The main focus of this thesis is the humorous aspect of the Hokusai Manga, which is a 15-volume containing series made by Japanese ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artist Katsushika Hokusai.
Parody is generally characterised as a form of ironic imitation that seeks to make some sort of critical commentary on that which it imitates. Judith Butler’s theory of parody, described in the...Show moreParody is generally characterised as a form of ironic imitation that seeks to make some sort of critical commentary on that which it imitates. Judith Butler’s theory of parody, described in the final chapters of Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, outlines how parody, as a disruption in repeated processes of signification, can be used as a strategy with which to subvert normalised gender identities. This thesis will take Butler’s theory on parody and reinterpret it through a postcolonial lens so that it may be used to analyse how parody is employed in the oeuvre of Wendy Red Star. This analysis will show that parody is used by Red Star to subvert stereotypes of Native American culture established during the colonial era, as well as the colonial technologies that have enabled the continued hegemony of those stereotypes. Ultimately, this thesis will consider how the ambiguity of parody makes it an effective mode of criticism in postcolonial contexts.Show less
