[...] Nathan McCall, lecturer of journalism and African American studies at Emory University, said that while he did not attend the event, he had mixed feelings about it. "Good racial humor, what it does is expose the depth of our ignorance of each other," said McCall, who leads a discussions on the role of comedy in his African American Images in Media class. "When you really look at it, it's downright funny."But few comedians — Richard Pryor and Chris Rock among them — can actually achieve a higher level of humor that packs a social conscience, McCall said. And comedy can easily be used as a disguise to vent true racism and reinforce stereotypes, he said.
Dave Chappelle, the black comedian who rose to stardom on racially charged humor, had a midcareer epiphany that led him to question what he was doing, McCall said. "He couldn't determine whether whites were laughing with him or at him," he said. "That is indicative of the ambivalent road of racial humor in this country."
Even so, McCall said he applauds the guts of those who organized the black, Latino, Jewish comedy night. "When you do something like this, there's always a danger it can backfire," McCall said. "But given where we are, or where we are not, it's still worth the risk." [...]
| That's from Brian Feagans' Atlanta Journal-Constitution article "Comedians turn tables on hatred, stereotypes: Race, religion take hits for good cause"
posted in articles on November 14, 2006 5:25 AM | t (0)
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