Black People : BLACK COMEDY: HEALING OR HURTING?

Bro. Kwabena, that is a very interesting idea, and I'll consider that. I've been working on a few ideas like that one.

The reality is for conscious Black Artists, Writers, Comedians etc., is that there are not enough "conscious" people to feed us, so anyone willing to make any sort of impact consciously has to make a sacrifice, financially in some way. Think of all the scholars who go to DVD only to be bootlegged and distributed over the net. Aaron happens to be very conscious, in fact more so than many writers I've seen and personally know out there. The problem is for Black folks unfortunately, nothing gets our attention unless there is a aura of emotionalism in it. Emotion is what sells products.

Case and point? How many "conscious" people know about Scifi's Maatkara? A cartoon that was uplifting, very conscious, and actually very entertaining. It was set to hit the mainstream but didn't get any support at all.

http://www.scifi.com/maatkara/

maat_collage.gif


Its clear that we can all sit back and criticize the writers and Artists who come up with negative images, myself included because I do it all the time.....but what types of support do we have for the Artists who do come up with positive images that heal us?

As much as we all hate the N Word, so long as we react the way we do to it, it will continue to hold a charge. Again, Emotion is what sells the product.

Case and point. Dave Chappelle, a Black Muslim Comedian who happens to be very conscious, but what's the deal with him? Is he healing or hurting?

Listen to his comments about the N-word he made on his recent appearance on The Actor's Studio.




 
Bro. Edward Williams, that is a very deep and profound analysis. This might be part of the psychology of Black folks, and perhaps Humans in general. We laugh at our pain?

HBO's Def Comedy was a clear example of that. Black folks rocking back and forth holding their stomachs screaming with laugher over things that were actually sending us back. When these same things are spoken of on "alien lips" it gets us angry. If a White person said "your momma so black" we are ready to fight. But is there such a thing as comedy that is not harmful in some way? Many of us grew up "playing the dozens" "snapping" on each other. Talking about how black, how big our lips are, how bummy our clothes are, how nappy we are?

Now, why is there a show called "Yo Momma?" How did Black Culture become such a marketable franchise?



A White Artist asked me before "what's the deal with Black folks and the N word, I mean it's just a word, you guys use it all the time passionately, why is it such a big deal when we use it passionately too?" He was referring to a piece of artwork he was contemplating. He wanted to paint a black canvas with the N word in white paint. While it was a good idea to get press, and build up the controversy most struggling Artists hope for, I told him it was a terrible choice. The N word was too much blood on it, and there is no such thing as "just" - nothing is "just" anything. "Fire" is not just a word, yelling fire in a crowded room can get you sent to jail. I also told him how unpredictable my people are, and made a few Reginald Denny references.

I know why we use the N word so passionately, because its locked within our genetic memory as something that has hurt us, so we use it, laugh at it, laugh with it, in order to weaken the hurt it has on us. "Motherf---" is a hurtful word too. To be called one insists that you have a sexual relationship with your Mother, its a term inspired by rape and incest. So why has these hurtful words become so customary, especially in comedy?

There's nothing wrong with laughing. In fact, there is more things mentally wrong with people who don't laugh than people who do. What should be under examination is what we are laughing at and why? We laugh at things that have been very painful for our Ancestors. Sometimes we are programmed to laugh at certain things. When someone falls down it's funny, because falling hurts. Especially in front a crowd of people. It's a good idea to fall and laugh along with the crowd, or even blame gravity. The fact is, most people laugh and still deny their terrible pain. Some people laugh until they cry. Laughter might even be a indication of pain we are trying to heal.
 

Donate

Support destee.com, the oldest, most respectful, online black community in the world - PayPal or CashApp

Latest profile posts

HODEE wrote on Etophil's profile.
Welcome to Destee
@Etophil
Destee wrote on SleezyBigSlim's profile.
Hi @SleezyBigSlim ... Welcome Welcome Welcome ... :flowers: ... please make yourself at home ... :swings:
Back
Top