The Cultural Critique of Gender Parody in Canadian Sketch Comedy

Abstract

This article considers the performance of Canadian masculinity in sketch comedy. In particular I consider the characters Buddy Cole (The Kids in the Hall), Red Green (The Red Green Show), and Raj Binder (This Hour Has 22 Minutes). These characters offer Canadian audiences unique parodies of nostalgic conceptions of Canadian masculinity. Using camp and gender parody, the above-mentioned comedians deconstruct popular mythologies about masculinity and Canadian-ness. These portrayals are at one and the same time both critical and optimistic—a paradox that works its way through much of Canadian popular culture.