Comedy consists of many components. It starts with the formation of comedic writing and leads to current day comedic skit. Early comedy dates back to Greek and Latin writers and is used to describe works with happy conclusions. Middle aged comedy shifted work to more substantial “happy endings”. A current definition of the word defined by the Oxford English Dictionary states, “That branch of the drama which adopts a humorous or familiar style, and depicts laughable characters and incidents” (Comedy, 2012). This definition brings us to the issue in review. Comedy is made to evoke laughter from its viewers; whether that laughter is from verbal stories, visual cues, or socially excluded ideas. In doing so, comedy constantly touches on issues of current events, human endeavor, and the too familiar issue of race.
Formed from character constructs, cast diversity, and storyline, race in comedy follows many stereotypical viewpoints to create the racial character. The character described empowers the racial description, commonly depicted across television comedy. Racial humor in television comedy creates a framework describing Black characters, prevalent in many television programs, exhibiting their family dynamics, speech, mannerisms, and socioeconomic status.
The use speech in television comedy characterizes racial Black stereotypes. One major example of racist speech forms in the syntax and diction of language. Lenny Henry’s Live and Unleashed explains some of the common language derived stereotypes. While not a television show, comedian Henry uses a concert film to display Steve Martin, Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy, all played by Henry. Using common stereotypes, he forms a concentrated skit that highlights the “stereotypical depict...
... middle of paper ...
...lish Dictionary Online, Retrieved April 15,
2014.
Cummings, M. S. (1988). The changing image of the Black family on television. The
Journal of Popular Culture, 22(2), 75-85.
Lyons. (2003). The Role of Black Comedy in Supporting Stereotypes of Black
Intellectual Inferiority. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, 1(20), 84-89. Retrieved March 26, 1994
Reid, P. T. (1979). Racial stereotyping on television: A comparison of the behavior of both Black and White television characters. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64(5), 465.
Weaver, S. (2010). The ‘Other’ laughs back: Humour and resistance in anti-racist comedy. Sociology, 44(1), 31-48.
Wilkerson, I. (1993, August 15). TELEVISION; Black Life on TV: Realism or
Stereotypes?. New York Times. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
Wisniewski, K. A. (Ed.). (2009). The comedy of dave chappelle: Critical essays.
McFarland.
Eye witness accounts of events are not always accurate. The accounts depicted by depend on how witnesses read the situation. The same is true when interpreting the depiction of race and/or ethnicity in media productions. Because situations gain meaning through the process of social construction (the interpretation of a situation based on one’s knowledge), the same event can be viewed and internalized by witnesses who render opposing viewpoints. This analysis will compare the depiction and rejection of socially constructed stereotypes relative to race and ethnicity in three situation comedies: All in the Family, The Jefferson’s and The Cosby Show.
Race as a factor in inequity. Ladson-Billings and Tate (1995) posit that race continues to be a significant factor in determining inequity in the United States. Race matters in society. If we look at high school drop out, suspension, and incarceration rates of men of color in America we see a disproportionate amount of men of color marginalized and profiled by society. This is further compounded by the perception that male faculty of color cannot be educators or at least are not often conceptually visualized in that capacity (Bryan and Browder, 2013).
Many people in America like to think that racial stereotyping and racism is a thing of the past, but racial stereotyping is still prominent in America. Although racial stereotyping and racism significantly slowed down, it still remains a major factor in American society. In “The End of Post-Identity Television,” Aymar Jean Christian argues the fact that race is not a major factor in casting characters in a television series or a movie, he reveals that race is not relevant anymore. In Michael Omi’s “In Living Color: Race and American Culture,” he argues how racial stereotyping and racism still exist in America. The Cosby Show seeked to change racial stereotyping in television by portraying an upper-middle class African American family. The Cosby Show attempted to break barriers for African Americans in television and did so by paving the way for other major African American based sitcoms. “The End of Post-Identity
The roles African Americans play on television are not satisfactory. Though the roles have changed during the development of television, the current relationship is not representative of true African American people or their lifestyles. The question is how do the past roles African Americans play in television sitcoms compare to the current roles? How does this affect society’s perception of the African American in American culture? Throughout the history of television the roles and the representation of African Americans has developed with the changing cultural conditions. However, the representation of African American’s has not fully simulated into today’s society. What the average citizen views on his or her television does not accurately portray the African American’s influence on America.
Many believe the purpose and application of these stereotypes further reinforce the standardized conceptions of various groups/communities; claiming,stereotype sitcom characters are Hollywood creations made to attract an audience rather than encompassing a true member of a stereotyped community. Others argue stereotypes ,used in the sitcom format, can be utilized as a method of exposure to the public to build familiarity or support for the community. The exposure would also enable the development of awareness for the group being addressed in the program. The purpose of the use of stereotypes in sitcoms created in the late 90’s through the 2000’s has changed from the sitcoms created in the 70’s through 80’s. Instead of being used as a source of discrimination and comedic relief, stereotypes in modern sitcoms are now employed to display diverse lifestyles to audiences; also to challenge and diversify the current traditional stereotypes. The use of comedy weaved into
Steve Almond’s “Funny is the New Deep” talks of the role that comedy has in our current society, and most certainly, it plays a huge role here. Namely, through what Almond [Aristotle?] calls the “comic impulse”, we as a people can speak of topics that would otherwise make many of uncomfortable. Almond deems the comic impulse as the most surefire way to keep heavy situations from becoming too foreboding. The comic impulse itself stems from our ability and unconscious need to defend and thus contend with the feeling of tragedy. As such, instead of rather forcing out humor, he implies that humor is something that is not consciously forced out from an author, but instead is more of a subconscious entity, coming out on its own. Almond emphasizes
According to Aristotle, “Comedy can be any colloquy or performance generally intended to amuse or stimulate laughter”. In modern times, comedy can be found in different forms, such as television, movies, theatres and stand-up comedy.
Humor is when an object or phrase is considered funny or hilarious. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, one of the definitions of humor is, “something that is or is designed to be comical or amusing.” What people find funny differs because there are so many types of humors that can be expressed in different ways. Humor will often lead to laughter, but some people may find a subject amusing while others may find it offensive. It can be making a racial slur or even a Yo Mama joke. Humor can be expressed in ink, as digital products, or in our everyday lives.
In addition, humor presents itself in multiple ways, especially with the diction. The characters speak in
Marlon T. Riggs’ video, Color Adjustment, offers the viewer an exciting trip though the history of television, focusing on the representation, or lack thereof, of African-Americans. A perfectly chosen combination of television producers, actors, sociologists, and cultural critics join forces to offer insight and professional opinion about the status of African-Americans in television since the inception of television itself. As Color Adjustment traces the history of television shows from Amos n’ Andy and Julia to "ghetto sitcoms" and The Cosby Show, the cast of television professionals and cultural critics discuss the impacts those representations have on both the African-American community and our society as a whole. Color Adjustment continually asks the question: "Are these images positive?" This video raises the viewer’s awareness about issues of positive images for African-Americans on television.
Application of the performance theory on comedy television series represents a vast area for analysis not only due to their enduring popularity and numerous annual releases, but also because of the particular function the products of this genre are assumed to perform, namely, the creation of humurous effect on the audience. In this type of TV fiction the success or felicity of the performance is assessed by the performer’s ability to make the message funny and most importantly the ability of the audience to “get the joke”. The mechanism by which a viewer is made to laugh can be observed in the 4-minute fragment of the “Key and Peele” TV series, in which the two main male characters are trying to communicate fearing to be overheard by their
On the other hand, it's not true that a film or literary work must involve sexual humor or even be funny in order to qualify as a comedy. A happy ending is all that's required. In fact, since at least as far back as Aristotle, the basic formula for comedy has had more to do with conventions and expectations of plot and character than with a requirement for lewd jokes or cartoonish pratfalls. In essence: A comedy is a story of the rise in fortune of a sympathetic central character.
Television comedies have been on the air for decades, and throughout this time many different shows have come and gone. Due to the dominance of these shows, comedies are one of the biggest draws on television. There are many different types of comedies, each with their own unique characteristics and features that differentiate them from others and lead to their popularity. Whether the show is a sketch comedy, sitcom, mockumentary or dramatic comedy, each utilizes different types of humour, locations, themes, and situations to appeal to the audience; which is likely why they are so popular today.
Humor has been the source of entertainment throughout history. Today humor is practiced in movies, plays, songs, television shows and radio. Humor has brought fame and fortune to those who have mastered its power.