A NARRATOLOGICAL STUDY OF NETFLIX STAND-UP COMEDY SPECIALS

Abstract

This article discusses the elements of narratology that are found in the routines of stand-up comedians and the ways in which stand-up comedians use various narrative structures to shape their narratives. This paper analyzes the routines of two highest ranked stand-up comedians by Uproxx on Netflix. Stand-up comedians employ different tools of narratology to shape their stories. The present research will choose the model provided by Gerard Genette in his work Narrative Discourse as the primary framework, and will highlight what elements of narratives are present in their storytelling. In addition, the research will throw light upon the unique ways these comedians use the Narratological techniques to fashion their own stories and how they experiment with their narrative styles to create different patterns of storytelling. Although the model of following the conventional patterns of storytelling, i.e. linear model of storytelling, dominates, they also pattern their stories in a way that there is no conclusion at all, hence experimenting with the narrative structure.