Breaking Stereotypes With Comedy?
There is Carlos Mencia, Dave Chappelle, Ellen Degeneres, Eddie Lizzard, Margaret Cho – and now, “The Axis of Evil� comedians. The “Axis of Evil� is a new comedy tour of four men of Middle Eastern decent who made a name for themselves using George Bush’s description of terrorists. They claim that they are breaking stereotypes with comedy because “you can’t hate someone when you are laughing them.� The group makes light of airport security, terrorist stereotypes, and traits specific to a variety of different cultures within the Middle East. It is their way of saying “hey, I know what you think of me and I will laugh at the stereotypes with you.� This style of comedy is not unlike the tactics used by the minority comedians listed above.
I am very unsure what to think of this. From one angle I see it as a sign that the country has gotten over the extreme phobia and does not hate Middle Easterners any more than other minorities. I watched video clips from some of their shows, and yes, I laughed; however it was because I thought it shed light on how ridiculous the stereotypes applied to them were (which is what I believe they were going for). Unfortunately, I think that some other viewer may laugh because they actually believe that crap. From the other angle, I find the tour disgusting. Why is it that there has to be a Hispanic, Black, Lesbian, Transgender, Asian, and Arab comedian to assure the media that these groups of people aren’t scary? It is like making minorities dance on a stage because their freakdum is a surefire source of humor for everyone else. Some of the audience will laugh because they can relate and everyone else will laugh because they think they are better than the minority. I think there are positives and negatives to this type of comedy, I’m just wondering how other people feel about it.
Comments
So prior to your media journal I had never heard of the Axis of Evil comedy tour. But I like comedy and I love to laugh, so I spent about 45 minutes on youtube watching their material. And I gotta tell you, they are funny! So please, if you haven't seen Axis of Evil, go to youtube and watch some of their videos.
I agree with a lot of what you said, but I have to disagree with the first sentence of your second paragraph. I think you were on the right track with the nation getting over the phobia, but that's what it is, a phobia. I don't think that most of the country "hates" any minorities.
I watched their videos, and I didn't laugh because I could relate, and I didn't laugh because I thought I was better than them. I simply laughed cause I thought they were funny. It doesn't matter if it's Jeff Foxworthy joking about rednecks, or Ron White talking about bouncers, or Chris Rock doing a bit on black people. I simply laugh because it's funny.
I think most of the reason all these people do the skits that they do is because it's who they are, and they can get away with it. If you put a white guy on stage and he started a skit about Black, or Middle Eastern people he would get called a racist. Or if you put a skinny person on stage and they started making fat jokes, the skinny person would just be called mean. But if the person on stage already fills the stereotype they are making jokes about, then it is socially acceptable to do so. I think that is how these comics get started. Plus it puts a lighter side on serious topics, and people can always use a good laugh.
Posted by: Joe Wax | May 10, 2007 3:22 PM
I agree that the comedy is basically harmless. I think it really can open up the issues and the sterotypes and hopefully help people shed the bad sterotypes. Personally, I think the biggest problem with generating sterotypes comes from the news media. I think TV news in particular takes on scare tactics with way too many stories. This puts fear into peoples minds and helps generate sterotypes. Our government used fear tactics too after 9/11. I think comedians though, are able to put poke fun at sterotypes, and I think this helps people to realize that there is no need to fear certain people.
Posted by: E. Stewart | May 11, 2007 4:07 PM
I also had never heard of the Axis of Evil comedy tour prior to your media journal. I am somewhat indifferent about this issue as well. I agree with you that it is ridiculous to have to prove minorities groups are not "scary", strange or not human beings; however, to many people...they are. It is so sad how racialized our world is and there is much that needs to be done to change that.
Looking at this from a positive viewpoint, it may just be a step in the right direction. By this I mean that now people are actually acknowledging these crazy stereotypes do exist rather than ignoring them. The first step in approaching a problem is to acknowledge it even exists. This doesn't happen very often, especially with issues of race, because it is much easier to ignore them. So even though the Axis of Evil comedy tour is a weird approach for acknowledging the problem of racial stereotypes, it may help us in the long run!
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