1992 – Just four months after police nearly beat Rodney King to death is acquitted and Resulting in civil unrest Leading the attack on Los Angeles Trucker Reginald Denny – “In Vivid Color” decided to tell us a joke. But not only that A A joke. They make a Complete the sketchwrong PSA Where King (David Alan Greer) and Danny (Jim Carrey) warn people not to get out of vehicles. Because well, you can see what happened to them when they did.
It’s one of those comedy moments that, especially after a series of tragic events, is surprisingly and uncomfortably irresistibly funny, especially for blacks. “It’s one of those sketches that you laugh at but don’t feel comfortable with,” said Mark Anthony Neal, professor of African American Studies at Duke University. “It’s funny, but you’re also looking around to see who’s looking at you, laughing at him.”
right. Because comedy at the expense of blacks – even from a black comedian like Grier, to a show like “Vivid Color,” which is primarily for blacks – always has a good line. However, it’s a cutting edge and hilarious dose of a bigger, unspoken reality for the show’s millions of viewers.
“You’re thinking Rodney King,” Neil continued. There’s a section of people who say: “If your ass isn’t drunk and in a hurry …” that’s double when At this press conference And he said: “Can we all be together?” People say, “No, what?”
Neil added that Dennis ’situation was also ripe for an explicitly ridiculous answer:“ That’s it: “Dude, everyone knows you shouldn’t get off the truck. thing? ‘”But that’s part of what made the sketch a bold blend of humor and social perspective, especially when people are asking for answers in the same space they’re trying to make fun of black comedians.
“I think people find humor here because it’s a pathetic time and a time when no one really wants to talk and fight,” Neil said.
But blacks and mostly male comedians – especially in the early ’90s, when they reached new heights on platforms like In Living Color, Def Comedy Jam, and ComicView – were almost arrogant. D to solve the problems of the world around them. They know that people will eventually turn their attention to a degree that they will not pay biased media organizations. Los Angeles Times right time.
“We’re talking about what’s going on in the news, what’s going on in our society, what’s going on in the environment, the struggle,” said comedian Guy Tori, who created it. Fat ThursdayA major all-black comedy night at the Los Angeles Comedy Store in 1995. “But on stand-up, we laugh at him.”
Whether or not some people were embarrassed by the approach of black comics at the time, they served a necessary purpose. “We’ve done most of the pranks, so we have to laugh,” Tori said. He joked: “If it weren’t for the comedy, there would be a lot of dead whites around.”
Tori’s comments are even more important: there is power over how black comedians told the truth about what was going on at the time in a way that was highly valued by black audiences, no matter how many people.
Neil pointed to “raw and bright” comedians discussing the actual functioning of race in America – comedians like Eddie Griffin and the late Paul Moon, who according to Neil were “the ones who never intended to be mainstream. “
Griffin’s hilarious 1994 episode of “HBO Comedy Half-Hour” covered everything from law enforcement to black news. “He follows Clarence Thomas,” Neil said, “and it’s a resonance for a black audience that’s clearly uncomfortable for a white audience to understand where he’s coming from.”
But as the profile of black comedians rose, Hollywood demanded huge fees for movies like “Rush Hour” (with Chris Tucker) and TV series like “Martin” (with Matin Lawrence) and “Malcolm and Eddie” (with Griffin). e. Malcolm-Jamal Warner). And this was followed by a change in how comics approached their comedy, sometimes even sacrificing their style to a wider audience.
“I think when the money changed and they realized it was real money to find a way to balance your credit on Black Street, but it was also available to whites, most of these comics decided not to be hardcore. “. said Neil.
That doesn’t mean black comics started to serve white audiences, but many of those who followed Hollywood’s path found they needed a bit of refinement to stay on screen. Of course, Tori has seen him throughout her career.
“That’s why these entertainers shouldn’t forget the black fan base,” Tori said. She enjoyed black clubs and other places like Phat Tuesdays, which led to the careers of people like Tiffany Headish and Dave Chapel. “Others forget the hat rooms they came from, the people who supported them.
For her part, Tori promises never to fall into this trap. “You can get lost while in Hollywood and playing in these traditional clubs,” he said. “The hat rooms: here you can get your stripes. Rosean Barry and Apollo are also back. Because he said,” Black audiences are sinister and I want to know if I’m really funny. ”
But some of the comedians who achieved major success were able to maintain a level of awareness that ultimately affected, for example, how careers were explored in sitcoms featuring black main characters. However, this was followed by some concessions.
Consider the trend of “very special episodes” that gave us the part of Bell’s New Prince, where Will (Will Smith) and Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro) are mistreated by white cops. Or the episode “Family Affairs” where white cops arrest Eddie (Darius McCray) for being black in a white neighborhood while his father (Reginald Welljonson) corrects the agents.
Often these are separate incidents, written – mostly by whites – to silence a black audience without enthusiastically interacting with them. Neil said it’s a growing struggle to write about black characters who don’t meet stereotypes or, more delicately, don’t adhere to the policy of respect that some black audiences want. This is often an embarrassing compromise.
“I think for people, as long as there’s no space for black writers and black producers, it’s always a challenge,” Neil said. “Because for them a bigger war is not a story of social justice. It’s not black people who look like clowns on TV every week.”
Even a series like “Different Worlds” – which is often brilliant in combining elements of social justice in its stages and has black writers in the room like Susan Files -Hill – is a confusing story about attempt to cover up the unrest in Los Angeles. , And he played Gilbert Gottfried as a racist police officer. “It was a horrible stage,” Neil said clearly.
It probably doesn’t matter, because after the riots in Los Angeles, a large number of viewers saw the finale of the “Cosby Show” series. It’s a cult TV series run by a former stand-up comedian and obviously racially aware. But he didn’t mention the excitement in the plot – and a lot of black viewers prefer it.
“The biggest metaphor for the generational shift of black comedy in the early 1990s was that, in fact, when street riots occurred, most people in America would sit at home and watch the latest episode of The Cosby. Show, “said Neil.
The local branch of NBC in Los Angeles actually Cut from the news footage of the riot To broadcast the end of the “Cosby Show”. Bill Cosby, who has repeatedly requested interviews to discuss the unrest in Los Angeles, wrote “Thoughts and Prayers” in a similar way. Video ad That came out at the end of the episode.
“Cosby isn’t going to comment on what happened in Los Angeles, but he literally can’t comment on it,” Neil said. “His show was not equipped to comment on what was going on at the time.”
Honestly, nothing too showy. And those who did it are often criticized as “Central South That lasted a season.” Even in “Vivid Color,” which was always uncompromising, bold and very popular, he was eventually involved in a fight with his mother network Fox, as well. as well as in White America, because he was so real.It was first released in 1990 and released in 1994.
Neil compared it to Richard Pryor’s 1977 series “Unhappy,” “The Richard Pryor Show,” which only ran for four episodes. “The idea of a Richard Pryor or‘ brightly colored ’show attracts people,” he explains. “But when it comes to presenting the vision of Pryor or Wayans and the group, even Fox is uncomfortable.” Because they thought White America wasn’t ready for a comedy like this. “
It’s embarrassing, because when black comedians and sitcoms had the space to be really brave and real about the kind of awareness that naturally came to them, they wouldn’t be forgotten. At a time when hip-hop was reverberating hymns about black America, ’90s comedy found itself in a dangerous situation when it tried to do the same.
“We weren’t ready for that,” Neil said. “We are ready to hear Public Enemy talk about ‘Fight the Power’ in the song. “We’re not ready to fight for power yet.”
As it happens, gems like Mooney’s work and “in bright colors” are, as Neil said, “lightning in a bottle”.
Source: Huffpost
