Jabardasth: The great “comedic” cringe- fest
Television viewing has always been a significant part of Indian lives. In recent times, a large chunk of the population has moved to OTT platforms to quench their thirst for quality content. It should not be forgotten that an even larger section of people who do not have access to such platforms have stuck to the content television offers them.
Growing up, watching television, be it cricket, films or shows has been an important “family activity”. Most of the time, I ended up watching what my parents preferred watching and enjoyed it to a very large extent. Recently, I am finding myself in situations where I squirm in my seat with disgust and anger when my family sits together to watch a supposedly “hilarious” show “Jabardasth”.
Jabardasth is a Telugu skit-based comedy show that is extremely popular among the Telugu masses. It is a show that has managed to permeate the barriers of socio-economic status and has soaring TRP ratings. It would be wrong to say that Jabardast is a first of its kind, there have been other “comedy shows” in the past that have anchored themselves in normalizing racial, caste, and gender-based discrimination. One such example would be “Comedy Circus” which produced popular comedians like Kapil Sharma, Bharti Singh, etc. I will primarily be discussing the politics of Jabardast as it is something that is close to home.
Domestic violence, Sexism, and color-based discrimination are common themes that are used to deliver “punch-lines” that are supposedly constructed to make us laugh out loud.
There is absolutely no effort or creativity that goes into the construction of these jokes. They are lazy and are largely limited to normalizing violence, comparing the color of one’s skin to that of an animal (in a very degrading manner) and double entendres.
What is baffling to me is that this works! I have seen people roll on the floor and laugh when the show uses factors like the color of one’s skin to construct jokes. This made me wonder…Is this show popular because the viewership does not have access to better content? Has discrimination been so normalized that it does not seem problematic to us anymore?
While trying to answer these questions that popped into my mind, I realized that a huge part of the viewership is the youth. I have seen young people stuck to their phones with their fancy earphones watching Jabardast on a loop. The youth, who have access to “better content” still prefer to watch people saying a bunch of problematic things under the guise of comedy. Why is that so?
This brings me to the second part of my question, is violence, racism, and sexism so “normal” that one is able to laugh about it? Or are topics that are enjoyed by the viewership largely because there is a certain sense of taboo around discussing these at home? Do people enjoy these jokes just because it makes their daily hardships a tad bit easier to handle? While that seems like a logical explanation for the success of this show, it should not be forgotten that it manages to pass off something as problematic as the caste system as a joke.
Some individuals would contest me here and say that jokes aren’t supposed to be overanalyzed and that jokes are constructed to reflect practices that are common within society. Why burden writers and artists with the job of breaking the barriers? Will that not curb creative liberty? Isn’t it the job of politicians to bring change if any?
Mass media has an immense effect on the psychology of the people and there is a certain responsibility attached to mainstream entertainment. It should be noted that observation is completely different from glorification and normalization. This makes it the responsibility of people working within these sectors to actively examine their content and avoid something that re-enforces discriminatory social norms.
Yes! Jokes that do not involve derogatory statements can be constructed! It just takes a ‘little’ more time and effort than what artists seem to have nowadays. Likewise, it is the job of the viewers to segregate content and avoid something that pulls us back into the dark ages rather than propelling us into the future.
I must admit that this show has created avenues of growth for multiple comedians and talented artists but it is important for us to distinguish between something comic and something that is disgustingly problematic. Until then, I will continue to cringe whenever the show is played at home.
