operates in comic strips. The investigation also discusses the background on and the characters in the Madam & Eve comic strips. The discussion shows the humour in the Madam & Eve comic strips depicts social issues, racial relationships, especially the relationship between the white Madam, her elderly mother and the black Eve, crime in South Africa and politics. An empirical survey serves as the vehicle to investigate how respondents from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds experience the humour in Madam & Eve. The different examples were chosen to see if respondents experienced certain types of humour depicted in the comic strips in a negative way. The study includes analysis of the different racial and linguistic groups’ experience of the humour depicted in the comic strips included in the questionnaire to show differences in different groups’ experiences. Although some of the respondents took a more neutral stance to some of the ethnic humour depicted in Madam & Eve, generally speaking the respondents experienced the humour depicted in the comic strips in a positive way.

This thesis sought to demonstrate that humour and the grotesque are the primary tools by which Mda achieve his postcolonial strategies of &quot / writing back&quot / , that is, of asserting an identity in the face of colonial pressures, apartheid and the growing selfishness of many in the new, post-democratic South African society.

Magister Artium - MA / This thesis sought to demonstrate that humour and the grotesque are the primary tools by which Mda achieve his postcolonial strategies of "writing back" that is, of asserting an identity in the face of colonial pressures, apartheid and the growing selfishness of many in the new, post-democratic South African society. / South Africa

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There are vanous definitions of the concept humour, each depending on the perception thereof. Such perceptions are influenced by shared experiences, culture, milieu and individual creativity. Pictorial humour is divided into various sub genres such as the caricature, cartoon and comic strip. Each one of these sub genres portrays an individual process of development, both locally and globally. The work of TO Honiball forms part of this tradition. His artistic personality and sense of humour is unmistakably portrayed in his creative work. Honiball became famous as a political cartoonist and played an important role in the rise of the National Party, seeing that his association with the Nasionale Pers provided him with a forum as opinion-former. It is said that his comic strips Oom Kaspaas, Jakkals en Wolf and Adoons-hulle influenced different age groups and even people who were not Afrikaners. It was however mainly Afrikaans-speaking people who strongly identified with these strips due to the strong Afrikaans character thereof. Various instances own Honniballiana, where it is being preserved and is available for research purposes. A number of marketing initiatives were launched to promote the work of Honiball, mainly by TO Honiball-Promosies. Despite the fact that much of his work is dated, new interest is generated by utilising his work in educational programmes. Honiball's body of work is a source for culture-historical research seeing that it offers references to the tangible and intangible culture of Afrikaans-speaking South Africans during his lifetime. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Etlike definisies bestaan van die begrip humor, afhangend van die persepsie daarvan. Sodanige persepsies word beïnvloed deur onder andere gedeelde ondervindings, kultuur, milieu en individuele kreatiwiteit. Pikturale humor word onderverdeel in verskillende sub-genres, soos die karikatuur, spotprent en strokie. Hierdie sub-genres toon elk 'n afsonderlike ontwikkelingsgang, plaaslik en globaal. Die werk van TO Honiball vorm deel van dié tradisie. Sy kunstenaarspersoonlikheid en humorsin word eweneens onmiskenbaar verbeeld in sy skeppings. Honiball het bekendheid verwerf as politieke spotprenttekenaar en het 'n belangrike rol gespeel in die opgang van die Nasionale Party, omdat sy verbintenis met die Nasionale Pers aan hom 'n forum gebied het om as meningsvormer op te tree. Daar word beweer dat sy strokiesreekse Oom Kaspaas, Jakkals en Wolf en Adoons-hulle verskillende ouderdomsgroepe en selfs mense van ander volksgroepe as die Afrikaner bereik het. As gevolg van die eg- Afrikaansheid daarvan het egter hoofsaaklik Afrikaanssprekendes sterk aanklank daarby gevind. Verskillende instansies is in besit van Honiballiana, waar dit bewaar word en beskikbaar is vir navorsingsdoeleindes. 'n Aantal bemarkingsinisiatiewe is geloods om Honiball se werk te promoveer, hoofsaaklik deur TO Honiball-Promosies. Ten spyte van die feit dat talle voorbeelde van sy werk gedateer is, word nuwe belangstelling gegenereer deur middel van die aanwending van sy werk in opvoedkundige programme. Honiball se oeuvre bied bronne vir kultuurhistoriese navorsing aangesien dit verwysings bied na die geestelike en stoflike kultuur van Afrikaanssprekendes gedurende sy leeftyd.

This thesis spans two fields – South African dance and the philosophy of humour – and attempts to link them through an understanding of their formal mechanisms. I attempt to establish two main ideas: that there is a need for a critical praxis in South African dance, and that humour in dance can be part of this process. In Chapter One, I discuss elements of the South African dance and theatre industries pre- and post-1994 towards arguing my first point (that South African dance would benefit from a critical praxis). I probe some of the challenges facing artists and describe how choreographers are dealing thematically and stylistically (but not formally) with the concept of the ‘New’ South Africa. Through an investigation of concerns voiced by critics regarding choreographic form in the country, I argue that South African dance would benefit from critical formal investigations in dance-making. Finally, I discuss traditional views of humour in South African dance/theatre and in philosophy, which suggest that humour is predominantly seen as frivolous and unworthy of serious attention. Chapter Two, I offer a defence for humour’s more profound critical aspects, suggesting that humour can in fact be seen as critical ‘thinking in action’. A discussion of theories about humour reveals that the basis for humour is the incongruous. A subsequent discussion of form in theatre and dance shows how the incongruous might work within dance form to create meta-dance. In this way, I attempt to link the two fields of humour and South African dance and to make the connection between the critical capacities of meta-dance and those of humour. I suggest, in other words, that humour in dance can create a critical awareness, of the likes advocated in Chapter One. In Chapter Three, I discuss aspects of two works: my own This part should be uncomfortable (2008) and Nelisiwe Xaba’s Plasticization (2004). The two analyses differ from each other as does the humour in both works. Despite the differences, I argue that humour in both works is operating on a critical level that includes a meta-level of signification.

This thesis spans two fields - South African dance and the philosophy of humour - and attempts to link them through an understanding of their formal mechanisms. I attempt to establish two main ideas: that there is a need for a critical praxis in South African dance, and that humour in dance can be part of this process. In Chapter One, I discuss elements of the South African dance and theatre industries pre- and post-1994 towards arguing my first point (that South African dance would benefit from a critical praxis). I probe some of the challenges facing artists and describe howchoreographers are dealing thematically and stylistically (but not formally) with the concept of the 'New' South Africa. Through an investigation of concerns voiced by critics regarding choreographic form in the country, I argue that South African dance would benefit from critical formal investigations in dance-making. Finally, I discuss traditional views of humour in South African dance/theatre and in philosophy, which suggest that humour is predominantly seen as frivolous and unworthy of serious attenfion. In Chapter Two, I offer a defence for humour's more profound critical aspects, suggesting that humour can in fact be seen as critical 'thinking in action'. A discussion of theories about humour reveals that the basis for humour is the incongruous. A subsequent discussion of form in theatre and dance shows how the incongruous might work within dance form to create meta-dance. In this way, I attempt to link the two fields of humour and South African dance and to make the connection between the critical capaci~ies of meta-dance and those of humour. I suggest, in other words, that humour in dance can create a critical awareness, of the likes advocated in Chapter One. In Chapter Three, I discuss aspects of two works: my own This part should be uncomfortable (2008) and Nelisiwe Xaba's Plasticization (2004). The two analyses differ from each other as does the humour in both works. Despite the differences, I argue that humour in both works is operating on a critical level that includes a meta-level of signification.