HUMOR AS A WEAPON

20 February 2023, 12.00 – 14.00

Kulturhuset Lilla Studion - Stockholm

Laughter during the war is not just important, but essential!

Humour is the weapon of unarmed people: it helps people who are oppressed to smile at the situation that pains them, Simon Wiesenthal, Holocaust survivor, born in Buchach, Ukraine.

Laughter during the war is not just important, but essential.Humor is the weapon of unarmed people: it helps people who are oppressed to smile at the situation that pains them”, said Simon Wiesenthal, a Ukraine-born Holocaust survivor. Despite the horrors, there is always a place for humor in the life of Ukrainians. Ukraine has often turned to comedy as a means of fighting Russian propaganda, sharing memes that discredit or ridicule false information or narratives spread by the Kremlin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with the Atlantic said Putin fears humor "very much" because it's an effective, accessible tool for spreading truth. Ukrainians have also turned to humor as a means of coping with the hardships that come with fighting and living through a war. 

After February 24, 2022 the Ukrainian stand-up came out to the fore. Stand-up comedians, including Vasyl Baydak and Svitlana Nemonizhyna, switched to Ukrainian language without hesitation. The popularity of stand-up in Ukraine is growing rapidly and its audience is expanding. The stand-up comedians perform  near the front lines, volunteer and support the fighting spirit of Ukrainians as well as mobilize support from abroad.

In this panel discussion we will explore the role of humor and learn how and about what Ukrainians manage to laugh in the face of the war.