Mining humour from calamity

05 Apr, 2020 - 00:04 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

Tendai Chara

THE coronavirus (Covid-19) has had a dev­astating socio-economic impact around the globe.

It is a tale of untold suffering and death.

But cynics will always be cynics.

Some people have readily created humour out of their circumstances, especially in the wake of lockdowns being rolled out by gov­ernments as they try to curb the spread of the pandemic.

Social media platforms, which are usually the theatre of jokers, have gone into overdrive.

Humorous video skits of people monkeying around as they while away time during lock­downs are now doing the rounds.

One of the short comic acts that went viral shows a man “playing golf” in the most unusual of places — a bathtub.

The man, who might well be a respected company executive, could be seen “teeing off” in the bathtub and later on sinking the ball in the bathtub hole.

The inane act would have earned him a thorough hiding from unamused parents if he was a young boy.

In another skit, renowned comedian Tim­othy “Timmy” Tapfumanei of the Timmy naBonzo fame is featured toying around with a brick in typical toddler-style.

It gets worse!

Another video shows an elderly man playing “pool” on a kitchen table using fruits as balls and hole markers.

Similarly, there is also a video showing a family that turned their sitting room into a basketball court.

Some of the rib-cracking videos feature grown-ups playing house, while others are seen playing traditional children’s games such as “nhodo” and “rakaraka’”-

Chance to show off

Equally, the outbreak of the pandemic has given some people a rare platform to show off.

Some of the skits have different characters displaying their well-stocked pantries, stuffed with mouthwatering foodstuffs.

And one of the characters who poses beside a well-stocked room boasts that he “has everything” in his house, meaning he is in self-isolation and not “quarantined”.

With this in view, the words quarantine and self-isolation seem to have been given new meanings.

Adding new vocabulary

The Covid-19 pandemic has made some words and phrases trendy.

Until recently, arguably not every person cared to know the meaning of the words “quar­antine”, “self-isolation” and “lockdown”.

But these have since become fashionable words for many.

Not so long back, very few people knew what social distancing meant or its importance.

However, this phrase has become a com­mon term.

By and large, the outbreak is responsible for opening the drawer in which these words were kept.

Time to bond

But counsellors and psychologists believe that the lockdown is a period to bond and mend family relations.

Dr Rebecca Chisamba, a social commen­tator, marriage counsellor and television host, said the new circumstances presented families with an opportunity to come closer together.

“This is a tragedy, but a lot of positives can be drawn from it. The video skits that are cir­culating poking fun at men babysitting clearly show that as Zimbabweans, we are not used to spending as much time as we can with family members,” Dr Chisamba said.

Most Zimbabwean men, she said, do not want to spend much time at home, a condition which she called “Cabin Fever”.

“Most men do not want to spend much time at home. This time they do not have a choice. They will learn a thing or two after the lockdown.”

A pastor from a leading Pentecostal church said the lockdown was a blessing in disguise for families.

“Normally, family members are always busy doing this and that. This time they are being forced to spend time together. Fami­lies must make use of the time to bond, mend relations, pray together and also to appreciate one another,” he said.

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