Consumption and excess: South African Indian comedy and the stereotypical performance of identity in post-Apartheid South Africa

Abstract

Performing excess is a trope of comedy that dates back to the earliest times – with jokers and clowns being the most popular example of how comedy allows individuals to abandon restrictions of decorum and social graces. In a society where increasing democratic freedom allows for expressions of identity to be performed more openly, it is interesting to note how excess has been linked to the consumption of material goods, wealth and the caricatured performance of culture. Comedy, true to its nature, allows for these expressions of excessive consumption to appear even more pronounced than they do in other cultural products. In the South African Indian community, excess is used in an attempt to emphasize belonging in a market-driven capitalist economy and is also used to lampoon stereotypes of the rapacious Indian. Two main issues arise from depictions in South African Indian comedy. First, the South African Indian community has been associated with the stereotype of greed and rapaciousness, and the comedians (most prominently Karou Charou and Peru and Bala) are often criticized for allowing the use of stereotypical tropes to capitalize on the lampooning of the South African Indian community. Second, the exaggerated stereotypes reflect the state of comedy in post-Apartheid South Africa, with a heavy reliance on stereotypes and excessive displays of conspicuous consumption. The comedy in post-Apartheid South Africa, particularly from minority communities, has often been ‘low brow’, with an emphasis on excess, exaggeration of stereotypes and self-deprecatory humour. This excessiveness is prevalent in some South African Indian comedy, which relies heavily on stereotypes, such as that of bling township culture and excessive alcohol consumption, to provoke humour. This paper explores excess as an expression of consumption: how is consumption linked to comedy and how does this reflect the identity of South African Indians?