HUMOR IN STAND-UP COMEDY:

EXPLORING CHRIS ROCK’S IDENTITY

THESIS

By:
Ummi Fadlilah
NIM 18320069

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
UNIVERSITAS ISLAM NEGERI MAULANA MALIK IBRAHIM MALANG
2022
 HUMOR IN STAND-UP COMEDY: EXPLORING CHRIS
ROCK’S IDENTITY

THESIS

Presented to
Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra (S.S.)

By:
Ummi Fadlilah
NIM 18320069

Advisor:
Dr. Yayuk Widyastuti Herawati, [Link].
NIP 197705032014112002

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LITERATURE

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
UNIVERSITAS ISLAM NEGERI MAULANA MALIK IBRAHIM MALANG
2022

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iv
 MOTTO

“Struggle without Sacrifice is Nonsense”

“Man proposes, God disposes”
“No Humor, No Life”

v
 DEDICATION

This thesis is proudly dedicated to:

My beloved parents, Muhamad Yatim and Sufiyah who always give me sincere

loves, suppport and prayers all the time.

My beloved siblings, Fachrul Idham and Tamimatun Nihayah who support me all

the time.

My friends who have inspired me to complete this thesis.

vi
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All phrases to Allah swt. the almighty who has given us mercies and

blessing all the time. May Sholawat and Salam be our prophet Muhammad SAW

who has guided us from the darkness to the brightness with Iman and Islam.

Accordingly, I am able to finish my thesis entitled “Humor in Stand-Up Comedy:

Exploring Chris Rock’s Identity” as part of the requirements for the Sarjana Sastra

(S.S.) degree in English Literature Department, Faculty of Humanities at Maulana

Malik Ibrahim State Islamic University, Malang.

I am able to accomplish this thesis successfully because of some talented

people who always give critique, advice and guidance to improve this thesis. I

would like to thank my advisor, Mrs. Dr. Yayuk Widyastuti H., [Link]. who has

provided valuable guidance and advice with patience in the process of conducting

this thesis. Then, my gratitude to Mrs. Vita Nur Santi, [Link]. as my academic

supervisor who has supported and advised me during my undergraduate study.

Besides, my deepest gratitude to all of my lecturers at English Literature

Department who have given me valuable knowledge during my undergraduate

study.

My sincere gratefulness goes to my beloved parents, Mr. Muhamad Yatim

and Mrs. Sufiyah and also my beloved siblings, Fachrul Idham and Tamimatun

Nihayah who have supported and provided valuable encouragement mentally as

well as financially and have encouraged me throughout this time. In addition, my

gratefulness to all my best friends that I cannot mention one by one who have

provided support during the preparation of this thesis. Furthermore, my gratitude to

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Super Junior, Seventeen and AB6IX and other artists who have accompanied me

through my ups and downs during my study with their songs and entertaining

content.

I realize that this thesis is far from perfect. Nevertheless, it is believed that

this thesis can improve researcher and future researchers who are interested in the

same topic. Therefore, criticism and suggestions are very welcome and are expected

for the improvement of this thesis.

viii
 ABSTRACT

Fadlilah, Ummi. (2022). Humor in Stand-Up Comedy: Exploring Chris Rock’s Identity.
Undergraduate Thesis. Department of English Literature, Faculty of Humanities,
Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang. Advisor: Dr. Yayuk
Widyastuti H., [Link].

Keywords: Humor, Identity, Chris Rock

Humor is created to invite laughter from others. However, what if humor gets a
different response from listeners like Rock slapped by Smith at the 94th Academy Awards?
This study aims to identify Chris Rock’s identity through his humorous utterances. This
study has two research questions: (1) How does Chris Rock deliver his humor in stand-up
comedy? (2) What kind of identity is constructed by Chris Rock in stand-up comedy
through his humorous utterances? The researcher used the descriptive qualitative method
to answer the research questions. Besides, the researcher used the theory of Attrado (1994)
about the General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH) and the personal identity theory of
Burke and Stets (2009). The results showed that utterances of Chris Rock in his stand-up
comedy contain six knowledge resource (KR) parameters such as script opposition (SO),
the logical mechanism (LM), the situation (SI), the target (TA), the narrative strategy (NS),
and the language (LA) to make his utterances funny. In addition, the researcher found
several identities of Chris Rock constructed through his humor in stand-up comedy, such
as he was not prominent in politics, was not a religious person, believed in the existence of
racism, had a bad personality but learned through experience, and is a responsible person.

ix
 ‫مستخلص البحث‬

‫فضيلة‪ ،‬أمي (‪ )2022‬الفكاهة في الكوميديا االرتجالية‪ :‬استكشاف هوية كريس روك‪ .‬مقال‪ .‬قسم األدب اإلنجليزي ‪ ،‬كلية العلوم‬
‫‪. Yayuk Widyastuti H. ،[Link]..‬اإلنسانية ‪ ،‬موالنا مالك إبراهيم الدولة اإلسالمية جامعة ماالنج‪ .‬المستشار د‬

‫‪.‬الكلمات المفتاحية‪ :‬الفكاهة ‪ ،‬الهويات ‪ ،‬كريس روك‬

‫يتم إنشاء الفكاهة لدعوة اآلخرين إلى الضحك‪ .‬ومع ذلك ‪ ،‬ماذا لو تلقت الدعابة استجابة مختلفة من مستمعين مثل روك صفعها‬
‫سميث في حفل توزيع جوائز األوسكار رقم ‪ 94‬؟ تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى التعرف على هوية كريس روك من خالل أقواله الدعابة‪.‬‬
‫تحتوي هذه الدراسة على سؤالين بحثيين‪ ) 1 :‬كيف يقدم كريس روك روح الدعابة في الكوميديا االرتجالية؟ ما نوع الهوية التي‬
‫أنشأها كريس روك في الكوميديا االرتجالية من خالل أقواله المضحكة؟ استخدم الباحث المنهج الوصفي النوعي لإلجابة على أسئلة‬
‫ونظرية الهوية الشخصية )‪ (GTVH‬البحث‪ .‬كما استخدم الباحث نظرية أترادو (‪ )1994‬حول النظرية العامة للفكاهة اللفظية‬
‫لبورك وستيتس (‪ .)2009‬أظهرت النتائج أن أقوال كريس روك في الكوميديا االحتياطية تحتوي على ستة معايير لمصادر المعرفة‬
‫لجعل )‪ ، (LA‬و استراتيجية السرد واللغة )‪ ، (TA‬والهدف )‪ ، (SI‬والوضع )‪ ، (LM‬واآللية المنطقية )‪ (SO‬مثل معارضة النص‬
‫أقواله مضحكة‪ .‬باإلضافة إلى ذلك ‪ ،‬وجد الباحث عدة ه ويات لكريس روك تم إنشاؤها من خالل فكاهته في الكوميديا االرتجالية ‪،‬‬
‫صا متدينًا ‪ ،‬مؤمنًا بوجود عنصرية ‪ ،‬لديه شخصية سيئة ولكنه تعلم من خالل الخبرة‬ ‫ً‬
‫بارزا في السياسة ‪ ،‬ولم يكن شخ ً‬ ‫مثل أنه لم يكن‬
‫‪ ،.‬وهو شخص مسؤول‬

‫‪x‬‬
 ABSTRAK

Fadlilah, Ummi. (2022). Humor dalam Stand-Up Komedi: Mengeksplor Identitas Chris Rock.
Skripsi. Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Humaniora, Universitas Islam Negeri
Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang. Dosen Pembimbing Dr. Yayuk Widyastuti H., [Link].

Kata Kunci: Humor, Identitas, Chris Rock

Humor diciptakan untuk mengundang tawa dari orang lain. Namun, bagaimana jika humor
mendapat respon berbeda dari pendengar seperti Rock yang ditampar oleh Smith di Academy
Awards ke-94? Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi identitas Chris Rock melalui tuturan
humornya. Penelitian ini memiliki dua pertanyaan penelitian: (1) Bagaimana Chris Rock
menyampaikan humornya dalam stand-up comedy? (2) Identitas seperti apa yang dibangun Chris
Rock dalam stand-up comedy melalui tuturan humornya? Peneliti menggunakan metode deskriptif
kualitatif untuk menjawab pertanyaan penelitian. Selain itu, peneliti menggunakan teori Attrado
(1994) tentang General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH) dan teori identitas pribadi Burke dan Stets
(2009). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tuturan Chris Rock dalam stand-up comedy-nya
mengandung enam parameter sumber pengetahuan (KR) yaitu oposisi naskah (SO), mekanisme
logika (LM), situasi (SI), sasaran (TA), strategi naratif (NS), dan bahasa (LA) untuk membuat
ucapannya lucu. Selain itu, peneliti menemukan beberapa identitas Chris Rock yang dikonstruksi
melalui humornya dalam stand-up comedy, seperti tidak menonjol dalam politik, bukan orang yang
religius, percaya akan adanya rasisme, memiliki kepribadian yang buruk tetapi belajar melalui
pengalaman, dan merupakan orang yang bertanggung jawab.

xi
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ..................................................................... ii

APPROVAL SHEET ........................................................................................... iii
LEGITIMATION SHEET .................................................................................. iv
MOTTO ................................................................................................................. v
DEDICATION ...................................................................................................... vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .................................................................................. vii
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... ix
‫ مستخلص البحث‬............................................................................................................ x
ABSTRAK ............................................................................................................ xi
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................... xii
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................. xiv
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 1
A. Background of the Study ................................................................................ 1
B. Research Questions ......................................................................................... 5
C. Significance of the Study ................................................................................ 6
D. Scope and Limitation ...................................................................................... 6
E. Definition of Key Terms ................................................................................. 7
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ................................ 8
A. Humor ............................................................................................................. 8
B. Types and Styles of Humor ........................................................................... 9
C. General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH) .................................................... 9
D. Identity .......................................................................................................... 11
E. Humor and Identity ....................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHOD .......................................................... 16
A. Research Design ........................................................................................... 16
B. Research Instrument ..................................................................................... 16
C. Data and Data Source ................................................................................... 17
D. Data Collection ............................................................................................. 17
E. Data Analysis ................................................................................................ 18
F. Data Triangulation ........................................................................................ 18

xii
CHAPTER IV: FINDING AND DISCUSSION ............................................... 20
A. Finding .......................................................................................................... 20
1. Humor of Chris Rock in Stand-Up Comedy .............................................. 21
2. Chris Rock’s Identity in Stand-Up Comedy .............................................. 32
B. Discussion ..................................................................................................... 34
1. Humor utterances by Chris Rock in "Chris Rock Total Blackout: The
Tamborine Extended Cut".............................................................................. 34
2. Identity of Chris Rock................................................................................ 36
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ..................................... 38
A. Conclusion .................................................................................................... 38
B. Suggestion..................................................................................................... 40
REFERENCES .................................................................................................... 41
CURRICULUM VITAE ..................................................................................... 45
APPENDIX .......................................................................................................... 46

xiii
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 Datum 1…………………………………………………….21

Table 4.1 Datum 2…………………………………………………….23

Table 4.1 Datum 3…………………………………………………….24

Table 4.1 Datum 4…………………………………………………….26

Table 4.1 Datum 5…………………………………………………….27

Table 4.1 Datum 6…………………………………………………….28

Table 4.1 Datum 7…………………………………………………….29

Table 4.1 Datum 8…………………………………………………….30

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 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of the background of the study, research questions,

research objectives, significance of the study, scope and limitation, and definition

of key terms.

A. Background of the Study

Humor is an utterance that invites laughter and is a part of the language that

can show the identity of the person who uses it. Normally, everyone would laugh if

they heard a witty or humorous story from a comedian. However, what if instead of

getting a laugh, a comedian gets a slap in the face for his humor? It applied to Chris

Rock's jokes which received a different response than usual. He received a slap

from Will Smith in front of many people as well as the media during the live

television broadcast of the 94th Academy Awards. It is important to investigate

more deeply about the reasons behind the events that shocked the world on March

27, 2022.

This study wants to examine how Chris Rock's identity is based on his sense

of humor. The researcher wants to reveal how his identity that makes his humor

gain an unusual response from listeners. It can be found in the stand-up comedy

that he did before the slapping incident on March 27, 2022. Chris Rock is a

successful stand-up comedian who has won several awards until 2018, he has his

first stand-up special that premiered on Netflix with the title "Chris

Rock:Tamborine” with a duration of an hour four minutes. Apart from being a stand

1
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-up comedian, he is an actor, producer, and film director.

Humor is important in identity construction, according to Lefcourt (2001, p.

137 in Zekayat, 2017, p. 52), it is because identity arises from a need for human

beings to stick together in order to protect themselves from threats in their social

environment. In other words, humor plays an important role in maintaining peace

in social life where one's identity will be reflected in it. It is different from the reality

where humor can be the cause of acts of violence because apparently, not all humor

can be well received by society. For example, Chris Rock's humor on March 27,

2022 regarding Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head, which he compared to Demi

Moore's shaved head in G.I. Jane.

Identity refers to a person's or a group's qualities, beliefs, personality traits,

appearance, and expressions (Covington, 2008). It means that identity has an

important role as a tool to express standards, beliefs held, personality traits

possessed, the way someone looks, as well as expressions that someone or a group.

Identity will determine what and how a person represents himself in front of other

people or society or how other people and society recognize him (Hall, 1997).

Therefore, with the identity that a person has, other people and society can see and

assess how a person represents himself. Furthermore, the researcher wants to

examine Chris Rock's quality, beliefs, personality traits, appearance and expression

in order to know how Chris Rock represents himself in front of other people and

society. This is to find out more about Chris Rock's identity who was able to

maintain his speech at the 94th Academy Awards despite having been slapped by

Will Smith for his jokes.

 3

Several studies have examined identity through humor such as research on

national identity in Nigerian stand-up humor (Filani, 2020), racial-ethnic identity

with clients using comedy (Casares & Gladding, 2020), identity through the

enactment of sense of humor (Davies, 2019), and identity and power in women's

stand-up comedy (Cooper 2019), and so on (Larasati & Hum, 2018; Miller, 2020;

Sarkar & Siraj, 2022; Winarsih, 2020). All of these studies have similarity that is

they examine identity through humor, although on different objects and methods.

They used several research methods such as discourse analysis (Filani, 2020), a

narrative approach (Casares & Gladding, 2020), an autoethnographic approach

(Davies, 2019) and also referential viewing (Cooper, 2019). These studies have

limitations such as Filani (2020) which only focuses on one social phenomenon in

stand-up performances in a Sub-Saharan African country, Casares and Gladding

(2020) only focuses on the health field, Davies (2019) only focuses on his own

interpretation as a manifestation of his sense of humor, and Cooper (2019) that only

examines how the audience reacts to stand-up clips by Amy Schumer, Wanda

Sykes, and Margaret Cho to determine identity and power. Therefore, the current

research wants to examine identity through humor on a different object, namely an

American comedian named Chris Rock based on his humorous utterance which gets

an unusual response from listeners.

Previous studies have also examined humor in stand-up comedy such as

research on subversive humor in Spanish stand-up comedy (Ruiz-Gurillo &

Linares-Bernabéu, 2020), the humor function in Margaret Cho's stand-up comedy

(Puri & Baskara, 2019), the humor of James Acaster (Smith, 2021), and so on
 4

(Abrahams, 2020; Irena and Rusadi, 2019; Praminatih, 2021; Puri, 2020; Rofiq &

Priyono, 2021; Shivaprasad, 2020; Smith, 2021; Wawrzyniuk, 2021). These studies

have similarities, they analyze humor in stand-up comedy that focuses on several

comedians (Ruiz-Gurillo & Linares-Bernabéu, 2020) or certain comedian (Puri and

Baskara, 2019; Smith, 2021). This also causes each of these previous studies to

have limitations on the object under study. Therefore, the current study wants to fill

this gap by analyzing humor in other American stand-up comedy, the results of

which will be used by researchers to identify the identity of Chris Rock in his stand-

up comedy.

Previous studies have also examined Chris Rock's stand-up comedy such as

the language style of humor (Rullyanti & Nurdianto, 2019), racism (Nurmuttaqin,

2015) in Chris Rock's stand-up comedy "Kill The Messenger", and so on (Arfani

and Rusfitasari, 2019; Rushadi, 2019). These two studies (Rullyanti and Nurdianto,

2019; Nurmuttaqin, 2015) examine the same object with a different focus and

theory. In addition, there is also research on positive politeness in Chris Rock's

stand-up special "Chris Rock: Tamborine". The limitation of these previous studies

is that in each research, the researchers only focus on examining one aspect such as

language style, racism, and positive politeness. As a result, further research wants

to fill the gap by examining the identity of Chris Rock through humor in his latest

stand-up comedy.

Based on these previous studies, researchers tend to focus on identity

construction through humor on various objects using various methods. As a result,

the current research aims to fill in the gaps by looking at the phenomenon of other
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hilarious remarks on other objects. Its goal is to discover fresh information about

the identity of American stand-up comedy, which is distinct from other stand-up

comedy. Furthermore, studies on audiences or listeners will yield different results.

In addition, the current researcher aims to see whether comedians' identities are

influenced by their social backgrounds and relatability. Therefore, the researcher

wants to examine the identity of Chris Rock on his stand-up special that premiered

on Netflix entitled "Chris Rock Total Blackout: The Tamborine Extended Cut" to

gain a deeper understanding of the use of Rock's humorous utterance and its relation

with his identity. By examining the humorous utterances used by Chris Rock, this

research is expected to provide a clear understanding of each humorous utterance

that he used to find out what identity he had before the slapping incident on March

27, 2022.

In this study, the researcher examine Rock's humorous utterances used in

stand-up comedy special "Chris Rock Total Blackout: The Tamborine Extended

Cut" that released on Netflix in 2021 using Attrado's (1994) GTVH (General

Theory of Verbal Humor) theory and personal identity framework by Burke and

Stets (2009). The researcher assumes that humorous utterances of Chris Rock can

determine what identity he has.

B. Research Questions

Based on this background of study above, the researcher finds out two

research questions:

1. How does Chris Rock deliver his humor in stand-up comedy?

 6

2. What kind of identity are constructed by Chris Rock in stand-up comedy

through his humorous utterances?

C. Significance of the Study

The purpose of this study is to contribute practically. Practically, the results

of this study are expected to be useful for other researchers interested in analyzing

identity through humorous utterances. It hopes that readers can use it as a reference

in using humor in everyday life. The results of this study can help the readers

understand how to identify the identity through humorous utterances. The readers

also can understand how identity of Chris Rock before slapping incident on March

27, 2022. Besides, this study can help the readers understand the six knowledge

resource parameters to create humor. The researcher hopes that there will be an

improvement in reader’s understanding on the identity and humor.

D. Scope and Limitation

This study focuses on the relation between humorous utterances in forming

identity. This study focuses on stand-up comedy delivered by Chris Rock before

slapping incident on March 27, 22. The study limits the discussion only on

humorous utterances of Chris Rock in Chris Rock’s stand-up special that premiered

on Netflix with the title "Chris Rock Total Blackout: The Tamborine Extended Cut"

with a duration of an hour thirty-seven minutes.

 7

E. Definition of Key Terms

To avoid misunderstanding, the researcher defines the following key terms

below:

1. Humor: the characteristic in anything that makes it funny.

2. Identity: how a person represents himself in front of other people and society.

3. Stand-up comedy: a type of humor in which a single performer speaks

directly to the audience in an attempt to appear spontaneous.

4. Chris Rock: an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, producer, and

also film director.

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter discusses the theories used in this research entitled “Humor in

Stand-Up Comedy: Exploring Chris Rock’s Identity”. This chapter consist of

relevant theoretical studies with the research topic. The researcher brings some

subjects related to the topic such as the theories of humor, types and styles of humor,

and identity.

A. Humor

Humor is an emotional response that attempts to make people laugh and

provide enjoyment to those who hear it. Typically, "humor response" referred to a

person's assessment of a stimulus as amusing, which could include overt responses

like smiling and laughing (Ruch, 1993, p. 2). Humor is synonymous with happiness,

joy, laughter, and other positive expressions. Furthermore, humor appears to have

evolved in social interaction not just to urge recipients to seek out hilarious stimuli,

but also to inspire humorists to keep providing them (Weisfeld, 1993, p. 149).

Generally, someone who is depressed or experiencing difficulties, he looks

for humor to just lighten or forget his burden for a moment. Humor therapy is

becoming increasingly popular in the media and among some health-care

professionals. Despite the fact that this therapy method is not universally

understood in mainstream medicine (Bennett, 2003, p. 1257). It means that humor

has various benefits in life. It can even be said that without humor, our lives will

feel empty and bland.

8
 9

B. Types and Styles of Humor

Traditionally, humor has been classed into two basic categories: positive

and negative. Specifically, it divided into two types of positive humor that is

affiliative and self-enhancing and two types of negative humor that is aggressive

and self-defeating (Dyck and Holtzman, 2013, p. 53).

1. Positive Humor (Affiliative and Self-enhancing)

Anecdotes, jokes, puns, conversational witticisms, hyperbole, and irony are

all forms of positive humor. In particular, affiliative humor style relates to a person's

proclivity for using humor to amuse others, facilitate relationships, and lessen

interpersonal stress. Furthermore, self-enhancing humor is defined as a hilarious

attitude toward life, particularly during times of stress, and is related to adopting

humor as a coping mechanism or style.

2. Negative Humor (Aggressive and Self-defeating)

The common examples of negative humor are sarcasm, ridicule, hostile

ridicule, and offensive or obscene jokes. Aggressive humor, in particular, is

disparaging humor or humor that is meant to manipulate others. Sarcasm, mockery,

and harsh derision are examples of aggressive humor. Furthermore, self-defeating

humor entails entertaining others by doing or saying amusing things at their own

expense.

C. General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH)

There are several theories of humor in linguistics. One of them is General

Theory of Verbal Humor that commonly abbreviated as GTVH. Attrado (1994, p.

222) mentioned the General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH) which is the
 10

development of SSTH (Semantic Script Theory of Humor) by Attrado and Raskin

into a more sophisticated linguistic theory of humor. It also stated that this theory

draws on a variety of linguistics fields, including (but not limited to) narrative

theory, pragmatics, and stylistics. GTVH to emphasize the fact that it should

explain, in principle, for all kinds of funny texts. Besides, this theory also

incorporates the notion of "joke similarity" and dedicates a lot of effort to formally

constructing the concept.

Attrado (1994, p. 223) also mentioned six Knowledge Resources (KR)

parameters that is script opposition (SO), the logical mechanism (LM), the target

(TA), the narrative strategy (NS), the language (LA), and the situation (SI). These

six KR each have a role that provides particular characteristics of jokes that may be

compared between samples of humor to see if they are similar or not.

1. Script Opposition (SO) is one of the knowledge resource parameters that deals

with the opposition between two scripts (Attrado, 1994, p. 226). This

parameter is the most abstract parameter among other parameters. It is

mentioned that any funny text will be displayed as script opposition.

However, the place and time of production will make the specifics of its

narrative organization, its social and historical establishment, etc. vary.

2. Logical Mechanism (LM) is one parameter that describes how the two scripts

in a joke are put together (Attrado, 1994, p. 225). This parameter can show a

clear difference between two senses that put together in a joke. In addition,

this parameter aims to presuppose and embody "local" logic that does not

apply outside the world of jokes.

 11

3. Target (TA) target involves a person, group, or institution who has been

ridiculed with humor (Attrado 1994, p. 224). It means that this parameter

contains the names of groups or individuals with funny stereotypes attached

to each. For the example is Poles and Dan Quayle who are subjected to the

stereotype of "stupid" in America.

4. Narrative Strategy (NS) refers to the organization of humorous texts such as

a simple narrative, dialogue, conversation, and so on. Attrado (1994, p. 224).

Besides, it can also be argued that this parameter is actually a repetition of

"genre" in literary theory.

5. Language (LA) refers to the information in the verbalization of a text that

relates to words and the placement of the functional elements that make them

up (Attrado 1994, p. 223). In addition, being responsible for the position of

the punch line is another important aspect of the language because the punch

line final position is essential.

6. Situation (SI) means incorporating the amusing text's items, participants,

events, locations, and other situations. Attrado (1994, p. 225) stated that every

joke must be "about something" in which situation the "props" of the joke.

D. Identity

Identity refers to a person's or a group's qualities, beliefs, personality traits,

appearance, and expressions (Covington, 2008). It means that identity has an

important role as a tool to express standards, beliefs held, personality traits

possessed, the way someone looks, as well as expressions that someone or a group.
 12

Identity will determine what and how a person represents himself in front of other

people or society or how other people and society recognize him (Hall, 1997).

Therefore, with the identity that a person has, other people and society can see and

assess how a person represents himself. Block (2007) stated that identity is

relational because it is built through social contact and symbolically marked. It

means that social contact and also symbolically marked have an important role in

identifying a person's identity. Hence, identity can change depending on how social

contact is and when and for what the symbol is used.

Some factors that shape a person’s identity are gender, ethnicity, sexuality,

location, nationality, class, and so on. There are two types of identity, namely

individual and group identity. Burke and Stets (2009, p. 124) state that personal

identity involves seeing oneself as a unique and distinct individual who is different

from others. This means that each person has a different and unique personal

identity that will be a characteristic that distinguishes him from others. The social

categorization of self and others refers to self-categorization categories that

characterize individuals in terms of their likeness to members of specific social

categories as opposed to members of other social categories (Turner et al., 1992, p.

3). This means that individual identity is an individual characteristic that only each

individual has while group identity is the same characteristic possessed by people

who are in one group. These two types of identity both aim to distinguish a person

or group from other people or groups.

 13

Individual identity can be broken down into several types of identity,

namely cultural identity, professional identity, ethnic and national identity,

religious identity, gender identity, and disability identity, and political identity.

1. Cultural identity reflect shared historical experiences and shared cultural

codes that give us, as “one people”, a stable frame of reference and meaning

that derives from our true history (Hier, 2005).

2. Professional identity is defined as identification with a profession based on

the alignment of the profession's tasks, responsibilities, values, and ethical

standards (Slay & Smith, 2011).

3. Ethnic and national identity is an ethical and philosophical idea in which all

humans are organized into groups known as nations that have same identity

(Liu & Turner, 2018).

4. Religious identity is a set of beliefs and practices that are generally held by

an individual. These beliefs involve adherence to codified beliefs and rituals

and the study of them.

5. Gender identity refers to a person's sense of masculine or feminine identity,

or a combination of the two (Morrow & Messinger, 2006, p. 8).

6. Disability identity is almost always determined by the specific disability a

person has from birth, although that identity may change in the future.

7. Political identity or identity politics is a political approach in which people

of other identities such as gender, religion, race, social background, social

 14

class, environment, or other identifying factors, develop a political agenda.

(Milstein & Castro-Sotomayor, 2020).

From a sociolinguistics perspective, Omoniyi (2006) stated that

identity involves six particular features.

1. Identity is not fixed. It means that a person's identity can change because of

its fluid nature.

2. Identity is formed in a certain context and can evolve from one to the next.

It means that the context gained and the context created have a significant

impact on how identity is formed.

3. Identity that emerges from a mediated environment, is defined by social

characteristics, and is conveyed through language. It indicates that identity

is not just about the context; it also has to do with the surroundings and the

language used to communicate.

4. Identity is a mute factor in every ongoing communicative situation. It means

that everyone can choose to show their identity or not.

5. Identity informed social relations and the communication exchanges that

characterize them. It is due to the fact that identity is a trait that may be

utilized to identify someone in society.

6. The dynamics of identity management occurs when more than one identity

can be articulated in a particular context. This means that credentials

 15

become an important thing that must be managed properly by someone. This

is because credentials become a sign of him in social interactions.

E. Humor and Identity

Lynch (2002, p. 434) stated that humor in organizations serves two dualistic

functions in the sociological study of humor that is identification or differentiation,

and control or resistance. When humor develops internal beliefs that strengthen

group cohesiveness and validate commonly held perceptions, it serves as an

identification function. Meanwhile, humor's differentiation function aims to expand

and express the boundaries of differences in social groups such as gender,

nationality, race, religion, or job position. It means that the identification function

of humor shows how the internal perception of a group is, while the differentiation

function serves to distinguish each group.

Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that humor has a

relationship with identity which also aims to represent a person or group in front of

other people or society. McClelland (2012) also stated that according to Lynch

(2002), in general, jokes and humor have a significant role in determining who we

are, how we think of ourselves, and how we connect or interact with others. It means

that with humor, we can see the identity of a person or a group.

 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHOD

This chapter explains the research methodology used to analyze the data of

this study. It consists of research design, research instrument, data and data source,

data collection, and data analysis.

A. Research Design

This study uses a descriptive qualitative research design. This qualitative

research design is used to understand the relation between humor and identity.

According to Creswell (2009), qualitative research is a means to explore and

understand the meaning of individuals or groups involving emergent procedures

and using various data sources in words or pictures for data analysis. Therefore, this

study uses a qualitative approach to examine and describe the use of humor and its

relation with identity of Chris Rock. Besides, this research uses descriptive

qualitative research as a study method. It aims for researchers to get more in-depth

answers and detailed descriptions of the study.

B. Research Instrument

In this study, the research instrument is the researcher herself because she

gained the data from the online TV Show, namely Netflix. Furthermore, the

researcher analyzed the data based on the problem focus of this study. Therefore,

the researcher has a central function as the main instrument in this study.

16
 17

C. Data and Data Source

The source of data is obtained from a re-edit of the Chris Rock stand-up

special entitled "Chris Rock:Tamborine" in 2018 in the online TV Show, namely

Netflix ([Link] which was released in 2021. The

stand-up comedy of Chris Rock was released before the slapping incident on March

27, 2022. The researcher also downloaded the English subtitle of this stand-up at

Sabishare ([Link]

tamborine-extended-cut-2021-srt) to avoid data transcription errors.

The data in this study are the humor utterances of Chris Rock in Chris Rock

stand-up special that premiered on Netflix with the title "Chris Rock Total Blackout:

The Tamborine Extended Cut" with a duration of an hour thirty-seven minutes. The

reason for taking this data is because the researcher wants to examine how Chris

Rock's identity can be seen from his stand-up comedy.

D. Data Collection

The researcher obtains data using the following steps to investigate the

humorous utterances used and the identity of Chris Rock in stand-up comedy. First,

the researcher watched Chris Rock stand-up special entitled "Chris Rock Total

Blackout: The Tamborine Extended Cut" on Netflix. Second, the researcher looked

for and downloaded text transcript in the form of words, phrases, or sentences of

the stand-up "Chris Rock Total Blackout: The Tamborine Extended Cut". Third, the

researcher read the text transcript of "Chris Rock Total Blackout: The Tamborine

Extended Cut" stand-up. Fourth, the researcher highlighted the utterances

 18

containing humor based on General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH) of Attrado

(1994).

E. Data Analysis

The researcher took several steps to analyse Chris Rock’s humor and

identity. First, the researcher presented the data or humorous utterances that have

been found. Second, the researcher analysed the humorous utterances using

Attrado's (1994) GTVH (General Theory of Verbal Humor) theory. The researcher

intended to analyse the humorous utterances found within the transcript using Table

3.1.

Table 3.1 Analysis of Humor

Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy:

Utterances:
SO
LM
SI
KR TA
NS
LA

Third, the researcher analysed the result of second step again to find identity of

Chris Rock using personal identity theory of Burke and Stets (2009). Then, the

researcher concluded the result of study.

F. Data Triangulation

In qualitative research, triangulation becomes important. Triangulation was

carried out at the time of collecting and analyzing research data. Rahardjo (2010)
 19

stated that triangulation is an attempt to check the truth of research data from

various different points of view. This means that triangulation is a method in

research that aims to obtain actual data so that it will increase the accuracy of the

research carried out. In addition, this method will help researchers to gain a deeper

understanding of the phenomenon under study and the context in which the

phenomenon occurs. In this study, the researcher will apply observation, document

analysis, and note-taking.

1. Observation

The researcher watched at Chris Rock's stand-up comedy special entitled

"Chris Rock Total Blackout: The Tamborine Extended Cut" on Netflix which

features the humorous utterances of Chris Rock.

2. Documentation

In this study, researchers looked for transcripts of Chris Rock's stand-up comedy in

the form of words, phrases, or sentences.

3. Note-taking

The researcher used note-taking as a strategy to get the results of the study.
 CHAPTER IV

FINDING AND DISCUSSION

This chapter provides findings and discussion of humor based on Attrado’s

GTVH theory (1994) and personal identity theory of Burke and Stets (2009). The

data of this research is taken from Chris Rock’s humor utterances before slapping

incident on May 27, 2022 that is Chris Rock’s stand-up comedy special "Chris Rock

Total Blackout: The Tamborine Extended Cut" on Netflix. The data that the

researcher uses is accurate because the researcher has triangulated the data, namely

by observation, documentation, and note-taking. Observation have been done by

watching Chris Rock's stand-up comedy. In doing the documentation, the

researcher looked for the transcript of the stand-up comedy and then watched it

again to see the accuracy of the transcript. Moreover, the researcher has also done

note-taking to find the results of the study.

A. Finding

In this section, the researcher explains the findings of this study. In this

study, the research object is in the form of humor utterances of Chris Rock in his

stand-up comedy special "Chris Rock Total Blackout: The Tamborine Extended

Cut" on Netflix. The data is analyzed using GTVH theory of Attrado (1994) and

Burke and Stets’ theory about personal identity (2009). There are six knowledge

resource parameters in Attrado’s GTVH theory that are script opposition, the

logical mechanism, the target, the narrative strategy, the language, and the situation.

Besides, this research focuses on personal identity of Chris Rock.

20
 21

The researcher analyzed humor utterances of Chris Rock before slapping

incident on May 27, 2022. Therefore, the researcher analyzed humor utterances of

Chris Rock in "Chris Rock Total Blackout: The Tamborine Extended Cut" stand-up

comedy special on Netflix.

1. Humor of Chris Rock in Stand-Up Comedy

In this section, the researcher describes the analysis of data related to the

first research question. The researcher explains how Chris Rock conveys his humor

in stand-up comedy using GTVH (General Theory of Verbal Humor) of Attrado

(1994). According to Attrado (1994, p. 223), six knowledge resources (KR)

parameters in GTVH is script opposition (SO), the logical mechanism (LM), the

target (TA), the narrative strategy (NS), the language (LA), and the situation (SI).

The researcher classified 8 humorous utterances of Chris Rock in "Chris

Rock Total Blackout: The Tamborine Extended Cut" stand-up comedy special on

Netflix that would be analyzed using GTVH of Attrado (1994).

Table 4.1 Datum 1

Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]

Utterances: And at one point, it's me and Michelle Obama just talking.
I'm not really supposed to be alone with Michelle Obama.
It's not really my lane. I don't know how to talk politics.
And Michelle Obama's like, "I don't know what we're
gonna do. The country…" We're talking about election and
stuff. "I don't know what's gonna happen. This is such a
crazy time." And I go, "You'll be aight." That's… I literally
said that. I said that to Michelle. I said, "You'll be aight."
And then I said, "You know… you'll get any kind of job
you want." "I mean, The View, The Housewives of
Atlanta." And she goes… And Michelle Obama looks at
 22

me and is like, "I was talking about the country." "I wasn't
talking about me." The Housewives of Atlanta. "I was
talking about the country." And I'd never felt so stupid in
my life. It's like my GED flared up, you know? And she
gives me a look like, "Who let this nigga in my house?"
She didn't say that, but that's what the look was like. And
then she goes, "Oprah, I gotta talk to you." And she runs
away from me, and then I'm feeling dumb. I'm like, "Okay,
I gotta find some people as dumb as me." I gotta find
my intelligence, so I'm like, "Okay, where the athletes
at?" Right? "Where are the athletes?" Then I see
Charles Barkley like, "Ah, my nigga." Right?
SO Country vs Michelle Obama
LM Absurd interpretation
SI Chris Rock told how he misrepresented Michelle Obama's
KR words about politics when the two were talking.
TA Chris Rock and Charles Barkley
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: Then I see Charles Barkley like, "Ah, my
nigga." Right?
Note: KR (Knowledge Resource), SO (Script Opposition), LM (Logical Mechanism), SI
(Situation), TA (Target), NS (Narrative Strategy), LA (Language).

Context of data:

Chris Rock recounts his experience while conversing with Michelle Obama

at the White House. At that time, Chris Rock thought that Michelle was talking

about herself even though she was talking about country until there was a

misinterpretation. In the end, Michelle left him while Chris Rock looked for

someone who was as dumb as him about politics.

Analysis of data:

The verbal humor in table 4.1 datum 1 used country vs. Michelle Obama as

the script opposition (SO). It is meant to distinguish two opposing scripts namely

the country and Michelle Obama. This is marked by Chris Rock who misunderstood
 23

Michelle Obama's words. Then, this makes an absurd interpretation as logical

mechanism (LM), which means this verbal humor conveys the misinterpretation.

For situation (SI), Chris Rock recounted how he misinterpreted Michelle Obama's

words about politics when the two spoke. For target (TA), Chris Rock made himself

a target by saying that he was a political idiot until finally calling Charles Barkley

who was considered to have the same intelligence as him. This joke is constructed

in a narrative story in the form of a monologue in which Chris Rock talks about his

own life experiences. Moreover, there was some punch lines such as "Then I see

Charles Barkley like, "Ah, my nigga." Right?" which indicates that he found or met

a person who had the same intelligence as him.

Table 4.2 Datum 2

Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]

Utterances: I'm walking around, looking around today, and I wonder…
You would think that cops would occasionally shoot a
white kid just to make it look good. You would think that
every couple of months, they'd look at their dead nigga
calendar and go, "Oh, my God. We're up to 16. We gotta
shoot a white kid quick." "Which one?" "Ah, the first one
you see singing Cardi B."……….
But here's the thing, man. Whenever the cops gun down an
innocent Black man, they always say the same things. It's
like, "Well, it's not most cops. It's just a few bad apples."
"It's just a few bad apples." "Bad apple"? That's a lovely
name for "murderer."
SO White kid vs black man
LM Fallacious reasoning
SI Chris Rock brought up the fact that the cops considered
KR shooting black men as a common thing.
TA American cops
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: "Bad apple"? That's a lovely name for
"murderer."
 24

Note: KR (Knowledge Resource), SO (Script Opposition), LM (Logical Mechanism), SI

(Situation), TA (Target), NS (Narrative Strategy), LA (Language).

Context of data:

Chris Rock told how he imagined if a cop shot a white kid. This is a satire

because many police officers are still racist towards black people like shooting them

as if it is a natural thing to do.

Analysis of data:

The verbal humor data in table 4.2 datum 2 had white kid vs. black man as

SO. It is meant to distinguish two opposing scripts namely white kid and black man.

It is characterized by cops that treat the two differently. Then, this makes a

fallacious reasoning as LM that means this humor intended to give absurd rational

of why cops act differently toward black man. Besides, the humor utterances

assembled under a specific situation which was allusion to the police who claim to

be bad apples when in fact they are murderers. The target was American cops and

this humor constructed in the form of story or monologue. Moreover, the punch line

of this humor is "Bad apple"? That's a lovely name for "murderer" which shows

how Chris Rock questions and answers the meaning of the bad apple.

Table 4.3 Datum 3

Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]

Utterances: Whenever there's some crazy, racist thing, people always
go, "Well, children…" "Children don't…" "They're not
born racist." "You have to teach them to hate." That's what
people always say. "Children are born loving." "You have
to teach them to hate." It's the biggest crock of bullshit I
have ever heard in my life. Kids are the most racist, sexist,
homophobic, mean motherfuckers on the face of the Earth.
You don't teach your kid to love. Raising your child is just
beating the hate out of them. That's all it is. Kids are mean
 25

motherfuckers, okay? What the-- Are you-- My daughter,

when she was little, was like, "Daddy, that lady, she's so
scary. I'm so scared." "Oh, my God, Daddy. She's a
monster." I'm like, "No, she's Asian, Lola." "Stop it. Okay?
You racist brat. Stop it. " "Daddy, that man, he's got
antennas. He's gonna eat me. He's scary." "No, it's
dreadlocks, Lola. Stop it." Kids are fucking mean. Are you
fucking kidding me?When my kid was two, she was biting
kids on the playground. You think I taught her to bite kids?
No, that was her natural state. She came out of the womb
like Wolverine. Just tearing fucking kids up. Kids are
horrible people. That's right. Pre-school is just jail with
milk.
SO Racist vs not racist
LM Insult/put-down humor
SI Chris Rock said that children are the most racist people in
KR the world.
TA Children
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: “Pre-school is just jail with milk”
Note: KR (Knowledge Resource), SO (Script Opposition), LM (Logical Mechanism), SI
(Situation), TA (Target), NS (Narrative Strategy), LA (Language).

Context of data:

Chris Rock argues that children are the most racist figures in the world. He

explained this by telling how his children always spoke racist.

Analysis of data:

The verbal humor data in table 4.3 datum 3 used racist vs. not racist as the

script opposition (SO). It intended to contrast two opposing scripts that is racist vs.

not racist. In this humor, insult or put-down humor become LM which means that

the verbal humor was created to mock someone. The situation of data 3 was Chris

Rock disagrees with the statement that children are not racist. Therefore, Chris

Rock refutes this by providing a clear example that children are the most racist

people in the world. Moreover, the target of this humor is children while the
 26

narrative strategy (NS) is monologue. Last, for the language there is a punch line

that makes audiences laughed that is “Pre-school is just jail with milk”. It is a unique

and new parable in describing pre-school.

Table 4.4 Datum 4

Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]

Utterances: I'm trying to get a little religion in my life. Just a little. Just
a little. Religion's kind of like salt. A sprinkle's good, but
too much will fuck up the meal.
SO A little vs a lot
LM Word Repetition
SI Chris Rock has little faith in religion.
KR TA Chris Rock
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: A sprinkle's good, but too much will fuck up
the meal
Note: KR (Knowledge Resource), SO (Script Opposition), LM (Logical Mechanism), SI
(Situation), TA (Target), NS (Narrative Strategy), LA (Language).

Context of data:

Chris Rock talks about religion. He likens religion to salt which if too much

will spoil the food.

Analysis of data:

The humor utterances in table 4.4 datum 4 was meant to contrast a little and

a lot. It was about opposing those two scripts. Then, it constructed using word

repetition as LM to provide a clear contrast between two scripts. The situation is

Chris Rock tells about his religion. He mentioned that he didn't want to get it too

much because it would ruin his life. In this humor utterances, Chris Rock was the

target of his joke and he used monologue as NS. For the language, he used parable

that religion is like salt which if too much, it will fuck up the meal.
 27

Table 4.5 Datum 5

Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]

Utterances: I had a crazy-- Last few years have been crazy for me, man.
Uh, you know, taking care of my kids, man. I got divorced.
Divorced. No, no, don't… [scattered applause] No, don't
clap for that shit unless you're a lawyer. You don't wanna
get divorced, let me tell you right now. I'm talking from
hell. You don't want this shit. Tell you right, if you got
somebody you love, hold tight. That's right. Hold fucking
tight. Commit. Don't be the one that's always threatening
to leave, too. That's right. Love hard or get the fuck out. If
you're gonna leave, leave right now. That's right, at the
show, right now. That's right, just break up. We got break
up booths in the back. That's right. But before you leave,
you better… You better make sure you got some options.
'Cause some of y'all been in a relationship so long, you
don't know how ugly you are. Before you leave, just take
off all your clothes, stand in a mirror, like… "This is
what I'm putting on the market."
SO Love vs leave
LM Absurd interpretation
SI Chris Rock talks about his divorce and gives advice on
KR avoiding divorce.
TA Listeners
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: Before you leave, just take off all your clothes,
stand in a mirror, like… "This is what I'm putting on the
market."
Note: KR (Knowledge Resource), SO (Script Opposition), LM (Logical Mechanism), SI
(Situation), TA (Target), NS (Narrative Strategy), LA (Language).

Context of data:

Chris Rock talks about his divorce. He advised the audience to hold tightly

to their loved ones. Until the end of his sentence, he advised to look in the mirror

and see how we usually show our appearance to others.

 28

Analysis of data:

The verbal humor in table 4.5 datum 5 used love vs leave as SO that is meant

to distinguish those opposing scripts. Then, absurd interpretation become LM

which shows that there is an ambiguity of interpretation when Chir Rock talks about

leave. Aside from that, the situation was Chris Rock told about his divorce and gave

advice on avoiding a divorce. The target was his audiences or listeners while he

used monologue as the narrative strategy. For the language, the punch line was

about leave that was "Before you leave, just take off all your clothes, stand in a

mirror, like… "This is what I'm putting on the market."

Table 4.6 Datum 6

Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]

Utterances: I cheated. Yeah, I'm serious. I'm not-- I'm not-- I'm not
bragging. I cheated. I was on the road and… I end up
sleeping with three different women. It's like fucked up.
You know what's fucked up? Here's the thing. When guys
cheat, it's like, we want something new. We want
something new, right? But then you know what happens?
Your woman finds out, and now, she's new. She's never the
same again. So now you got new, but you got a bad new.
You know, you got bad fucking new, man. Every woman
here right now is like, "Fuck you, Chris. What the fuck,
man? I thought…" "You, I thought you was all right.
You?" "Come on, Chris, what the fuck is wrong with you?"
"What the fuck is wrong with men?" I know a bunch of
women are thinking that right now. Every woman in here
is like, "Fuck you, Chris." And every guy in here right
now is going, "Three?" "That's it? Just three?"
"Goddamn, man." "I work at UPS. I got more hoes
than that." "Three?" "You must've really loved your
wife." "You a romantic."
SO Woman vs Man
LM False analogy
SI Chris Rock tells how he cheated.
KR TA Chris Rock
NS Monologue
 29

LA Punch line: "Three?" "You must've really loved your

wife." "You a romantic."
Note: KR (Knowledge Resource), SO (Script Opposition), LM (Logical Mechanism), SI
(Situation), TA (Target), NS (Narrative Strategy), LA (Language).

Context of data:

Chris Rock recounts his experience of having an affair. He also mentioned

how various responses from the audience to the story.

Analysis of data:

The verbal humor in table 4.6 datum 6 had woman vs man as SO that meant

to distinguish two opposing scripts. Then, false analogy become the LM which

shows a ridiculous comparison between the responses of women and men regarding

Chris Rock's infidelity story. Besides, the target of humor was Chris Rock himself

and the NS was monologue because he tells his own story. For the language, his

punch line was "Three?" "You must've really loved your wife." "You a romantic.".

This illustrates how the response of men who think that they have cheated on three

women is minimal, whereas previously he described that women would curse him

for having cheated on him.

Table 4.7 Datum 7

Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]

Utterances: So, I bought a house around the corner, okay? Like,
fucking quarter of a mile, like, right around the fucking
corner. Damn near the same house, okay? But… wasn't
enough, man. I went in there, that judge was like, "Uh, Mr.
Rock, I need to see pictures of the beds in the bedroom to
make sure the children have a place to sleep." I was like,
"What? You think I got a manger, what?" "Like, I got a
million-dollar house with no beds?" Okay. Show them the
picture, right? But that wasn't enough. Then the judge was
like, "Mr. Rock, I need to see pictures of the refrigerator
 30

and the food inside to make sure the children have enough
to eat." I'm like… "What have you heard about me?"
"I'm Chris Rock, not Chris Brown."
SO Chris Rock vs Chris Brown
LM Homonymy
SI Chris Rock tells how he was once considered a bad father.
KR TA Chris Brown
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: "I'm Chris Rock, not Chris Brown."
Note: KR (Knowledge Resource), SO (Script Opposition), LM (Logical Mechanism), SI
(Situation), TA (Target), NS (Narrative Strategy), LA (Language).

Context of data:

Chris Rock recounts his experience of being accused of being a bad father.

Until finally, he mentioned Chris Brown's name to create humor.

Analysis of data:

In table 4.7 datum 7, the SO of verbal humor was Chris Rock vs Chris

Brown which intended to contrast those opposing scripts. Then, the LM was

homonymy which shows that Chris Rock uses a word similar to his own name to

create humor. The situation was Chris Rock tells how he was once considered a bad

father when he was interrogated by the judge. The target of this humor utterances

was Chris Brown while the narrative strategy was monologue. For the language,

Chris Rock created humor by presenting a person with a similar name to him.

Table 4.8 Datum 8

Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]

Utterances: Women, children and dogs are loved unconditionally. A
man is only loved under the condition that he provides
something, okay? I've never heard a woman in my life say,
"You know, after he got laid off, we got so much closer."
[chuckles] [laughs sarcastically] You ain't never heard that
shit. No, no, no. I once heard my grandmother say, "A
 31

broke man is like a broke hand. Can't do nothing with it.”

What kind of gangster shit is that? That's right. Women,
children and dogs are loved unconditionally. A man is only
loved under the condition that he provides something.
That's right. Fellas, when you meet a new girl, what do
your friends ask you? "What she look like?" Ladies, when
you meet a new guy, what do your friends ask you?
"What does he do?" "What the fuck does that nigga do
that can help you out?" "Can this motherfucker
facilitate a dream or not?"
SO Woman, children, dog vs Man
LM Idiomatic expression
SI Chris Rock told his opinion about the differences between
KR loving woman, children, dog and loving man.
TA Man
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: "What does he do?" "What the fuck does that
nigga do that can help you out?" "Can this motherfucker
facilitate a dream or not?"
Note: KR (Knowledge Resource), SO (Script Opposition), LM (Logical Mechanism), SI
(Situation), TA (Target), NS (Narrative Strategy), LA (Language).

Context of data:

Chris Rock expresses his opinion about love for men which he sees as a

condition that is different from others. He also gives examples of how other people

react to men.

Analysis of data:

The verbal humor in table 4.8 datum 8 used love vs leave as script

opposition (SO). It is meant to distinguish those opposing scripts. Then, idiomatic

expression become logical mechanism (LM) which shows the difference between

SO. This is indicated by the idiom "A broke man is like a broken hand. Can't do

nothing with it" which means that a man will be useless if he is poor and does not
 32

seem worthy of love. Moreover, the target of this humor is man and the monologue

becomes NS. In the end, the punch line was about how the response or questions

that a woman would get after she met a boy.

2. Chris Rock’s Identity in Stand-Up Comedy

In this section, the researcher describes the data analysis of the second

research question. The researcher explains the identity constructed by Chris Rock

through his humorous utterances before slapping incident on May 27, 2022.

According to Burke & Stets (2009:124), personal identity involves seeing oneself

as a unique and distinct individual who is different from others.

After collecting and analyzing the data, the researcher discovered that there

are several identities of Chris Rock which can be seen through his humorous

utterances. First, based on table 4.1 datum 1, the researcher found that Chris Rock's

political identity was not prominent. This can be seen from how he misinterpreted

Michelle Obama's words when she was talking about politics. This is supported by

his humorous utterances that is “....and Michelle Obama looks at me and is like, "I

was talking about the country." "I wasn't talking about me…."

Second, based on table 4.2 datum 2, the researcher found that Chris Rock

believed in the racist culture that still existed around him in America. This is

supported by his humorous utterances that is “...But here's the thing, man.

Whenever the cops gun down an innocent Black man, they always say the same

things...”

Third, based on table 4.3 datum 3, the researcher found that Chris Rock is a

person who believes that children have a racist side that already exists in him. He
 33

believed that children were the raciest people in the world. This is supported by his

humorous utterances that is “...My daughter, when she was little, was like, "Daddy,

that lady, she's so scary. I'm so scared." "Oh, my God, Daddy. She's a monster."

I'm like, "No, she's Asian, Lola…" and so on.

Fourth, based on table 4.4 datum 4, the researcher found that Chris Rock

was not a religious person. As he has already mentioned that he has very little

religion. This is supported by his humorous utterances that is “I'm trying to get a

little religion in my life. Just a little. Just a little. Religion's kind of like salt. A

sprinkle's good, but too much will fuck up the meal.”

Fifth, based on table 4.5 datum 5, the researcher found that Chris Rock is a

person who learn through his experiences. In his stand-up comedy, he gives some

advice such as we have to hold on to someone we care about and if not, let go of

him from now on. This is supported by his humorous utterances that is “…Love

hard or get the fuck out…” and so on.

Sixth, based on table 4.6 datum 6, the researcher found that Chris Rock had

a bad personality because he cheated on his partner. He told the story about how he

cheated by sleeping with three women. This is supported by his humorous

utterances that is “…I cheated. I was on the road and… I end up sleeping with three

different women…”

Seventh, based on table 4.7 datum 7, the researcher found that Chris Rock

is a good father figure who is able to take responsibility for his child. This is

supported by his humorous utterances that is “…that judge was like, "Uh, Mr. Rock,

I need to see pictures of the beds in the bedroom to make sure the children have a
 34

place to sleep." I was like, "What? You think I got a manger, what?" "Like, I got a

million-dollar house with no beds?" Okay. Show them the picture, right?”

Last, based on table 4.8 datum 8, the researcher found that Chris Rock is a

person who believes there is a difference in loving women, children, dogs and men.

He believed that a man would be loved or seen when he had sufficient wealth. This

is supported by his humorous utterances that is “A man is only loved under the

condition that he provides something.”

B. Discussion

This section provides the use of General Theory of Verbal Humor by

Attrado (1994) and also the use of identity theory by Burke and Stets (2009) on the

data that have been analyzed on the findings section.

1. Humor utterances by Chris Rock in "Chris Rock Total Blackout: The

Tamborine Extended Cut"

Based on the findings above, the researcher found some humorous

utterances in Chris Rock's stand-up comedy which contains the six knowledge

resource parameters by Attrado (1994). The researcher found that the shape of the

knowledge resource parameter in each humorous utterance was in accordance with

the context being discussed. The six knowledge resource parameters are the script

opposition (SO), the logical mechanism (LM), the situation (SI), the target (TA),

the narrative strategy (NS), and the language (LA).

Based on the findings above, the researcher found several script oppositions

(SO) used by Chris Rock in stand-up comedy such as country vs Michelle Obama,

white kid vs black man, racist vs not racist, a little vs a lot, love vs leave, woman
 35

vs man, Chris Rock vs Chris Brown, woman, children, dog vs man. Besides, the

researcher found several logical mechanisms (LM) used by Chris Rock in stand-up

comedy based on the findings such as absurd interpretation, fallacious reasoning,

insult/put-down humor, word repetition, false analogy, homonymy, and idiomatic

expression. Moreover, based on findings above, the researcher found some

situations (SI) that support Chris Rock’s jokes. For example, the situation where

Chris Rock shared how he misinterpreted Michelle Obama's words about politics

when the two were talking that made him feel like a dumb.

Another knowledge resource parameter is target (TA). Based on findings,

the researcher found several targets that is Chris Rock, Charles Barkley, American

cops, Children, Listeners, Chris Brown and man. Besides, the researcher found that

Chris Rock often targets himself as a target as in data 1, 4, and 6. The researcher

found that this is because Chris Rock often tells his own life story. In this study, the

researcher found many targets involved, in contrast to Cendra (2016) who found

few targets in her research. The researcher found that this contrast was due to the

different research objects used.

For the narrative strategy, the researcher found that Chris Rock always uses

narrative or monologue in his stand-up comedy special entitled "Chris Rock Total

Blackout: The Tamborine Extended Cut". The findings obtained are in accordance

with the findings found by Hassaine (2014) who found that comedians often use

monologues as a narrative strategy to create humor.

Last, the language (LA) is also one of knowledge resource parameters of

Attrado (1994). In this case, the researcher focuses on observing the punch line in
 36

the humorous utterances of Chris Rock, his stand-up comedy. Based on the

findings, Chris Rock uses a punch line when he ends a topic he brings. An example

is in data 2, the punch line is “Pre-school is just jail with milk”.

In this study, the researcher focusses on the punch line when researching

one of the knowledge resources, namely language. Therefore, the researcher only

analyzed and obtained data regarding the punch line used by Chris Rock in his

stand-up comedy. The results obtained are contrast with the research conducted by

Hassaine (2014) who also examined humor in stand-up comedy with GTVH of

Attrado. This is because he examined the use of language in detail by analyzing the

use of words based on grammar and semantic analysis.

2. Identity of Chris Rock

Based on the findings above, the researcher found some identities that

constructed by Chris Rock through his humorous utterances in his stand-up

comedy. According to Covington (2008), Identity refers to a person's or a group's

qualities, beliefs, personality traits, appearance, and expressions (Covington, 2008).

It means that identity has an important role as a tool to express standards, beliefs

held, personality traits possessed, the way someone looks, as well as expressions

that someone or a group. Besides, according to Burke and Stets (2009, p. 124),

personal identity involves seeing oneself as a unique and distinct individual who is

different from others. This means that personal identity is a characteristic possessed

by a person that distinguishes him from other individuals and societies.

Based on the findings, researchers found several identities of Chris Rock

that make him different from others. The researcher found that Chris Rock's
 37

political identity was not prominent. Chris Rock also believed in the racist culture

that still existed in America. This is in accordance with the findings of Nurmuttaqin

(2015) who found that Chris Rock had raised this issue in his other stand-up

comedy. In addition, he believes that children are the raciest people in the world

because they have a racist side that already exists in him. For religious identity, the

researcher found that Chris Rock was not a religious person.

Based on findings, the researcher also found that Chris Rock had a bad

personality because he cheated on his partner. Even so, he is a person who can learn

through his experiences that can be seen through his advice during his stand-up

comedy. He is also a good father who takes responsibility toward his children. He

is a person who believes that a man should have enough material to be responsible

for his family.

 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

This chapter provides conclusions from the previous chapter that contained

the findings and discussion of study. The conclusions are explained based on the

research questions in Chapter I. Moreover, this chapter contains suggestions that

are intended for further research related to this topic in order to fill the existing gaps.

A. Conclusion

This study examines the humor utterances of Chris Rock in his stand-up

comedy. This study applies the theory of Attrado (1994) General Theory of Verbal

Humor (GTVH) and the identity theory of Burke and Stets (2009) in analyzing the

data. After classifying and understanding the data, the result of the study shows that

all knowledge resource parameters used to create humor in Chris Rock’s humorous

utterances of his stand-up comedy.

Based on the result of this study, the researcher found six knowledge

resource parameters of humor such as script opposition (SO), the logical

mechanism (LM), the situation (SI), the target (TA), the narrative strategy (NS),

and the language (LA). The researcher found that these six-knowledge resource

(KR) parameters of humor can be used to create humor. The types and uses depend

on the context of the humor itself.

The researcher found that Chris Rock used every knowledge resource

depending on the context or topic of his stand-up comedy. The significant thing that

the researcher found was that Chris Rock used a monologue as a narrative strategy

38
 39

in conveying humorous utterances in stand-up comedy. In addition, Chris Rock uses

a punch line at the end of each of his stand-up topics.

The researcher found identity by Chris Rock through his humorous

utterances in his stand-up comedy special entitled "Chris Rock Total Blackout: The

Tamborine Extended Cut". The researcher found several personal identities of Chris

Rock which are characteristics that distinguish him from other individuals. The

researcher found that he was not prominent in politics and also was not a religious

person. Besides, he believed in the existence of racism. He had a bad personality

such as cheating but also learned through his experiences. Moreover, he is a

responsible person.

The researcher found that identity can be constructed through humorous

utterances. Researchers found identity based on knowledge resource parameters of

GTVH contained in utterances to create humor. GTVH can assist researchers in

identifying the characteristics of each humor. This relates to identity which is a

characteristic that distinguishes one person from another. Therefore, it can be

concluded that when we want to know the identity of a person, we can find out after

we pay attention to how he conveys his humorous utterances. Based on the result

of the study, this research made a theoretical contribution in humor and identity

analysis. Besides, practically, the future researcher can use theories that are used in

this study as references in similar research.

 40

B. Suggestion

Based on the conclusion above, the researcher presents some suggestions

that can be used for next researchers. The result of this study reveals that Chris Rock

delivered his humor in stand-up comedy using six knowledge resource parameters

to make his utterance funny. Besides, the study result reveals Chris Rock’s identity

that constructed through his humorous utterances. Therefore, the research suggests

that the next researchers examine humorous utterances of another person on

different research objects such as on movies, TV shows, and so on. This study is

limited because it is only focus on finding identity of Chris Rock through humorous

utterances before slapping incident on March 27, 2022. Therefore, the next

researchers may conduct research on Chris Rock’s humorous utterances after

slapping incident on March 27, 2022.

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 CURRICULUM VITAE

Ummi Fadlilah was born in Bangkalan on December 6, 1998.

She started her higher education at the Department of English

Literature UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang in 2018 and

finished in 2022. During her study at the university, she

participated in several communities in the Humanities Faculty

such as the Advanced Debate Community (ADC) in 2018 and Ibnu Muqlah in 2019.

45
 APPENDIX

List of Humor Utterances & Identity of Chris Rock

Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link] Identity
Utterances And at one point, it's me and Michelle
Obama just talking. I'm not really
Data supposed to be alone with Michelle
1 Obama. It's not really my lane. I don't
know how to talk politics. And
Michelle Obama's like, "I don't know
what we're gonna do. The country…"
We're talking about election and stuff.
"I don't know what's gonna happen.
This is such a crazy time." And I go,
"You'll be aight." That's… I literally
said that. I said that to Michelle. I said,
"You'll be aight." And then I said, "You
know… you'll get any kind of job you
want." "I mean, The View, The
Housewives of Atlanta." And she
goes… And Michelle Obama looks at Political identity
me and is like, "I was talking about the of Chris Rock
country." "I wasn't talking about me." was not
The Housewives of Atlanta. "I was prominent
talking about the country." And I'd
never felt so stupid in my life. It's like
my GED flared up, you know? And she
gives me a look like, "Who let this
nigga in my house?" She didn't say that,
but that's what the look was like. And
then she goes, "Oprah, I gotta talk to
you." And she runs away from me, and
then I'm feeling dumb. I'm like, "Okay,
I gotta find some people as dumb as
me." I gotta find my intelligence, so
I'm like, "Okay, where the athletes
at?" Right? "Where are the
athletes?" Then I see Charles
Barkley like, "Ah, my nigga." Right?
SO Country vs Michelle Obama
LM Absurd interpretation
KR SI Chris Rock told how he misrepresented
Michelle Obama's words about politics
when the two were talking.

46
 47

TA Chris Rock and Charles Barkley

NS Monologue
LA Punch line: Then I see Charles Barkley
like, "Ah, my nigga." Right?
Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]
Utterances I'm walking around, looking around
today, and I wonder… You would think
Data that cops would occasionally shoot a
2 white kid just to make it look good. You
would think that every couple of
months, they'd look at their dead nigga
calendar and go, "Oh, my God. We're Chris Rock
up to 16. We gotta shoot a white kid believed in the
quick." "Which one?" "Ah, the first one racist culture
you see singing Cardi B."………. that still existed
But here's the thing, man. Whenever the around him in
cops gun down an innocent Black man, America.
they always say the same things. It's
like, "Well, it's not most cops. It's just a
few bad apples." "It's just a few bad
apples." "Bad apple"? That's a lovely
name for "murderer."
SO White kid vs black man
LM Fallacious reasoning
SI Chris Rock brought up the fact that the
cops considered shooting black men as
KR a common thing.
TA American cops
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: "Bad apple"? That's a
lovely name for "murderer."
Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]
Utterances Whenever there's some crazy, racist
thing, people always go, "Well,
Data children…" "Children don't…"
3 "They're not born racist." "You have to
teach them to hate." That's what people
always say. "Children are born loving."
"You have to teach them to hate." It's
the biggest crock of bullshit I have ever
heard in my life. Kids are the most
racist, sexist, homophobic, mean
motherfuckers on the face of the Earth.
You don't teach your kid to love.
Raising your child is just beating the Chris Rock is a
hate out of them. That's all it is. Kids person who
 48

are mean motherfuckers, okay? What believes that

the-- Are you-- My daughter, when she children is the
was little, was like, "Daddy, that lady, raciest people in
she's so scary. I'm so scared." "Oh, my the world.
God, Daddy. She's a monster." I'm like,
"No, she's Asian, Lola." "Stop it. Okay?
You racist brat. Stop it. " "Daddy, that
man, he's got antennas. He's gonna eat
me. He's scary." "No, it's dreadlocks,
Lola. Stop it." Kids are fucking mean.
Are you fucking kidding me?When my
kid was two, she was biting kids on the
playground. You think I taught her to
bite kids? No, that was her natural state.
She came out of the womb like
Wolverine. Just tearing fucking kids up.
Kids are horrible people. That's right.
Pre-school is just jail with milk.
SO Racist vs not racist
LM Insult/put-down humor
KR SI Chris Rock said that children are the
most racist people in the world.
TA Children
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: “Pre-school is just jail with
milk”
Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]
Utterances I'm trying to get a little religion in my Chris Rock was
life. Just a little. Just a little. Religion's not a religious
Data kind of like salt. A sprinkle's good, but person
4 too much will fuck up the meal.
SO A little vs a lot
LM Word Repetition
KR SI Chris Rock has little faith in religion.
TA Chris Rock
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: A sprinkle's good, but too
much will fuck up the meal
Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]
Utterances I had a crazy-- Last few years have been
crazy for me, man. Uh, you know,
Data taking care of my kids, man. I got
5 divorced. Divorced. No, no, don't…
[scattered applause] No, don't clap for
that shit unless you're a lawyer. You
 49

don't wanna get divorced, let me tell

you right now. I'm talking from hell.
You don't want this shit. Tell you right,
if you got somebody you love, hold
tight. That's right. Hold fucking tight.
Commit. Don't be the one that's always Chris Rock is a
threatening to leave, too. That's right. person who
Love hard or get the fuck out. If you're learn through
gonna leave, leave right now. That's his experiences
right, at the show, right now. That's
right, just break up. We got break up
booths in the back. That's right. But
before you leave, you better… You
better make sure you got some options.
'Cause some of y'all been in a
relationship so long, you don't know
how ugly you are. Before you leave,
just take off all your clothes, stand in
a mirror, like… "This is what I'm
putting on the market."
SO Love vs leave
LM Absurd interpretation
KR SI Chris Rock talks about his divorce and
gives advice on avoiding divorce.
TA Listeners
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: Before you leave, just take
off all your clothes, stand in a mirror,
like… "This is what I'm putting on the
market."
Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]
Utterances I cheated. Yeah, I'm serious. I'm not--
I'm not-- I'm not bragging. I cheated. I
Data was on the road and… I end up sleeping
6 with three different women. It's like
fucked up. You know what's fucked
up? Here's the thing. When guys cheat,
it's like, we want something new. We
want something new, right? But then
you know what happens? Your woman
finds out, and now, she's new. She's Chris Rock had
never the same again. So now you got a bad
new, but you got a bad new. You know, personality
you got bad fucking new, man. Every because he
woman here right now is like, "Fuck cheated on his
you, Chris. What the fuck, man? I partner
 50

thought…" "You, I thought you was all

right. You?" "Come on, Chris, what the
fuck is wrong with you?" "What the
fuck is wrong with men?" I know a
bunch of women are thinking that right
now. Every woman in here is like,
"Fuck you, Chris." And every guy in
here right now is going, "Three?"
"That's it? Just three?" "Goddamn,
man." "I work at UPS. I got more
hoes than that." "Three?" "You
must've really loved your wife."
"You a romantic."
SO Woman vs Man
LM False analogy
KR SI Chris Rock tells how he cheated.
TA Chris Rock
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: "Three?" "You must've
really loved your wife." "You a
romantic."
Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]
Utterances So, I bought a house around the corner,
okay? Like, fucking quarter of a mile,
Data like, right around the fucking corner.
7 Damn near the same house, okay?
But… wasn't enough, man. I went in
there, that judge was like, "Uh, Mr.
Rock, I need to see pictures of the beds
in the bedroom to make sure the
children have a place to sleep." I was Chris Rock is a
like, "What? You think I got a manger, good father
what?" "Like, I got a million-dollar figure who is
house with no beds?" Okay. Show them able to take
the picture, right? But that wasn't responsibility
enough. Then the judge was like, "Mr. for his child
Rock, I need to see pictures of the
refrigerator and the food inside to make
sure the children have enough to eat."
I'm like… "What have you heard
about me?" "I'm Chris Rock, not
Chris Brown."
SO Chris Rock vs Chris Brown
LM Homonymy
KR SI Chris Rock tells how he was once
considered a bad father.
 51

TA Chris Brown
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: "I'm Chris Rock, not Chris
Brown."
Minutes in Stand-Up Comedy: [Link] - [Link]
Utterances Women, children and dogs are loved
unconditionally. A man is only loved
under the condition that he provides
something, okay? I've never heard a
Data woman in my life say, "You know, after
8 he got laid off, we got so much closer."
[chuckles] [laughs sarcastically] You
ain't never heard that shit. No, no, no. I
once heard my grandmother say, "A
broke man is like a broke hand. Can't do
nothing with it.” What kind of gangster
shit is that? That's right. Women, Chris Rock is a
children and dogs are loved person who
unconditionally. A man is only loved believes that a
under the condition that he provides man should
something. That's right. Fellas, when have enough
you meet a new girl, what do your material to be
friends ask you? "What she look like?" responsible for
Ladies, when you meet a new guy, his family.
what do your friends ask you?
"What does he do?" "What the fuck
does that nigga do that can help you
out?" "Can this motherfucker
facilitate a dream or not?"
SO Woman, children, dog vs Man
LM Idiomatic expression
SI Chris Rock told his opinion about the
differences between loving woman,
KR children, dog and loving man.
TA Man
NS Monologue
LA Punch line: "What does he do?" "What
the fuck does that nigga do that can help
you out?" "Can this motherfucker
facilitate a dream or not?"