There are plenty of hilarious Indonesians out there – from Indro Warkop to Raditya Dika, our comedians are quite adept at making their countrymen bust a gut. But now we have a chance to have one of our own crowned the “Funniest Person in the World”.
Comedian Melanie Maras was recently announced as one of the finalists in the Laugh Factory’s biennial Funniest Person in the World competition. The Hollywood-based comedy club chain’s contest started with 56 contests from countries around the world competing for votes from their fans. Out of those, Melanie emerged as one of the top contenders and will compete in the competition’s finals, which will take place in Helsinki, Finland from December 4-10.
Melanie is based in LA but grew up in Jakarta and attended the Jakarta Intercultural School. As she explains in the intro to one of her acts online, “My dad is Indonesian – for those of you who are unaware Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia – and my mom is a white American from a place that God forgot called Oklahoma. My dad is Muslim and my mom is Baptist so, different, but united in their definition of what a whore of a daughter is.” (Zing!)
In an interview with What’s New Jakarta, Melanie said, “I grew up with a lot culture clash! I don’t feel that I fit into any boxes in terms of being Indonesian or being American but I relish defying stereotypes and cultural boundaries. I am very proud of my mixed heritage.”
Well we are certainly proud to have Melanie representing us at the Funniest Person in the World competition. If you want to support her you can go to FunniestIndonesian.com.
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