Rough Draft Essay: Stereotypes

Rough Draft Essay #1 When it comes to being funny, many comedians have developed different styles of humor to entertain their audiences. They incorporate stereotypes, which often becomes the theme of their jokes. However, if the joke is told incorrectly, stereotypes, can lean more towards being offensive. Comedians like Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, and Sebastian Maniscalco introduce three different types of humor in which they integrate stereotypes. According to The Humor Code by Peter McGraw and Joel Warner, comedians that are seen as “ethnic and cultural outsiders in America, usually those with one foot in the mainstream and one foot outside of it, have long thrived in comedy” (30). This is why people like Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle are

They exaggerated the stereotypes of their in-group, for example, black people. Even though Sebastian Maniscalco is not necessarily seen as an outsider like Rock and Chappelle, this does not exclude the fact that he is a funny comic. His style of humor incorporates stereotypes but he does not seem to pass the line of being potentially offensive like Rock and Chappelle do. With Rock and Chappelle, there really is no boundary as to what is offensive, they are not afraid to be as inappropriate as possible, but the audience knows that and is aware of their style of comedy. Maniscalco does not necessarily cross the line into offensive jokes, in fact, his jokes are funny and very relatable to the audience members. When looking at comedians, one thing to consider is to what degree do they perpetuate and

Especially in mainstream society, stereotypes are seen in the media and are often used for humor. Lequerica-Calvo mentions that stereotypes are inevitable, especially when it comes to characters seen on popular TV shows (ibid.). But it is important to understand, “individually and collectively, as the media exploits stereotyping in the name of humor, is whether the negative consequences of stereotypes are disproportionately greater than the laughs they generate” (ibid.). It is important to watch how stereotypes can potentially negatively affect a group of people and “instead of saying things that may distance some, we should find a way to lift up humanity” (Lequerica-Calvo, 1). When it comes to comedy, it seems as though stereotypes are the common theme for many comedians because people find it funny to make fun of groups that they do not personally identify with. One example would be how Chris Rock makes constant jokes about women in many of his stand-up routines. In a way, Rock is reinforcing the gender stereotypes, which could negatively affect those who are targeted, for this example, women. Comedians are entertainers, who constantly reinforce and perpetuate stereotypes every time they are on