Black Humour in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparative Study of the Carnivalesque Spirits on Chinese and Australian Social Media Through Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

This thesis examines COVID-19-related black humour on Chinese and Australian social media. Informed by Bakhtin’s carnivalesque, combining Content Analysis with Critical Discourse Analysis, this study compares themes, types, and power dynamics of black humour between Weibo and Twitter. While the Australian “Larrikin” spirit serves as a cultural heritage and symbol, the Chinese carnivalesque has ceased to be an exclusive attribute of the populace and has been co-opted by the official authorities as a tool to advance their ideological agenda.