Influence & Evolution of African-American Humor: Minstrel Shows to Modern Comedians, Slides of Sociology

Download Influence & Evolution of African-American Humor: Minstrel Shows to Modern Comedians and more Slides Sociology in PDF only on Docsity! AFRICAN-AMERICAN HUMOR See also PowerPoints on “African-American Language” and “Ethnic Humor” Docsity.com The World-Wide Influence of African American Humor • Humor scholars have always acknowledged the contributions and effects of Jewish humor on the subjects and the roles of American humor. • It is appropriate to also acknowledge the contributions of African Americans to the overall humor of the United States—and to the world—especially if we consider the elements of playfulness and humor in hip-hop. • Within living memory, the “place” of AA humor has undergone more change than any other genre. Today, the mainstream laughs with Blacks, while a couple of generations ago, the custom was to laugh at blacks. Docsity.com Amos ’n Andy • During the 1930s the Amos and Andy radio show starred white actors doing blackface comedy. It was the most popular of all radio shows. • When the show moved to TV in 1951, African Americans were hired as performers. Docsity.com • In the 1950s as everyone became more aware of racism, leading up to the desegregation of schools, Amos and Andy became so controversial that the producers put together a politically correct version. It lost its zing, and was cancelled. • By today’s standards, the show was both racist and stereotyped. • However, Joe Franklin said that the Blacks on the show may have “prepared the ground for the acceptance of real blacks in the American cultural mainstream.” Docsity.com Two Comedy Pioneers Pigmeat Markham 1904-81 • Markham was a blackface performer and when audiences and critics demanded that burnt-cork performances end, they were astonished to find that he was actually darker than the makeup he had used. • In his most famous skit, he played the world’s funkiest judge. The audience would say, “Here come da Judge,” a line later used by both Flip Wilson and Sammy Davis Jr. Moms Mabley 1897-1975 • Mabley would come on stage in oversized clodhoppers, a raggedy dress, and an oddball hat. She played the role of a ribald grandmother. • She was nearly 70 when she first played for a white audience at the Playboy Club in Chicago. • She later made guest appearances with Bill Cosby, Flip Wilson, and the Smothers Brothers. Docsity.com Redd Foxx: Another Pioneer • In a precursor to the creative spelling in Hip Hop, Foxx chose to spell his name with two d’s and two x’s because he didn’t want to be either a color or an animal. • A recent quote: “Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.” Docsity.com Whoopi Goldberg: The First Black Female Superstar • In the 1990s, Whoopi Goldberg’s talent for ad lib and for making a stage sparkle with power was show- cased in her role as host of the Academy Awards. • She was born Caryn Johnson and raised in a public housing project in Manhattan by a single mother. • She made her performing debut at age eight with the Helena Rubinstein Children’s Theatre at the Hudson Guild. Docsity.com Dick Gregory: A Sample Quote “America is the only country in the world where a man can grow up in a ghetto, go to really bad schools, be forced to ride in the back of the bus, and then get paid $5,000 a week to tell people about it.” Docsity.com Other Comedians Frequently Cited as Influential Black Comedians Wayne Brady Cedric the Entertainer Donald Glover David Alan Grier Arsenio Hall Kevin Hart Steve Harvey D. L. Hughley Martin Lawrence Bernie Mac Mo’Nique Paul Mooney Tracy Morgan Eddie Murphy Tyler Perry Richard Pryor Nipsy Russell Damon Wayans Katt Williams Flip Wilson Who else do you want to add to this list? Tell us something about the person and his or her work. Docsity.com Hip Hop As a Kind of Humor • Hip Hop grew out of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and ‘70s. • It rejects the status quo and emphasizes the individual. • Besides music and rap, it includes break dancing, tagging, graph writing, and entrepreneurship. • It is not restricted to African Americans, and is in fact, now global. • A major feature is the language play, especially in spelling and naming. Docsity.com CREATIVE SPELLINGS New Spellings of Disk Jockey • Deejay Djing Djin DJ’n Names of Groups or Individuals • DJ Kool Herc DJ AJ • Blue Jays DJ Clark Kent • DJ Craze DJ Evil Dee • DJ Kay Gee DJ Jazzy Jay • DJ Timmy Juicy J Tim New Spellings of Master of Ceremonies • MC Emcee • Mcing MC’n • Emceein • Femcee (for a woman) Run DMC was named to honor the speed with which he ran between turntables. Docsity.com