Friday, March 4, 2011
Comedy and "Learned Helplessness"
As I was sitting there listening to the town meeting yesterday I noticed that a couple of references were made to the "learned helplessness" of those individuals and families that live near or below the poverty line. For some reason this got me thinking about comedy and the way that African American's are portrayed in comedy, specifically stand up and sketch comedy shows. The first sketch that came to my head was on the Chapelle Show where Dave Chapelle showed what he thought would happen if African Americans were paid reparations for the work of the slaves. I would post a link to that sketch, but there's some very colorful language (pun intended) in that bit. Look it up if you want. My question is simply this: Do you think that poking fun at the lifestyle of those that live below the poverty line helps shed light on their struggles or just reinforces the "learned helplessness" lifestyle. This can come from white comedians poking fun at rednecks or black comedians, like Dave Chapelle, making fun of their own race. What are your thoughts?
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I personally have not seen that particular sketch on the Chapelle Show, but the first time I ever heard about reparations was when my brother told me about that sketch. I think this sort of comedy does shed light on the issues, but it also makes the people that could help feel disinclined to help because they see people like Dave Chapelle making light of their problems, which makes them think that maybe these people are okay with living in poverty and that there is no point in helping them. As my first experience with reparations, that sketch probably really biases me because I always thought that reparations, whether deserved or not, were a dumb idea because they would just be a cash hand out that would immediately be wasted. However, my attitude has changed since participating on the town meeting on reparations because I believe that reparations are in order because there are many people that simply lack the opportunities that other people have because of the legacy of slavery. I think the idea of reparations as a handout is a ludicrous as Chapelle's sketch, but that reparations paid toward bettering black communities and providing education cheaper for blacks would be an effective and fair way to at least somewhat atone for the atrocities of slavery.
ReplyDeleteI think that's a really good, and fair, question to ask. You're completely right, this kind of comedy is so present in TV shows and movies. I think that when people are poking fun at this issue and linking poverty with those of the black race, they are brushing aside the fact that is actually is a real issue. I don't believe that it helps to shed light on the issue, I think it is really just degrading to those blacks as it isn't being taken in a serious manner. It certainly reinforces this 'helpless lifestyle' as so many people see blacks portraying this image which possibly suggests to blacks that a state of such poverty is natural. This can discourage many from really going forth and making an effort to change their circumstance if they see it as acceptable and "funny" in the media.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with the above comments. I think that if blacks were to stop joking about their situation and only talk about it seriously, people would take it more seriously as well. Look at the Native Americans for example...none of them make jokes about the depression and alcoholism that goes on with the reservations. They only ever talk about it seriously, and so that is how the situation is treated. Not saying, of course, that is the black people's fault that they still have poverty problems - the cause of that is much more complex. But making light of the problem certainly isn't helping.
ReplyDeleteComedy is really powerful in reinforcing negative stereotypes because it is so memorable. We're all likely to remember a hilarious TV episode before we remember a dry public service announcement. And I don't think it matters which race the joking comes from. Negative stereotypes can be reinforced by the in-group or the out-group; it doesn't matter where the reinforcement comes from because it will be just as persistent in perpetuating the stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteThis clip also came to mind when I was thinking about our discussion about reparations; however, I thought the clip would be too inflamatory to post. So first of all, good job, Austin for figuring out a way to include it without including it. Moving on, I do not think that the consequences of reparations depicted in this clip would occur, but the comedy is used not only to entertain, but also to disarm the tension that surrounds the issue; however, I think by making fun of it, also enables us to look over the real issue underneath. On the topic of learned helplessness, we can go back to two opposing views held by prominent black leaders at the turn of the twentieth century, W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington. Dubois said that we need to level the playing field by giving blacks a hand up (welfare, affirmative action, etc.), whereas Washington said that blacks need to empower themselves under a system free of discrimination. As a country we chose Dubois' way of thinking, and we can see the effects of a welfare state. However, it could be argued that Washington's ideal system free of discrimination might never exist, and that we need more of a mix of the two: establish a floor above the poverty level to "level the field" on the contingent that jobs are sought and held until self-reliance can be achieved.
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