Race and Ethnicity in Comedy

                                                           Race and Ethnicity in Comedy

       Comedy has been around since the beginning of time and since then it has been used to make fun of endless issues.  Although some comedians are more to the point than others, they all bring up serious topics and bash them to hell.  Unfortunately, the way some of these comedians make fun of certain topics, such as race and ethnicity, causes some uproar within certain communities of people.  While some people see comedy as a good way to get rid of the maliciousness of racism, others feel that it enforces racism and causes more problems.
       According to sociology major, Aaryn Green from the University of Cincinnati, "as made evident by the success of comedians such as Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, standup comedy challenges acceptable racial discourse; placing race in the forefront".  Green believes that this kind of racial comedy "creates an environment where race can be spoken about directly, and often times harshly(Green, Aaryn).

Dave Chappelle's stand-up (WARNING: THERE ARE A LOT OF RACIAL SLURS)

Chris Rock stand-up (WARNING: THERE ARE A LOT OF RACIAL SLURS)                                

       For the most part there are two general views of how racism in comedy affects race and ethnicity.  Some believe that racism in comedy is giving people an excuse to be racist and allowing them to think and act in racist ways because these stand-up comedians make people laugh by doing so.  Others believe that racism in comedy eliminates racism by taking away its malicious intent and by showing how simpleminded and ridiculous racism is.  What is interesting is how the issue of racism in comedy flies over the heads of so many people, yet those same people will argue about racism in other contexts.  Many people will laugh at a joke about racism told by their favorite comedian and then turn around and yell at someone else for saying the same joke because they are being racist (see video below).

       In an article by Raul Perez from the University of California, Raul states that many people see comedy as a sort of catalyst for modern racism.  He writes, "Scholars have noted the decline in overt racist discourse in public in the post-civil rights era and contend that the ideology of overt Jim Crow racism has been replaced"(Perez, Raul).  It is argued that racist comedy is the modern form of racism promotes racist ideology.

       In conclusion, People have always learned to laugh at their flaws and mistakes.  That's what comedy is.  Hopefully someday everyone will be able to laugh at what was once the overwhelming issue of racism.  Hopefully sometime soon we will be a secure enough society where we can all make fun of racism because of its obvious irrationality instead of worrying about it's overall implications.