Race In Comedy

In this review I am going to discuss the effects of how people make fun of racialized stereotypes through media such as YouTube videos. These videos make people aware of stereotypes of certain minorities but it also reinforces racism towards marginalized groups to the masses. People who view comedy skits or TV shows on racism may find it funny and not actually think about the actual context of what they are seeing or understand how hurtful stereotypes can be to other people. In the popular video on YouTube by Reckless Tortuga called, “Office Party”, it shows several stereotypes of African Americans.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNbUKIkRieM&feature=relmfu  The main character is at his office and his coworkers decide to throw a party for him, he receives racialized gifts that mock African Americans. One example is his co worker gives him a basketball, assuming that he played. This is making fun of the stereotype that all African Americans play the sport, which is in fact not true at all. Stereotypes like these are what society uses to place groups of people into categories.  The main goal of this video is to be funny, but it is appalling if you reflect upon the racist past of Western nations because they refer to past discourses. In class we discussed Goldberg’s theory and how he applied discourse as that it functions as truth. Goldberg’s article called, Racial knowledge states that, “power is exercised epistologically in the dual practices of naming and evaluating. In naming or refusing to name things in the order of thought, existence is recognized or refused, significance assigned or ignored, beings evaluated or rendered invisible.” What I like Goldberg’s quote is that he illustrates how society generally accepts the forms of stereotypes as depicted in the, “Office Party”. People who make these videos, are showing the viewer what the creator wants them to see, therefore he or she has a certain type of power that is used when making public media.  Making fun of other people is still referring to the discourse that was used in the past. If there is one thing that I have learned it is that race is not biological, society sets up racism into several categories and through discourse and this is how society as a whole views other people. One thing that we discussed in class was post-racism, many people feel that racism is a thing from the past, but I argue that comedic skits such as these are in fact keeping those stereotypes and beliefs alive in society by blanketing the problem by placing groups into categories. In Goldberg’s article What are your views shows that try to make fun of racism, do you disagree or agree with my view? What other theorist’s perspectives could be applied these stereotypical sorts of media skits?