Why so serious?

Throughout this unit, we've looked at the way that some people use humor to address serious issues, such as racism. Many of us find these shows, movies, & pop culture icons to be entertaining, however some of them still display an inherent racist mentality that becomes lost amongst the laughter.

While some shows, like those we watched clips of in class, use them for quick laughs, others actually try to direct this humor towards addressing the problem instead of perpetuating it.

For your next blog post (#2), you will find an example from the media or entertainment industries that address a racist concept, stereotype, etc. You can search through TV shows, movies, popular novels/comics, etc. If you think of another example, you can always ask if you can use it! The only ones off-limits are the examples we've used in class.

You can take one of two routes:


Option #1) An example that is used for comedic purposes but lacks an obvious criticism.

• Identify the stereotype or racist situation that is addressed. Explain how it is used for comedic purposes (what is supposed to be funny about it?) and then explain the problem with this. 
• Explain your opinion/thoughts on the example (Is it funny or is it offensive?). How does the exposure to examples like this impact people?

Option #2) A satirical example that uses the comedy to criticize the problem (SNL, Daily Show, etc)

• Identify what makes the example "funny" (ie: the literary weapon being utilized), the target and what the larger criticism is.
• Explain your opinion/thoughts on the example (Is it effective?) . How does the exposure to examples like this impact people?

As always, please remember to follow the blog post guidelines. If you have questions about what the post entails, let me know!