SAJC GP 2023 Prelims P2 Insert

STANDREW’SJUNIORCOLLEGEJC2PRELIMINARYEXAMINATIONS GENERALPAPER 8807/02 Paper2 Friday, 25August2023 INSERT 1hour30minutes READTHESEINSTRUCTIONSFIRSTThisInsertcontainsthepassageforPaper2. Thisdocument consistsof 3printedpagesand1blankpage.

2 AllayaCooksexaminesthenatureof humour.1 The 94th Academy Awards Ceremony set the internet ablaze. Comedian and host Chris Rockmade a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s hair loss (caused by a medical condition). Then theworld watched as her husband, Oscar winner Will Smith, strodeontothestageandslappedhimwiththefull forceof furyandretribution. Of course, thepublicnatureof theincident madeit prettycompelling. What happenedwasunprecedented. But it struckachordfor somethingdeeper thansensationalism. 5 2 Most of us know the deep discomfort that comes with being witness to a tasteless joke, orexperienced the trepidation and vulnerabilitythat comeswithbeingthetarget of suchhumour. Atits worst — caustic, corrosive — it can feel like its own form of violence. Repulsive humouraffects all of us: it entraps us, giving us no good waytorespond. Youreact, youdon’t react; youspeak up, you don’t speak up. Is there a ‘right’ way to recover from seeing one person hurtanother? 10 3 The time-honoured defence to a poorly-received comment is, ‘It was just a joke.’ This flippantstatement implies that jokes cannot be truly offensive. Yet, as comedian Trevor Noah explains,‘Just because something is a joke does not meanit cannot besomethingelseaswell.’ Labellingsomething a ‘joke’ does not grant immunity, much less bestowthe ‘joker’ with freedomfromallresponsibility. Wordsmatter andhaveconsequences. 15 4 Often, society puts the burden of diffusion on the target of the joke. When made the butt of aninappropriate joke, individuals feel compelled to smooth it over and keep the peace, lestsomeone thinks that they are thin-skinned. After all, no one wants to be branded an overlysensitive snowflake. In fact, the very cliques that are accustomedtosuchcasual victimisationofothers are often violently offended by a defensive response from the person they ridiculed.Moreover, revealing the painof theinsult canopenthedoor toother triggersandhurt —someofwhich we may not fully understand. Rather than signal that we have been hit where it hurts,reveal our Achilles’ heel, and risk further harmto ourselves or our lovedones, wetakethejoke:we act like the toxic jibe did not bother us at all. We may evenlaughalong, hidingthepain. It isthesafest path. 20 25 5 For some groups, learning to react —or better yet, how to not react to a hurtful joke —is asurvival skill. Often, the minority or the underrepresented in their professions deal with anonslaught of humour and microaggressionsdirectedat their otherness. Conversely, anindividualembraced bythegroupastheexceptionisexpectedtolaughalongat jokesfocusedonothersofthe same race or background. Either way, it canmakeyoufeel exposedandvulnerableinawaythat makesjust showinguptotheofficeaheroicact of braveryandself-control