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Serdar Somuncu: Reframing Integration Through A Transnational Politics Of Satire, Kathrin M. Bower
Serdar Somuncu: Reframing Integration Through A Transnational Politics Of Satire, Kathrin M. Bower
Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Faculty Publications
Founded by Şinasi Dikmen and Muhsin Omurcu in Ulm in 1985, Knobi-Bonbon is widely recognized as the first Turkish German cabaret in the Federal Republic. Dikmen and Omurcu focused on ethnic stereotypes, integration, and coexistence in their early programs, with an emphasis on the German misunderstanding of integration as cultural assimilation (Boran 202, 219). With a run of successful performances, Knobi-Bonbon established a momentum that has carried through to the present day, making Turkish German comedy a fixture on the German stage. Responding to the wave of nationalism and xenophobia that followed in the wake of unification, Knobi-Bonbon’s shows became …
Serdar Somuncu: Turkish German Comedy As Transnational Intervention, Kathrin M. Bower
Serdar Somuncu: Turkish German Comedy As Transnational Intervention, Kathrin M. Bower
Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Faculty Publications
A reconceptualization of Germanness, combined with a reconsideration of what constitutes “Germanness” and “Turkishness” and how they are linked, is a central theme in the programs of a younger generation of Turkish German cabaret artists and comedians. As a member of the new generation of performers, Serdar Somuncu stands out, not only for his unapologetic embrace of political theater critical of both German and Turkish social politics, but also for his assertion of a right and responsibility to engage with Germany’s past, coupled with an insistence on differentiation and balanced comparison when discussing integration. After gaining notoriety through his Mein …