I was introduced to Swineryy by a friend, as most people were, and my gut reaction was: this is bad
Maybe it was the medium it was shared on or maybe it was the premise of an animoji talking about the problems in Pakistani high society
It made me chuckle, but it didn’t do anything else for me
It was ‘meh’
https://www
com/p/BiGyJ4RgGUJ/ https://www
com/p/BwOhX2Hnr2F/ And then I saw it pop up on a few different stories on Instagram
One of my friends in Istanbul shared a post
Then a friend of mine here in Toronto, an Indian, asked me if I had seen the page
I nodded unenthusiastically and rolled my eyes at how funny she thought it was
It wasn’t until Pakistan’s pop culture had been engulfed by the mythos of Swineryy that it truly caught my attention and I gave it another chance
And it finally happened
I was laughing
I was crying while laughing
I was stopping the video and laughing
I showed it to my mother and even she was in hysterics
And then slowly and steadily, everyone I showed this weird little Instagram account to loved it
https://twitter
com/Isransari/status/1107507050974773248 https://twitter
com/_sweetlimesoda/status/1126803528410755073 https://twitter
com/puffskeins/status/1138522721954832384 But why? What is it about these characters that we love so much? Is it their strange characteristics? Or is it the bizarre personalities that this mystery creator has infused the characters with? What makes Swineryy funny? I think the answer is two-fold
Firstly, these characters, however exaggerated they may be, are a mirror to our society
We know these characters, we’ve met these characters, and some of us even are these characters
It makes us laugh to see how the little nuances we’ve picked up about these people aren’t quite subtle at all
In fact, they are so blatantly relatable that not only you, but everyone else understands them too
https://www
com/p/BxEzbOQHqNf/ https://www
com/p/BvmRjDJnYXR/ ‘Shazia’s dottah’ is every aunty you ever met on Eid this year
The ‘Blue Maulvi’ was my Quran teacher from the age of seven to 12
Hell, I even knew a kid in my neighbourhood who talked exactly like the ‘alien’! Be it ‘Zulekha kay Ashiq’ or the old ‘saas’, every character is lined with the fabric of our culture and society
Secondly, she’s just so damn funny
Yes, the posts on her page are downright hilarious, but where you see this mystery woman really shine is in her Instagram stories
She’s created so many variations of herself that it’s hard to tell when it’s really her talking
https://twitter
com/forevrjung/status/1104015799113666560 https://twitter
com/ABSMakhdoom/status/1139442104059486208 She’s completely different when she’s talking to her ‘Deoggy’ as opposed to when she’s doing one of her product reviews
The memes she shares are by far the funniest memes I’ve seen on all of social media and her sense of humour comes from a very honest place
And she’s very smart! She can articulate thoughts that are clever and frankly awe-inspiring
This woman is just naturally funny and she doesn’t have to fake it
This leads me to my final point
Her mystery has evolved into legend now
Who is Swineryy? I’ve heard so many different people say so many different things
So many wild rumours have emerged from conversations I’ve had with people about this
Everyone knows exactly who she is, but not really
Everyone thinks they went to school with her or know a friend who went to school with her
She’s the modern day Zorro, the Seth McFarlane of Pakistani comedy
And that’s what makes her and Swineryy so special
It’s the atmosphere that’s been created around the art – and yes, what she’s managed to create is art – and the unique humour the Instagram account has tapped into that makes it so special
I haven’t seen this class of comedy since the late Moin Akhtar and his Loose Talk days
This is on another level
Her brand of comedy is fresh and unlike anything else that has emerged in the Pakistani pop culture space
She takes bits from Jus Reign and Russel Peters and puts her twist on it
She compliments the genius of Anwar Maqsood with her satire and reminds me of Omar Sharif with her execution
She knows how to be funny, when to be funny and you can tell that she doesn’t need to show it off
It’s just the right amount of subtle
If Pakistani media wasn’t so enamoured by its own mediocrity, they would’ve picked up this woman a long time ago, given her a platform, some money and told her to go create the first Pakistani Family Guy
And you know what, she would have killed it
I don’t think I ever need to know who Swineryy is
I think I’m happy with the anonymity that comes with it because then I get to focus on what’s truly important, the humour
But one thing is for certain: if the cards are played right, Swineryy can bring a comedic revolution in Pakistan – one that is well overdue
Date: | 15-Jun-2019 | Reference: | View Original Link |
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