Gelotophobia
What worries kings, dictators and autocrats even more is what they see as anarchic elements in laughter. Laughter is never engineered, either from above or below. It is free, it explodes, has no certain direction, and can make us ‘crack up’, roll on the floor, uncontrollably.
Goenawan Mohamad
May 16, 2022
JOKES, like liberty, contain risk.
Mandra, the comedian in the TV series Si Doel Anak Sekolahan told the story of how afraid he was when he was invited to perform in front of President Suharto and the First Lady at the height of the ‘New Order’.
Mandra, who was teamed with Benyamin Sueb at the time, was anxious and confused: for two months prior to the performance, there had been frequent visits from palace officials, ‘th
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