Greetings, Class Community.
The picture above is of Bert Williams, the black actor that performed in blackface in the early 1900s. He was mentioned during our review. We explored the history of Black entertainers within the context of historical racism and the legacy of minstrelsy.
How did our explorations affirm, change or complicate your understanding of African American Studies and American culture?
This film really made it easy to see the change of comedy in our culture. I feel that each form of comedy obviously stems from the other in some form but it also shows how comedians for the most part are also major influences on the revolution of many generations and how we all come together as one just to share a laugh not just at our own expense but at real things that were going on.
ReplyDeleteI think its interesting to look at how through the years or we can see how comedy has progressed. For example when Black face was "popular" it was a way to find joy and laughter in a time where black people were oppressed. Or how when Richard Pryor was on stage he liked to address the political issues of that era. Redd Foxx spoke on race , Eddie came at time where these ideas of race were being changed and his material didn't have to involve so much of black and white but rather the American experience and what it was like to live in the US. I liked how the documentary split up the different comedians and gave an inside look at their acts and the opinions of the comedians today who looked up to them.
ReplyDeleteI have always enjoyed African American comedy so much, even the parts of it that I couldn't relate to my own life. It was great to watch this documentary and learn about the history of comedy, and to see where popular comics got their inspiration from. I never knew that the history was so deep and complex, and that for hundreds of years black people have been using comedy to tell stories about their culture and to make a living when their choices were limited. The comics that we saw in the film ,as well as others do a magnificent job of bringing up topics that people might otherwise be uncomfortable discussing. I loved the quote " to keep from crying, we laugh." I think that is very accurate!
ReplyDeleteI really liked the film and the insight that it gave into the black culture of comedy. It was interesting to me to see how comedy has progressed from such a long line of history. I thought they brought up a lot of topics in comedy that are rarely discussed and it was nice to see how other comedians viewed the comedic culture. A lot of topics can be controversial and they weren't scared to speak on it. I also liked how they showed the hard times that blacks faced and then described how laughter was used as a scapegoat. I thought that was relevant because comedy can still be seen the same way decades later.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the film. However I did find it quite sad how African Americans had to portray themselves a certain way, just to be recognized. These were men who in order to enjoy what the loved to do, had to present themselves as someone they necessarily wasn't. On the other hand, I enjoyed how the film allowed/showed comedians of our time giving recognition and thanks to comedians who paved the way for them.
ReplyDeleteI as well super enjoyed watching the film. I really liked when the conversation turned deep the week later, and we were talking about the old archetypes of black comedy that still persist.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the film we watched but like many others have said it was sad how some would have to change their facial features such as make bigger lips, bugger nose and darker skin tone just so others could recognize them as African-American. It was very interesting to learn that some comedians in the mid 1900's challenged the white race and said many things others would be afraid to do or say.
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