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Amy Winehouse redeems herself (for now)Amy Winehouse was among the many stars performing at a tribute last weekend in honor of former South African president Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday. When she was finished, according to reports, Winehouse simply bowed her head.
During another part of the concert, 24-year-old Winehouse sang lead in a multi-artist rendition of the Specials’ early 1980s anti-apartheid anthem “Free Nelson Mandela.” For all of Winehouse’s drama, she got this show right. She took to the stage on time and sang beautifully.
But some may wonder why Winehouse was at the event at all. Earlier this month, a video surfaced of Winehouse and a friend singing a racist ditty. In the video, which was filmed last year by her husband Blake Fielder-Civil, Winehouse appears disoriented. She’s near a coffee table filled with drug paraphanelia. She is prodded by Blake to sing a slur-filled song to the tune of the children’s ditty "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," and does so only after he promises he isn’t filming her. It’s testament to Winehouse’s state of inebriation that she believes that someone aiming a video camera in her face is not filming her. The same day the video leaked, Winehouse told paparazzi and anyone else standing around her London flat that she was sorry. She said that anyone who knows her and knows of her lifelong love affair with black music , can testify that she is not a racist. (Incidentally, the song included epithets for several ethnic groups but not the dreaded N-word). Does Winehouse’s quick apology and her appearance at the Mandela event show her true feelings? Do you forgive her? Ethnic humor is some touchy stuff. Comedians use it with varying results. When Richard Pryor poked fun at white people, it was the comedy equivalent of taking a group, putting them in a gentle headlock and giving them a noogie. Pryor was saying, “Dig yourself. Y’all are some silly people.”
When Sarah Silverman makes racist jokes, she is understood to be creating an alter ego, she’s poking fun at the kind of people who hold those stereotypes. Of course, not everyone thinks she’s funny. Silverman was infamously lambasted for using the work “Chink” on an episode of Late Night With Conan O’ Brien.
Margaret Cho’s outsider status as an Asian, sort-of-queer person gives her some space to make comical observations on different ethnic groups and their wacky ways. Cho also makes fun of her fellow Koreans. But, like Pryor, who Cho calls her hero, her comedy is more about illumination, not condemnation. In other words, Cho’s not mean.
Unlike Michael Richards. We all remember the fiasco of Seinfeld’s Kramer repeatedly screaming the N-word in a bizarre tirade at a L.A. comedy club. When is ethnic humor funny? Who does it right? Is it better to leave jokes like that untold? Where do you fit in? Do you laugh at jokes that poke fun at different ethnic groups? Do you tell them? Submitted by on July 1, 2008 - 1:00pm. |
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hmmm, not really for me
Isn't There a Difference?
It's one thing to have a routine worked out where you pointedly bring out something ethnic to poke fun at to stimulate thought? I would argue that the performers you mention--aside from Winehouse--were usually armed with that intention.
Isn't it another thing altogether to just tell off-color jokes to put a whole group down? Or sing a slur-laden song because you're a drunk twat?
No one's going to say there was anything illuminating about Richards' rant. Whether you like Silverman (or Cho or Pryor), or not, theirs is art.
I defend a person's right to create art. Period.
I don't defend hate (whether conscious or unconscious). Period.
I disagree
I don't think that there's such a thing as 'unconscious' hate. It's not hate unless you mean it. I'd also argue that there's a difference between saying a racist/homophobic joke and being a racist/homophobe.
For example, I have a straight friend that openly calls me homophobic names, and I respond in turn saying that her hetereosexuality is clogging up the world. We call it 'friendly homophobic banter'. Equally, with a friend that is of a different ethnic background to myself, we share 'friendly racist banter'. Neither party is offended. So are we homophobic, heterophobic, or racist? Of course not! There is no hateful intention to offend, and so we aren't offended.
Don't give idle words power. They don't upset people. People upset people.
If there is an audience for
If there is an audience for it then it will flourish. If the audience laughs at the joke then they're 'doing it right'. Hopefully the day will come when no one thinks it's funny anymore.
Some comedians claim they are actually making fun of bigots by exaggerating the caricatures. Comedians have a way of making fun of society's downfalls. This seems to be an example of that
I used to think it was funny when I was younger (Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock), now I think it's gotten old. I don't mind it because I know that the comedians aren't serious (or at least I hope they're not). I don't tell ethnic jokes because I don't think they're funny. I'm trying to get away from humor at other people's expense.
Apparently, the unofficial rule is, you can make fun of your own ethnic group. Ethnic minorities have gotten away with making fun of other ethnic minorities. And white people are free game for all.
Oddly enough, no one is discussing comedians or entertainers who constantly make fun of women. Oh well.
Winehouse and Richards learned what happens when no one thinks it's funny.
I don't support censorship. But, I don't have to hear it. I have the choice to turn the channel or not pay for their shows.
It depends!
I am not fond of ethnic jokes, but sometimes they are quite funny, especially when told by someone who is directly involved.
I have a jewish friend who sometimes tells me jokes not everyone would find funny and I laugh becuse he's mocking himself, but probably the same puns would sound outrageous to another person.
That's why I would NEVER tell anybody such jokes.
At least, not before it's clear they are not offended. OR dirty ol' racists!
Oooooh, I love a bit of cake. Oooooh, cake. Oooooh, cake. Cake. Cake. Cake. Cake. I'm just one of these people. I come home and I need a piece of cake. [Marjorie Dawes]
I'm a pretty laid back
How little Blake cares for Amy
To me, the video just serves to show how little Blake cares for Amy. I mean, why would he film her trying to make her believe he isn't filming her, then leave the camera unattended so it gets leaked on the internet (perhaps leaking it himself even!)?
As for comedians using ethnic humour, I judge it on an individual basis.
For example, I like british comedian Shirzia Mirza, poking fun at her own ethnic gruop (the british asian community). However, I often find that comedians using ethnic humour are lazy. There is an audience for this in each community but it's lazy comedy. Most often, those comedians make the same jokes as the audience - I expect comedians to come up with jokes I cannot come up with myself!
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I was at the concert...
I don't think there is a person in this room who has not made some kind of offensive joke at some point in their lives. But our lives are not in the tabloids 24/7 so we don't suffer the same crits. I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying nobody is perfect and I'm sure we've all made stupid remarks. However, saying that, if you are in the public eye you have to watch what you say, which is difficult if you're Amy and half blatted all the time! But it was weird that they didn't allow Naomi Campbell on stage to present due to her 'airport rage' but they let Amy practically headline when everyone knows she is a crack head...it was pretty strange and lots of people wondered why she got the slot.
I was at concert, right at the front, and it was BRILLIANT. Amy was OK, I don't find her that great live though as she is so spaced out. The Soweto Gospel choir was astounding, and Will Smith stole the show.
Madiba was so frail, but my God what a legend. He is my absolute hero, particularly as I lived through apartheid and at 18, the first time I was able to vote, we had our first democratic elections and he became our president. I'm so glad I lived through those changing times when history was made, and had the opportunity to see him again last week.
Racist jokes aside, I really
I sooo don't get this
Comedians, as far as I'm concerned, can make jokes about anything they want. I can either dig it or not. What I don't get is people still talking about Michael Richards' rant like it was a comedian doing his routine. It was not so.
The man was angry therefore everything he said was meant to hurt. When he said "“Shut up! Fifty years ago we’d have you upside down with a [expletive] fork up your a--.” he was not trying to be funnny, he wasn't making a point, he wasn't "making fun of the people who think this way", he was angry and he meant everything he said. Let us not confuse the 2.
There are comedians who think funny mean racist, prejudiced, homophobic, misogynistic, etc.. jokes. Again, I don't have to patronize them but it is their rights.
Michael Richards was not "screaming the N-word in a bizarre tirade", he was telling everyone who would listen exactly how he felt about black people. It doesn't matter how much he wants to deny the facts after the facts.
As for Amy Winehouse, since I'm not a fan, I'll refrain from commenting on her performance.
Comedians
Are like the fools in a medieval court; they are the only ones who can make fun of the king or other lords etc... as long as it's funny. If no one is laughing, then we as the "court" (the ones who pay their bills as it were) reserve the right scream "off with his head!" in a completely non-violent yet (economically and socially) devastating way!
So yeah, if people think it's funny comedians should be able to say it. However, that means you're on a stage in front of a crowd that is usually rowdy and drunk. If you can't say it in front of them, don't say it. In other words, leave the ethnic jokery to the ones who have everything to lose when the show is over. If you're not on stage, keep your mouth shut.
Slight nitpick
humor
There is always an invisible line that shouldn't be crossed, but as each new generation spawns its own idea of humor, the line keeps moving into touchy territory. What I would like to see is students/people talking about the struggle of Nelson Mandela and South Africa and not the non-issue of humor, which is completely subjective to both the giving and receiving parties. It is easy to laugh when we can afford to laugh; coming up with solutions to inherently change the world is the struggle.
Why do people laugh at racist/homophobic/ethnic things? Maybe because deep down it is not really funny, and the attempt to make light of such situations help us to desensitize our feelings. Maybe we cannot accept the alternative that everything is in fact racist and stereotypic because we as humans must generalize most things so our brains can assimilate what we see and experience. But we say that humor is beyond biology...but maybe not. Humor is often dissected as a defense mechansim set by our psyche, which can be altered or affected by chemical gradients. I am not giving Winehouse an excuse because of the drug use, but the fact that people care what drug abusers are saying is humerous is the greatest joke that no one laughing at.
Humour
I agree with some things you say, and disagree with others. In South Africa there are quite a lot of brilliant comedians, both black and white, who make us laugh at racial (not racist) and ethnic things...yes, while our country needs to focus on solutions, it also needs to be able to be lighthearted about very serious things, otherwise we would all go insane with the seriousness of the situation. Comics have an important part in politics and society, and as one previous poster mentioned (sorry can't see name from this screen) they are like the court jester who can say things that everybody else can't - as long as it's funny/satirical. Of course there are some who over step the mark, and that is wrong, but largely I think humour can be an important part of reconstructing a society that has previously not been functioning correctly. I think you have to worry when countries don't have this kind of outlet, because then you know the government is confining the human spirit. Art and culture, incl comedy, has really helped South Africans to understand each other better, laugh at each other in a positive way, learn about each other, in a way that was never previously discussed. And also it helps us cope with the nasty things that happen too.
I mean, on paper you wouldn't say it was right to laugh at the topic of being hijacked at gunpoint, but I have seen some brilliant comedy about that very topic and not only did it lighten the situation (we are all sh*tscared we'll be hijacked) but it brings the topic into the public eye in a very clever way. I guess its no different to gay comedians laughing about gay nuances, stereotypes etc. My point on your South African comment about focussing on solutions - yes we do need to focus on this, but we also need to be able to laugh at ourselves about the reality of things that happen in our country, and the way our different cultures interact. You said "coming up with solutions to inherently change the world is the struggle." - I really believe humour helps us to change the world.
Laugh
I think that both of you, Alain Aspect and I promise I'll be good, make very good points.
All I have to say is---laugh. It eases tension, sometimes.
Laughter
Ha, sometimes indeed! You just made me laugh.
i read some of the comments
i read some of the comments so far and I liked the friendly debates...i saw the amy winehouse video where she sang her version of "head shoulders knees and toes". Initially, I have to admit that I was surprised.
With that being said, I do not think she is racist. I think she was caught singing a song that she would have never dared to sing if she knew she was being taped. Furthermore, I do not think she would have attempted the song if she was sober neither =-) (Girl you need to get it together). Anywho, this country walks on eggshells. I get that. We expect people to be aware and keep away from grey lines; and when they are not avoided, we hope they are at least funny. There are so many variables...so many...
After saying all that I said, can I say that I simply have no opinion?