This video is part of a series of videos titled "The Amazing Racist" The man is named Ari Shaffir and he is a "comdeian". This is one of many videos but this one stars Ari as a member of the KKK as he walks around talking to black members of the community. The irony here is that Ari is actually Jewish which obviously is the number one "threat" to the existence of white people in the eyes of the white nationalist. This next video is a reaction to "The Amazing Racist".
Obviously this person takes the video as a joke and finds humor in the skit. Obviously everyone will have a different opinion on the subject and I came across other responses interestingly from white men who found "The Amazing Racist" video in terrible taste. I believe they made their videos in an effort to prove that they aren't a racist and don't want people to think that every white man is racist.
Race based comedy is fairly common and can be quite humorous as we can see in the Dave Chappelle skit above. But when does it cross the line? Does the "Amazing Racist" (first video) cross that line? It is an interesting dynamic with Dave being a black man I think that people find the skit "funnier" and not as "racist". With the media being what it is today things are instantly accessible to anyone with internet access which is basically everyone in America. At this time in our country everyone is a little more on edge with the economy being in the dumps and for the first time in history an African American is the leader of the free world. The job of a comedian is to make people laugh and at times that can be offensive. I came across a video which was a big news story awhile back that involves a star from the popular sitcom "Seinfeld" I will attach below.What sent the former t.v. star of the deep end was a member of the audience him. Obviously an entertainer especially one of Michael Richards status should have more self control then to yell racial slurs at a member of his audience. I think we would all agree that this is crossing the line. But for arguments sake, does this make Richards a racist? He reacted in a way that would make him appear to be racist, but does that make him a racist? Obviously he made his rounds apologizing for the rant and trying to save face but the damage had been done and he will most likely be remembered for this as much as for what he did on tv.
Dave Chappelle is an entertainer, and his method of delivering that entertainment is what separates him from other comedians. Sometimes that form of entertainment requires that he attacks topics from not so normal angles, as in Clayton Bibsby. How Chappelle shows what a lot of white supremacy is is by creating a black white supremest and how he blindly follows the white supremacy movement. Because he has been told that the blacks are bad and ruining life for the whites and everyone around him is white, he does what he can to preserve that tradition
ReplyDeleteDo you feel that these videos while poking fun at the racist movements play a role in also promoting the racist movements by bringing attention to the different stereotypes?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Bryan up top, Dave Chappelle's method is far different and does separate him from the rest. I remember in the 7th and 8th grade I watched his show religiously and own all his DVDs. Dave holds no punches when it comes to stereotypes. Some of his bits can be called racist, but it is not a specific scope. He makes fun of all stereotypes, even himself. I know people who haven't seen the show much, but are infuriated by a couple of his skits, such as "The Mad Real World." He takes common worldwide stereotypes and uses them as forms of comedy to point out the kind of world we live in. I have a question for you though, do you think minorities get away with poking fun at other stereotypes because they are a minority as well?
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