That’s Racist!
Recently I read about a white performer at UCB who had a black audience member come up to them after a show and accuse them of being racist. In their blog the performer described a Harold in which a racial theme came up in the opening, related to the idea of “white flight” when white home owners leave a neighborhood that has an influx of minorities. Later in the show the performer did a scene with a teammate playing a “racist neighbor.” I didn’t see the show and can’t tell someone they shouldn’t be offended but I’m confidant that the performer is not racist and was not intending to be offensive.
Race is a tricky subject though and one that I thought of as probably particularly tricky for college improv and sketch groups to deal with. While as a straight white male I’m aware that I’m not an ideal authority on what is or isn’t offensive I have taught hundreds of improv classes and have tried to be conscious of it and guide the class in a way that allows everyone to feel comfortable as they learn.
What I try to explain to UCB 201 students is that every subject should be able to be intelligently explored with comedy. The key there though is intelligently. The comedy should not be coming from the sheer shock value of the subject matter. There needs to be a take on it. In 201 students are working towards being able to reflect real life honestly and then look for the first unusual thing, the funny or interesting idea that they can build a Game from. That means that you can portray a racist person because there are racist people in real life, but that alone can’t be the unusual thing. The perfect example of this idea is Dave Chappelle’s Black White Supremacist sketch in which he plays a black white supremacist who doesn’t realize he’s black because he’s blind. Chappelle took something ugly from real life, like racism, and found a comedic take on it. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u__W0Qa8v0k
Slavery is the United States’ great original sin and it’s horrific history extends into racial injustices that continue today. It would be natural to think of it as a subject that would best be avoided when trying to do comedy. And just depicting it for shock value should be avoided. But Key and Peele, who have routinely found fresh, funny takes on race, even found a smart and hilarious way of dealing with the horror of a slave auction by having the experience begin to mirror being picked last on the playground. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB7MichlL1k
Notice with these examples that we are not laughing WITH the racism. This isn’t a 1950s comic making ethnic jokes. Improv scenes that are trying to be funny by depicting stereotypes ARE racist. But a scene with a white casting director character who plays on these stereotypes could work as a comedy scene if the improvisers find what’s funny about that. Maybe it’s funny the lengths casting directors go to avoid seeming racist while simultaneously perpetuating racist stereotypes,- saying things like “more urban” or “could you be more sassy on this next take?” Is that a take on racism that’s absurdity could be heightened and explored as a Game? Are you we laughing at the stereotype or are we laughing at the absurdity of people who perpetuate them?
This idea of making sure you’re dealing with a serious subject intelligently isn’t only related to race. It could be related to gender or sexuality. Are we laughing with the sexism and homophobia or did we find a smart take on it? It should be obvious but being gay isn’t an unusual or comedic thing. Watch Amy Schumer’s brilliant take on sexism in this 12 Angry Men sketch: http://www.cc.com/episodes/d6vl24/inside-amy-schumer-12-angry-men-inside-amy-schumer-season-3-ep-303
If not race or sexuality it might be a subject like rape or abortion or the Holocaust. Are we getting laughs off being shocking or are we dealing with the subject intelligently? If there were someone in the audience who’s had an abortion (and statistically there almost definitely is) would you feel okay with your comedy scene?
I’ve also heard the note that the racist, sexist or in whatever other way hateful character shouldn’t win. That’s good to remember. The audience does not want to watch that. Sometimes it’s good to have a straightman to address what’s wrong and it’s rewarding to watch a victim speak up for themselves and/or get the upper hand.
Comedy is a great way of dealing with things that people are uncomfortable talking about. These subjects shouldn’t be avoided but they should be handled intelligently, the way we’re hopefully treating all of our improv. You may have noticed that the examples I’ve given regarding race we’re written and performed by black comedians and the one I gave regarding sexism was written by a woman. It’s not that those people are the only ones allowed to deal with issues of injustice, it might just be that they are more likely to notice them. It’s one reason why college comedy groups should be trying to bring in as diverse a group of individuals as possible. If someone on your team does something you find racist or offensive it’s okay to talk to them about it. Try not to lead with “You’re racist.” Explain to them why it bothered you in a way that they can understand without making them feel like they’re being attacked. They probably didn’t realize what they were doing and will learn from it.
None of this will guarantee that you’ll never offend an audience member with a performance. If you do enough comedy you probably will. And that’s probably not the worst thing in the world. Art has offended different people for hundreds of years and artists shouldn’t censure themselves. As long as you are dealing with the subject matter intelligently, depicting life as it is and finding what’s absurd about it, you can feel free to to do anything.