Using Comedy to Address Racism

       One of my favorite forms of comedy is satire.  The definition of satire is: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.  One of my favorite source of satirical comedy is the show South Park.  I know countless people that absolutely HATE the show.  They think it is the most inappropriate, most vile, most ignorant thing on TV.  Unfortunately, these people only look at the surface of the show and don't even try looking any deeper.  Under its "brain dead" and "stupid humor" exterior is a serious satirical interior.

       While most of the episodes touch on important modern day topics, there is one specific episode (Chef Goes Nanners S04E07) that I feel is most appropriate for our class:LINK TO EPISODE

                                                (screenshot from the mentioned episode)

       This episode is about whether or not the towns flag should be changed due to its racist appearance.  One of the black members of the town, Chef, is extremely offended by the flag and demands that it is changed.  Another member of the town, Jimbo, strongly believes that the flag is a major part of the towns history and should therefore not be changed.  Because it is such a touchy subject and they don't want to look bad, the town chooses to let the kids at the local school decide whether or not the flag should be changed.  The kids are told that they are to have a debate about the topic and to pick the side they want to argue for.  When two of the main characters, Stan and Kyle, choose to be on the side that supports the flag, Chef ridicules them and they are seen as racist.  When the debate starts, the side arguing that the flag should change makes their statement.  They argue that, "Often times it is prudent to change history.  As times change we hope to grow and as we grow our rules must change, it is a natural part of evolution".  When it is the other side's turn to argue against the changing of the flag, they argue that, "the fly shouldn't offend anyone because killing has been around since the beginning of time.  All animals kill and the animals that don't kill are stupid...so people should not be so upset about killing".  Chef immediately criticizes them for missing the point of the argument.  The kids explain that they didn't pay attention to the color of the peoples' skin because they didn't think it was important.  Chef then realizes that the kids didn't see the flag as racist because they didn't see it as four white people hanging a black person, but as five people.  The episode ends with both sides making a compromise to keep the flag but change the color of the peoples' skin.

(the changed flag)

       This episode does a great job addressing certain issues with racism.  One thing it addresses is how racism can be taught, mainly by adults to children.  When the kids explain to chef how they didn't pay attention to the color of the peoples' skin, he tells them that the flag is racist and they respond in a way that makes it seem as though they were wrong for thinking that it wasn't racist and that Chef was telling them the right way to look at it.  Another issue this episode addresses is the general public's fear of talking about racism.  In the episode, when any of the general public is asked about their opinion on the debate, they are always indecisive and afraid to offend either side.

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.