I did a little research, and from what I can tell Dave Chappelle did not quit just because he was tired of ignorant white audiences. A large part of his decision to leave was anger towards the network, and lack of control over his show. That’s good, because I really was disappointed to think that he would stop producing his quality social commentary because some of the audience doesn’t get it. We can’t just halt everything that can be misinterpreted in a derogatory way...because anything can be interpreted in a derogatory way. So what is the solution for situations like this?
Speaking of standup...in an earlier post people discussed the replication of racism through racist jokes. What is the harm of these jokes? are they always harmful because they reinforce stereotypes? Or do intent and context matter? How do stand up comedians fit into this? It seems like they can say whatever they want because they make fun of everyone. When does race matter here? How is this different from daily conversation among us little people?
And 2 of my cents on Monday’s class: American pop culture today is a culture of excess. Whites and blacks alike are showing their asses (literally and figuratively) throughout popular media. I think the best way to combat this is not through restrictions or moral preaching, but through making choices as individual consumers. Networks, publishers, etc., will do whatever makes money; and when Howard Stern and Flava Flav stop making money they will get cancelled. The second prong to the solution is creating alternative representations. I also think its necessary to look at the media culture as a whole, not just racially, in order to understand and fix its problems. Thoughts?
From what I understand, Chappelle quite because he was afraid that Comedy Central wanted the show to become more racialized and he was worried that those types of jokes would be perceived the wrong way by a white audience and I believe his concerns to be valid. He wanted people laughing with him but too often people laughed at him. However, is it his fault that people laughed at him? I don't believe so I believe the problem lies with the consumer. If all racialized comedy and modern day race minstrelsy were to end today, this would not mean the end of stereotypes, they would still be there and the racial segregation, which is truly at the root of modern day stereotypes, would still exist.
ReplyDeleteI really upsets me when people start attacking the misogyny, violence, materialism, etc. that is prevalent in SOME hip-hop in the US. I feel that when those themes appear in hip-hop in the use it is symptomatic of our patriarchal, violent, and selfish cultural. If SOME hip-hop is a minstrel show, we have to remember who created the minstrel. It was the white man, or white male culture that has created, or at least cultivated these social maladies. If we discuss misogyny, materialism, and violence it must start with white male hegemony and precede from there. Hip-Hop culture is not the source of the problem, and at its best is deconstructive and revolutionary.
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