Black Humor in America - 2112 Words

Black Humor One of the most underappreciated and unrecognized forms of comedy is black humor. Black humor often deals with events that are not often associated with other forms of comedy, such as war, murder, insanity and death. The main reason that this form of comedy is so underappreciated is that it requires some thinking on the part of the audience and many people are not willing to do that. The types of humor that are popular today do not require much thinking and can be characterized as one-liners. However, black humor has been used as an effective means of satire usually towards a tragic event. One of the biggest misconceptions about black humor is that it involves race. Black humor is not a form of African American humor†¦show more content†¦Even though this is such a great model of black comedy, Joseph Heller said that he was not aware that it would be funny when he wrote it (Catch-22, Computer). In the story, Catch-22 is a military rule that employs circular logic. An e xample of this is the rule that deals with avoiding combat missions: One may only be excused from flying bombing missions on the grounds of insanity; one must assert ones insanity to be excused on this basis; one who requests to be excused is presumably in fear for his life. This is taken to be proof of his sanity, and he is therefore obliged to continue flying missions; one who is truly insane presumably would not make the request. He therefore would continue flying missions, even though as an insane person he could of course be excused from them simply by asking. (Catch-22, Computer) The main themes in Hellers novel are paradox and contradiction. He used his novel as a way to show the absurdity of war and to protest World War II. Another author, Kurt Vonnegut wrote Slaughterhouse Five in 1969 as an analysis of the human condition from an uncommon perspective, using time travel as a plot device and the bombing of Dresden in World War II, which Vonnegut witnessed, as a starting point (Slaughter, wikipedia). The humor in this book comes from Vonneguts downplay of human mortality. He uses the phrase so it goes whenever dying is mentioned. Much ofShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s A Raisin Of The Sun1683 Words   |  7 Pagescollection of her plays, Ntozake Shange criticized black dramatists for â€Å"integrat[ing] the notion that a drama must be words...cuz we all remember too well/the chuckles scoffs† (63).The fear of being laughed at has steered black artists away from embracing humor. This fear stems from the distortion of blackness in minstrel sho ws and racist tropes . Tragically, black dramatists have overlooked the usage of humor in African traditions. While in the past humor has been often used for ridicule, it has alsoRead MoreAnalysis Of Humor In Angel Puss1299 Words   |  6 Pagesghosts and begins to antagonize poor Sambo all over again. Humor from the episode Angel Puss is founded in African-American racial stereotypes involving behavior and appearance, which eventually led to the episode’s censorship. The most apparent racist feature is Sambo’s depiction; he is drawn in blackface style. Blackface is a highly offensive theatrical make-up style popular in comedy shows, where non-black performers coat their face in black paint to play African-American roles. Jenee Desmond-HarrisRead MoreThe Importance of Doing and Turning Your Work in on Time1444 Words   |  6 Pagesmost side-spitting, razor-sharp humor on this side of a cable box. The show concepts that constitute the Adult Swim block of programming on CN has drawn its fair share of rave reviews and harsh criticism from anybody willing to offer an opinion. For Afro-American viewers, no show represents that aforementioned razors edge quite like Aaron McGruders comic strip creation, The Boondocks. The first season of the weekly series found every way p ossible to poke humor at many of the events, individualsRead MoreEssay on Explication of Poem for Black Boys835 Words   |  4 PagesNikki Giovannis Poem for Black Boys is a poignant literary work that addresses several issues concerning the young black male in America and the conflicting views taken by members of the African-American community during the Civil Rights Movement with an inclination towards the peaceful movement perpetuated by the likes of Dr. Martin Luther king, Jr. and his non-violent contemporaries. Giovannis use of allusion, imagery and the sardonic humor of the speaker blend effortlessly to denounce allRead MoreRacism Is The Product Of Ignorance And Fear1334 Words   |  6 Pagesthe video nothing is accomplished to remove these stereotypes. Chappelle plays Clayton Bigsby, the â€Å"black white supremacist†, in the sketch Frontline. Bigsby bluntly characterizes African Americans as â€Å"lazy good for nothing†, â€Å"wide nose breathers† and accuses them of eating all the chicken. These stereotypes are prevalent in today’s culture. When one thinks of racism, one may atomically assume black and white but according to the National Coalition for Health Professionals Education in Genetics inRead MoreSlaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Essay1288 Words   |  6 Pageshis own horrific war experiences. To depict the horrors of war, Vonnegut made use of a straightforward style as well as black humor to show the absurdity of war. By using this straightforward style, Vonnegut pushed his readers to see war for what it is, with no embellishments or romanticism. Black or dark humor was widely used, which refers to an authors deliberate use of humor in describing what would ordinarily be considered a situation too violent, grim, or tragic to laugh at. In so doing, theRead MorePostmodernism: The Movement in Life Essay1263 Words   |  6 PagesAlthough the postmodern movement was not started in America, its many effects have influenced the culture of this nation. Postmodernism took America from a place where it held strong values of right and wrong, to a place where any idea has been given validity and merit. By presenting new world views, postmodernism has affected American literature, for both the writer and the reader, and American culture on a vast scale. Explaining postmodernism is v ery challenging because it does not have a realRead MoreThe Controversy Over Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn610 Words   |  3 PagesThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is a controversial book that has raised heated debates across America for the past century. It was ranked fifth most challenging books out of one hundred in the 1990s (Chadwick 2). Although this book is a hot topic, it should remain on shelves, and still be taught in schools. While Huck Finn seems to be only a book of satire, most want this book banned because it is seen as highly racial. â€Å"The reading of Huck Finn is humiliating to back studentsRead MoreRush Hour Two: Through an American Perspective1062 Words   |  4 Pagesconstraints, such as, racial stereotypes, gender connotations, and cultural references, are components that comedies use in order to achieve humor at its maximum effect. The override of these constraints, however, has detrimental effects on entire ethnic and gender populations that go unnoticed at the expense of laughter. The 2001 film comedy, Rush Hour 2, uses humor as a vehicle to propagate active stereotypes that render the Asian female as an objective commodity that through an American lens devaluesRead MoreMedia s Influence On The Media1538 Words   |  7 Pagespublic. From Disney movies on up to horror films there’s a plot that each film is trying to accomplish. The controversial issue comes into play based on ho w the film messages are portrayed. Films that use racial humor harm the particular race that the films are depicting. Films with racial humor that is enhanced to be seen as acceptable creates prejudge mental labels for certain races. The viewers of these films are more likely to view these stereotypes portrayed in the media as facts about whatever