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Gehan Blok and Dino Corera – Pix by Aki Peries
‘The Positive Disruptors’ Gehan Blok and Dino Corera, the undisputed disruptors of the comedy realm in Sri Lanka, will be sharing their thoughts on the portrayal of women in disruptive comedy at the closing session of the Cargills International Women’s Day Festival, ‘The Change Makers,’ next week.
During the discussion they will share their views on portraying and representing women in content that’s both comedic and otherwise and share perspectives on how, in doing so, they walk the talk as two male content creators by crafting narratives and using social messaging to break down barriers and stereotypes.
Blok and Dino will be featured in session 2 of the concluding day of the Cargills International Women’s Day Festival, which will feature two sessions and a networking event on Monday (22 March).
Following are excerpts of an interview with the duo:
By Marianne David
Q: To start off, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way: Why are you two men on this International Women’s Day-related panel? Why did you agree to this?
We’ve been invited as ‘Positive Disruptors’ to be a part of a panel discussion to share our views on portraying women and representing women in content that’s both comedic and otherwise. We will be sharing our perspectives on how, in doing so, we as two male content creators craft narratives and use social messaging to break down barriers and stereotypes.
We strongly believe social messaging within content is important as some can be used as powerful change agents. Especially with comedy, you have the luxury of being blunt and can use satire as a tool to initiate serious conversation.
Another reason we agreed to attend was because we felt it’s also important to be part of these discussions to learn from other perspectives, as they often inform and educate you on an angle you didn’t think about all while pulling conversations out of silos and echo chambers wide into the open where they should be.
Q: You guys are being featured in a session discussing how women are portrayed in disruptive comedy. How are they portrayed and how have you helped?
More often than not when you look at disruptive comedy, women are portrayed as being of a certain standing as somebody involved in family-oriented conversations only or someone associated with household chores. Women are also portrayed as being second in command, often dismissed as being either intrusive, invasive or annoying.
We did our best to rethink these roles when writing; for example in one of our videos for a supermarket client, we spoke of how the modern woman does not need to stay indoors after 7 p.m. and is capable of being independent and managing her own activities including shopping.
In other videos we championed women in varied ways – be it an elderly grandmother in her sickbed or a housewife countering mansplaining. These are only a few examples of how both direct and subliminal messaging with regard to breaking archetypes on gender roles can educate and inform a viewer, especially if they are of an impressionable age.
Q: Women who have been harassed by men are in the majority, but men who harass – or know men who harass – seem to be a tiny minority. Conversations clearly need to be had, urgently and constantly, among men. How are you guys working towards this and helping in the fight to keep women safe?
We addressed domestic violence during the lockdown period in an Instagram live show and encouraged audiences to contact authorities should they hear of any violence against women and children as it is the one platform that’s in our control.
Beyond content creation we also work with groups and collectives involved in countering violence against women and children. V Day by the Grassrooted Trust for example is a project we’ve both been involved with for almost half a decade.
Q: Via your work, what are the key areas you address in terms of making women’s lives better, what kind of behaviours have you seen as problematic and worked to change?
One of the biggest issues is representation. If females and women are constantly portrayed as weak, second tier characters, we are not educating the next generation on what possibilities exist for a young girl aspiring to go off the beaten path in taking on an unorthodox career or being a pioneer. This is why we do our best to ensure that the seemingly-weak, downtrodden female characters in our videos in particular bounce back strong so as to champion them. This way, even a young child watching a video with their parents understands that women can be strong and independent. That matters.
Q: How many women are on your team and in your view, what do they bring to the table and how have they contributed?
Our team currently consists of just the two of us given we conceptualise, write, produce, direct and act in all our content. However, we have a group of actresses we work with and it’s been wonderful working with them in developing characters and improvising on set. Each actress brings experience and a unique skillset to the table which we then use collaboratively in developing an optimal approach to a scene.
Q: Sri Lankan society is extremely patriarchal and misogynistic. Violence against women is not only a frequent occurrence, but often the butt of chilling jokes to boot. How are you two working to address and change this via your powerful and influential platforms?
While we will continue to address these issues through content on our main channel, we also launched a second supplementary channel ‘Blok & Dino Studios,’ which we hope to utilise for more specialised projects in future. Post-pandemic we are hoping to return to live performances in order to have more audience touch points which we can utilise for a broader dialogue.
Himali De Silva
Randhula De Silva
Achala Samaradivakara
Session 1 of ‘The Positive Disruptors’ on Monday 22 March will feature Co-Founder/CEO of GoodLife Accelerator and Director and former CEO of Hatch Works Randhula De Silva; Founder of Ape and Co-Founder and COO of COLLAB Himali De Silva; and Co-Founder of Good Market Achala Samaradivakara.
“Due to COVID, the world is changing rapidly and there is a need for women led startups to also have a voice and be brought into the spotlight, as we can change the world around us positively,” says Himali De Silva.
“Disruption is made up of two simple things. Mindset and bravery. An open mind to embrace things that we’re not used to, the ability to shift our perspective away from our conditionings and personal biases. And bravery, to put ourselves out there to do things for the first time, not only to disrupt the status quo but to be disrupt ourselves. To just go ahead and colour outside of the box. These two elements coming together is what will help us really evolve as humanity to take on a more equitable future,” asserts Randhula de Silva.
Founded on the theme for International Women’s Day 2021, ‘Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 World,’ the Cargills International Women’s Day Festival, ‘The Change Makers,’ is a collaboration between Table by Taru at Lake Lodge, a small luxury boutique hotel in the heart of the city, and YouTube digital program ‘Kaleidoscope with Savithri Rodrigo’.
The festival is being held at the newly-revamped and reopened Taru Villas restaurant Table by Taru. Seating is limited as stringent COVID-19 guidelines are being followed to create a safe environment for all participants while maintaining the intimate ambience Taru is renowned for.
The sessions begin with dialogue and discussion and conclude with aperitifs and canapés, inspired by Taru. Tickets are priced at Rs. 6,000 for the Event Pass. For more information, call 0768 119 191. Seating is at 4:45 p.m. each day, with the program starting at 5 p.m. sharp.
An extract of each discussion will also be featured in the ‘Let’s Talk’ segment on ‘Kaleidoscope with Savithri Rodrigo’ that week.
