We Can Be Both: A Black Comedy Perspective

A word that’s been flying around for the past few years as it relates to media is representation. It’s been amazing seeing the different projects pop up, showcasing Black talent and telling stories in various ways. From TV shows like ‘Insecure’, ‘Black Lightening’, and ‘All American’ to movies like ‘When They See Us’, and ‘Queen & Slim’ (which I haven’t seen yet because movies are expensive af in LA, don’t judge me). It really has been amazing too see but, something has been missing.

‘Everybody Hates Chris’, premiered on UPN, 2005

In a post First Lady Michelle Obama America, I think all of us Black people collectively felt the need to hold ourselves to a higher standard. Which I absolutely have no problem with. Wanda Sykes has this hilarious but true joke about the fact we must watch ourselves around non POCs. “Don’t let them see you dancing”. Yes, in the year of our Lord 2019 going on 2020, we still feel the need to not shuck and jive in front of white people. “Stop coonin” used to be something I’d say about certain entertainers across my screen for a very long time. Until one day, I said why the hell not?

‘A Black Lady Sketch Show’, premiered on HBO, 2019

In the world of comedy, non POCs are open to express themselves however they want. From shows like ‘Jackass’, to ‘Ridiculousness’ (damn, MTV, ya’ll stupid), these frat boys are able to do the most out of pocket things for laughs. I sat back one day and thought, “Why aren’t we allowed to do this?” Because, we can’t act out of pocket like that. We’re not allowed to.

As a fan of comedy, it was hard for me to relate to certain films in these last few years because I felt a lot of projects just featured the token. As much as I love Judd Apatow films and TV shows, I rarely see someone that looks like me. Sure, Kevin Hart & Craig Robinson pop up, but that’s it. Kevin Hart has fell into the lane of the action/comedy star in the lineage of Eddie, Martin, & Jamie. It has been dope to watch but even I think he gets put into a box.

I’m a fan of smart humor. It doesn’t have to totally go over your head but it has to be a little sharp. One of the first Black comedians I saw with that kind of humor was Chris Rock. He would weave jokes perfectly highlighting current events and throw cultural references in only we could understand but in turn find ways to communicate it well to others. It was universal yet personal. He was the loud mouth cousin who went to college and came back home telling you about all the things he’s learned.

“Everybody Hates Chris” was the one of the few shows on UPN that didn’t coon it up, and I was pleased about it. It had, again, relatable stories for US but also tales of childhood that could be understood across the board. It was a critical darling and lasted four seasons. For a long time though, we didn’t have much else in that vein.

‘The Carmichael Show’, premiered on NBC, 2015

When ‘Atlanta’ premiered in 2016 on the network FX, I was enamored. I had been a fan of Donald Glover for a few years at that point and was familiar with his brand of humor. While attending New York University, he was a part of Derrick Comedy, a troupe that has gained about 100 million viewers on YouTube. They were basically one of the granddaddies on YouTube along with the cat videos and the chocolate rain dude. Derrick Comedy was definitely frat boy humor, but it was witty so I let it rock. Their film ‘Mystery Team’ featured them running around basically as 18 year olds with arrested development issues, solving crimes around their neighborhood. It was cute for what it was but just that, cute. ‘Atlanta’ was not Derrick Comedy and Donald Glover was not that kid a NYU anymore.

‘Atlanta’ was a Black show. So Black in fact that two of the main characters, Darius & Alfred aka Paperboi, were singing Cheryl Lynn’s ‘Encore’ in their car waiting on the plug to pull up. Also, how Black is two cousins from the city of Atlanta trying to make it in the rap game? It had interesting plot lines, great writing, and things that just made me go “What the fuck just happened?”. It was a living, breathing, smart, cartoon pretty much. I’ve never seen that in a show, a Black show at that. For the first time I saw characters being silly, angry, scared, nervous, funny, and Black, all at once. Revolutionary. The show has been placed on this pedestal in modern television and is heralded as one of the best shows on TV right now.

This provided a renaissance sort of speak. We saw creators like Issa Rae, Kenya Barris, and Jerrod Carmichael rise in the genre and tell their stories their way. Issa Rae was open about the fact she’s never seen a Black Liz Lemon, who was Tina Fey’s character on ’30 Rock’. We can see her character in HBO’s ‘Insecure’ bumble around, figure things out and be adorable. The privilege that a lot of white women get to be on screen. On NBC’s ‘The Carmichael Show’, we were able to see a seasoned vet in stand up, Tiffany Haddish, be her authentic self. Nakeisha was such a fun character to watch because she was what most would describe ‘ghetto’ but exhibited awareness and could hold her own in all conversations. From politics and women’s rights , Nakeisha had an answer. Nuanced, sharp, relatable, this is what was missing from comedy with our people and these creators are now providing all those things. Network heads are now understanding that we are marketable in the genre. We have recently been able to see stories and different things that I never thought I’d see on television and film.

I became familiar with Diallo Riddle from another show I loved on NBC, ‘Marlon’ starring the legendary Marlon Wayans. Riddle played the highly educated lovable loser, Stevie. Last spring, I read that he and Bashir Salahuddin had two pilots picked up and were set to start during the summer television schedule. ‘Southside’ premiered on Comedy Central July 24th 2019, and my mind was blown. It was about a team at a Rent-A-Center esque store on the southside of Chicago and it’s very, very funny. Even though I’m not from Chicago, I know my friends love for mild sauce from Harold’s. It was spot on authentic.

‘Sherman’s Showcase’, premiered on IFC, 2019

The other show that was set to premiere was ‘Sherman’s Showcase’. It premiered on the Independent Film Channel on July 31st, 2019. The show was described in the vein of ‘Soul Train’, ‘In Living Color’, & ‘American Bandstand’. It was the perfect blend of Black comedy and Black music. You could tell they had a blast shooting these episodes. Sherman (imagine a fried version of Don Cornelius) was the host of the show that spawned from the 70s to present. It jumps through eras of music with performers reminiscent of Anita Baker, James Brown, Blondie, Mary J Blige, and Prince. One of my favorite skits in the show was an Ocean’s 11 esque heist movie with Motown Legends planning to rob Barry Gordy. Both shows have been picked up for second seasons. I can’t wait to see Riddle & Salahuddin’s stars rise as time goes on.

This past week, Kenya Barris, leader of the ‘Blackish’ universe, premiered ‘Astronomy Club’ on Netflix. It’s in the vein on ‘In Living Color’ but imagine if Keenan went to an HBCU. It is again, a very funny show but highlighting its performers in a light that most don’t get to see. The writing is crazy quirky and authentic. I was too tired marathon when I watched last night but my next day off, I will totally consume it all. Barris recently secured a Netflix development deal, so to see this be the first thing he’s created, I know the rest of the work will push the envelope.

‘Astronomy Club’, premiered on Netflix, 2019

I have a goal of writing my own comedy show one day and to see writers and creators proving to the public that we can be funny, Black, witty, silly, all at once, makes me happy. I spent years watching things like ‘Seinfeld’, ’30 Rock’, and countless Judd Apatow projects not seeing myself and now at almost 30 years old I can. Let’s keep supporting these Black creatives and showing them that we are proud of the work they are putting out. It’s safe to finally be silly in front of white people, damnit, we’ve earned it.