"China, Unaona Mkono Yangu Ama Una-nini?": The Wedding Engagement between Kenya and China in the Churchill Comedy Show. Issue 2 (3rd April 2022)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- "China, Unaona Mkono Yangu Ama Una-nini?": The Wedding Engagement between Kenya and China in the Churchill Comedy Show. Issue 2 (3rd April 2022)
- Main Title:
- "China, Unaona Mkono Yangu Ama Una-nini?": The Wedding Engagement between Kenya and China in the Churchill Comedy Show
- Authors:
- Yuan, Mingqing
Shen, Yuning - Abstract:
- ABSTRACT: Comedy shows are an acute barometer of social contexts as they are embedded in power relations and often constructed as a space of resistance. With the increasing presence of China in Kenya, China has been a recurring theme in one of the most popular Kenyan stand-up comedies, the Churchill Comedy Show . In 2018, a clip circulated widely of a Chinese female comedian on stage with Churchill and Sleepy. In the clip they discuss the debt issue between Kenya and China through romantic metaphors of an "engagement" ceremony before the wedding, including both expressions of love and bargaining about bride price. This article argues that humour and laughter help in carving out a space for open discussions and critical reflections on the debt issue within Kenya–China relations. It inserts agency and expresses resistance and moral critique of Chinese engagements in Kenya, especially from socio-economically marginalised publics. At the same time, the humour jointly generated through a reiteration of tropes of nationhood, separation of languages and gendered expressions runs the risk of taking interpersonal relations back to rigidly divided national, ethnic and gendered categorisations and representations.
- Is Part Of:
- Journal of African cultural studies. Volume 34:Issue 2(2022)
- Journal:
- Journal of African cultural studies
- Issue:
- Volume 34:Issue 2(2022)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 34, Issue 2 (2022)
- Year:
- 2022
- Volume:
- 34
- Issue:
- 2
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2022-0034-0002-0000
- Page Start:
- 157
- Page End:
- 172
- Publication Date:
- 2022-04-03
- Subjects:
- Humour -- stand-up comedy -- Kenya–China relations -- Churchill Show -- nationhood -- gender
African languages -- Periodicals
Language and culture -- Africa -- Periodicals
Langage et culture -- Afrique -- Périodiques
Langues africaines -- Périodiques
Africa -- Civilization -- Periodicals
Afrique -- Civilisation -- Périodiques
960 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cjac20/current ↗
http://www.tandfonline.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1080/13696815.2021.1940886 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 1369-6815
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 4919.988500
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 22064.xml