Digital Carnivalesque

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

   PDF

2. Power as Performance in the Twenty-First Century Digital Playground

   • Hoi-Yi Katy Kan

   Pages 1-9

3. Power

   • Hoi-Yi Katy Kan

   Pages 11-31

4. Digital Times

   • Hoi-Yi Katy Kan

   Pages 33-46

5. Politics and Social Media in Singapore

   • Hoi-Yi Katy Kan

   Pages 47-65

6. Carnivalesque as Theoretical Framework

   • Hoi-Yi Katy Kan

   Pages 67-76

7. mrbrown Show: Who Say We Smelly?

   • Hoi-Yi Katy Kan

   Pages 77-108

8. Anton Casey’s Mistake (Singlish 55)

   • Hoi-Yi Katy Kan

   Pages 109-149

9. Power As Constantly Reconstituting and the Prospects of Carnivalesque Politics

   • Hoi-Yi Katy Kan

   Pages 151-167

This book challenges the framing of comedic acts as apolitical and it adopts a multimodal critical discourse approach to interrogate the performance of comedy as a form of power. It proposes using Bakhtin’s carnivalesque as the analytic tool to distil for readers key differences between humour as banal and humour as critical (and political) in today’s social media.

Drawing from critical theory and cultural studies, this book takes an interdisciplinary approach in formulating a contemporary view of power that reflects social realities not only in the digital economy but also in a world that is increasingly authoritarian. With the proposition of newer theoretical lenses in this book, scholars and social scientists can then find a way to shift the conversation to uncover the evolving voices of (existing and newer) power holders in the shared digital space; and to view current social realities as a continual project in unpacking and understanding the adaptive ways of the human spirit.

• critical discourse analysis
• critical digital literacy and cultural studies
• carnivalesque politics
• carnivalization of social relations
• power in the digital vernacular discourse
• comedy as a form of power
• aestheticization of hegemonic ideologies
• digital carnivalesque practices in social media
• power performances in digital vernacular discourse
• power relations in comedic mediatized contents
• multimodal analysis
• semiotic discourse analysis
• performance and performativity

“This is an important study of the conduct of power relations in Singapore’s social media discourse. Katy Kan weaves together major works by socio-political thinkers to make sense of the way digital discourses in Singapore both enable and challenge social, cultural and political narratives – and considers how this is sagaciously managed by the government.” (Terence Lee, Associate Professor in Communication, Murdoch University)

“Theorizing the notion of power in the ever changing and shifting dynamics of the digital realm is always challenging. Katy Kan’s processing of critical theory however presents a powerful lens to unpack power relations in one of the most digitally connected countries in the world – Singapore.” (Catherine Gomes, Associate Professor, School of Media and Communication, RMIT University)

• Centre for English Language Communication, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

  Hoi-Yi Katy Kan

Katy Kan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics. Her PhD examined the carnivalisation of social relations as a form of power in the digital vernacular discourse. The diverse educational pathways that she has taken over the last 30 years speak for her curiosity to explore the social world in a multi-faceted manner.

In this regard, the career choices that she has pursued demonstrate her deep interest in problematising complexities in social relations in various domains: teaching, research and the corporate world. She has 15 years of experience teaching communication at various institutes of higher learning in Singapore. In the area of educational research, she has worked on four projects commissioned by the National Institute of Education. Lastly, she has eight years of corporate experience with various MNCs.

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