So, I am a very big fan of the late night comedy/talk show on the E! network; Chelsea Lately. The host of the show is comedian Chelsea Handler whose extreme honesty and bluntness are the reason for her outrageous success and popularity. This shocking form of comedy does commonly include jokes that could be considered borderline if not fully racist. These types of jokes are commonplace and generally well received by both her audience and fellow comedians that accompany her on the show. And the majority of these other comedians are all types of different people, her 'round table' as it is called is a picture of diversity.
In all my time watching this show, which I have to admit is quite frequently (every night), I have never really thought too much about these jokes. In all honesty I was never really offended, but I did notice the frequent presence of jokes based on or rooted in a racial topic. Maybe it is the fact that so many of the comedians are of many races, ethnicities, nationalities, sexual orientations, and even body size (her personal assistant is a mexican little person) that has prevented me from taking any serious notice of the use of race for humor on her show.
Yet, tonight while I was watching, I was really listening more to what was being said on the show and found myself thinking where this fits into the discourse of race. We have discussed in class how when people are comfortable with the friends around them, jokes with a racism tone can occur and aren't necessarily taken negatively, but can that be held true for when these jokes among friends are then put on national television? Is it funny or is it wrong? If I laugh at the jokes is that wrong? What is the right way to view this type of situation? Chelsea Handler herself even stated "I think being racist is really funny. When I say a Chinese person is good at math, that's a compliment. It's not like I'm saying they smell like egg rolls." So, is this actually racism? Or is it just comedy? What do you guys think?
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I absolutely love Chelsea Handler...and I have often wondered how to deal with this situation too! Is it bad to laugh? Or is laughing a way to downplay these situations? I am sure people react to her comments differently... I know people who laugh at their ethnicity and others who get offended very easily. I think its all about the context... sometimes the jokes are funny while others are cruel, unnecessary, and mean. Race is something we are all aware of, and I am the first person to laugh at "stuff white people like," but I have never been discriminated against or have hate crimes committed towards me because of being white.
ReplyDeleteLaughing is always a way to dissipate a serious situation, and I do not think its necessarily unhealthy for all Americans to laugh at these absurd generalizations and stereotypes. Unfortunately, I think it gets too easily downplayed that way. Its a difficult situation. I do wonder how many minority viewers people like Chelsea Handler has because of those comments and I think that would be very interesting. Also, she often makes fun of her assistant who is a little person, and I wonder how people with disabilities view that too. And is it ok because she literally makes fun of everyone? She doesnt single out any one race or type of person to always make fun of? I dont necessarily think so, but i think that is another way people justify that.
I understand where you are coming from. I, myself, am a huge fan of Jeff Dunham and he makes jokes about race, religion, and stereotypes all the times. I think the reason why jokes about race are well received, when done "tastefully," is because they are rooted in stereotypes that everyone knows and have some truth to them.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching a stand-up comedian talks about Vietnamese people and nail salons. She imitates the way Vietnamese nail technician would talk and how they would try to get you to buy more service from them. I laughed the whole way through because, honestly, the scenario that she illustrated probably have happened countless times in Vietnamese nail salons all over the U.S. Another comedian once talked about how hairy Indians are. It's true. Indians tend to be hairier than other Asians.
Because these jokes are an exaggeration of reality, but are based on some facts nonetheless, it makes it funny. Those who are being spoken about take it with a grain of salt as well since they perceive it as a joke, not meant to be insulting.
I don't think racialized jokes are wrong unless they deal with some touchy subject or morally negative stereotypes, but that may be because these jokes have been so normalized in our society that we don't think there is anything wrong with them anymore.
I have been thinking about the issue of comedy and racism for a while now. I have gone back and forth thinking about whether it should be classified as comedy or whether it should be classified as racism. Then I started to think about my own life with respect to watching comedy. I realized that sometimes I find certain jokes extremely hilarious, while other times I find certain jokes extremely offensive. The same shows and comics can make me laugh sometimes and offend me at other times. I began to think about why it is different at different times. It was then that I started to think that maybe you could not classify it as either comedy or racism, exclusively. Nor could you classify it definitively for everyone. I think each and every joke is perceived in such a way as to reflect the receiver’s unique perspective and life experiences.
ReplyDeleteHowever, in general, I think that we have to understand to take everything with a grain of salt. Race can be such an emotionally charged issue. It seems that comedy provides a way to think and talk about race in an open and honest manner without fear of repercussion, etc.
I think that comedy is a very strange and unique way to deal with race. Most comedians, like Chelsea Handler are funny because they say what cant be said even though "we all know its true". The issue that occurs in comedy it self is that everything becomes stereotypical. That includes race, gender, class, appearance, and actions. The problem with this is yes we can relate and yes we might have experienced the situation they are relating to but that does not mean that it is always the case. This is mostly applied to stereotypes. Take the example in the blog. We might know of an asian who is good at math and we might hear about asians and video games and technology but that does not mean that all asian are good at using technology or math. When the generalization of an entire race of people comes into play that is where it is no longer funny. If we can distinguish between the one encounter we have that we can relate to the joke and the rest of the asian population I think it is okay. I think it is okay to laugh when you keep everything in perspective.
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