The Right to Laugh: On Sensual Pleasure and the Transformation of Viewing Structures in Feminist Light Comedies - Taking the Film Herstory as an Example

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jmsd.202512614

Author(s)

Jiang Jingjing

Affiliation(s)

National University of Singapore, Singapore

Abstract

This paper examines director Shao Yihui's movie Herstory (2024) to explore how feminist light comedies in contemporary contexts generate sensory pleasure through humor while subtly reconfiguring gender positions during viewing. Unlike previous feminist cinema reliant on revenge narratives or intense confrontation, this movie transforms the recurring "speechless moments" in women's daily lives into satirical punchlines through dialog, characterization, and situational design. This enables audiences to derive pleasure and psychological advantage through recognition and empathy. The study focuses on three research questions: Firstly, how does Herstory stimulate empathetic pleasure among female audiences at the script level? Second, how this pleasure subtly challenges mainstream viewing logic; Third, whether the movie, within its light comedy framework, proposes new imaginings and practical possibilities for female audiences regarding gendered existence. Theoretically, this study integrates feminist film theory, affective politics, and research on female humor, employing textual analysis and audience reception case studies methodologically. By examining the film's caricatured portrayal of patriarchal figures, its distillation and playful subversion of female experiences, and the formation of the "female gaze" alongside emotional complicity, this paper argues that the "right to laugh" transcends mere emotional release. It constitutes a non-confrontational micro-political practice that, through laughter, temporarily loosens viewing structures and enacts a mild redistribution of gendered power. This approach thus charts a novel critical trajectory for feminist filmmaking.

Keywords

Feminism; Light Comedy; Sensory Pleasure; Viewing Structure; Female Gaze; Affective Politics; Herstory

References

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