Episode 31 — Dressing In Chains

[admin 330]

Don’t do chains y’all! Andre Ti and today’s guest Jenny Slate talk about strange fraternity initiations, Jon Hamm in black face on 30 Rock, and the questionable marketing for Django Unchained. If you’re a member from the Lock and Chain club call (323) 389-RACE and us if something is racist.

[wo 265]

Yo, I totally took away racist shit by accident the first time I saw Blazing Saddles! I was only seven and that movie's the first time I heard the N-word. But family members laughed at some joke in the movie and my takeaway from the whole experience was "this N-word is a funny thing to say." I had NO idea what it meant or why anyone in the movie was saying it.

[Todd Mason 21]

Pretty sure "off the chain" was originally a reference to being a dog off the outdoor leash. But, yeah, Tarantino is definitely more comfortable playing in the hatred sandbox than he probably should be...while BLAZING SADDLES, like THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, was making anti-racist points...as Mel Brooks notes in a recent NERDIST podcast interview, Richard Pryor was one of the writers (and Brooks valued his advice on others' contributions in that wise), and Cleavon Little was not going to "Tom" either.

[ben mcd 127]

Whatever they are, it appears to be nerdy:

http://www.lockandchain.org/

 

And they do not explain the imagery or relevance of the lock and chain...

[danoooneill 6]

Wow, what a great episode. I really appreciate the conversation about "ironic racism" or whatever we should call it, and it's really cool to hear it from the comedy community... it kind of makes the "you're just square and you don't get it" argument obsolete.

 

Andrew, it seems like a lot of people come on here or go on iTunes or whatever to air their grievances with this show, which, in my opinion, generally boil down to "I'm stupid and you're talking about real things instead of making jokes and it hurts my head" (not that I don't love the podcasts that are dedicated to making jokes, too), but I just want to say I think this show is excellent and important, please keep doing it.

 

....I do agree that the weekly format is better but you know what everybody, if your biggest problem is having to listen to a short podcast every day you're one of the luckiest people in the fucking world, so stop whining.

[OGRastamon 4]

Yo, if 30 Rock and Blazing Saddles are racist then what about Roots? Do historical dramas get a pass not permitted social satire?

[danoooneill 6]

Yo, if 30 Rock and Blazing Saddles are racist then what about Roots? Do historical dramas get a pass not permitted social satire?

 

I think you're missing the point. When people are laughing at something, that's different than portraying it in a way that evokes some other feeling; the point of a drama like Roots is to make people consider the tragic implications of that moment in history. What Jennie and Andrew were pointing out is that deriving humor from using racial stereotypes is, at best, not effective social satire, and, at worst, racist.

[OGRastamon 4]

 

I think you're missing the point. When people are laughing at something, that's different than portraying it in a way that evokes some other feeling; the point of a drama like Roots is to make people consider the tragic implications of that moment in history. What Jennie and Andrew were pointing out is that deriving humor from using racial stereotypes is, at best, not effective social satire, and, at worst, racist.

 

Yo, you're missing the point that my rhetorical question was meant to point out that their point is effing ridiculous.

[Hot - Slunch 772]

My opinions:

 

- So nobody in history was forced to wear chains before American slavery? Is the ghost of Jacob Marley racist in A Christmas Carol? Initiations are stupid and I'd never be involved in one, but that's not racist.

 

- Jon Hamm being in blackface was a knock at past practices of tv networks, not black people. So, not racist.

 

- Many races of people spoke in Jive too, the majority was black though. Airplane is fine, it's commenting on the slang of the day. Not racist.

 

- Django's tagline is fine too. He is literally let out of his chains in the movie, the movie should be crazy (off the chain), and he's getting revenge on bad people so he's in a position of power through most of the movie.

-------

 

I haven't listened to all of this show, and I don't read the blog but it would be cool for someone to at least play a bit of Devil's Advocate and not just assume everything is racist. Not hating, just constructive criticism.