Will Hartigan

Professor Ponnuswami
Ethnic Comedy
9 December 2014
Annotated Bibliography
"Amos and Andy Blackface." YouTube. YouTube, 23 July 2010. Web. 17 Dec. 2014.
This video clip comes from an episode of Amos and Andy, a famous television show from
the mid 1940s to the late 1950s. This excerpt shows a later example of blackface as it
has progressed to television. The scene displays two inarticulate black men using
extremely exaggerated African-American vernacular.

Bailey, C. "Fight the Power: African American Humor as a Discourse of Resistance." Western
Journal of Black Studies 36.4 (2012): 253-63. Ethnic NewsWatch. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
In this scholarly journal, Bailey discusses the struggles of black comedians in todays
society. Bailey argues that many comedians attempt to break down the stereotypes
associated with blacks but unfortunately they end up reinforcing them. According to
Bailey, black comedians will always face the problem of being too controversial or too
exclusive to non-black audiences.

"Chris Rock about Black Slaves." YouTube. YouTube, 9 June 2009. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLKvYB7CeAY>.
This stand-up routine performed by Chris Rock presents a multiethnic, modern
example of black humor. Rock focuses on affirmative action and the real reasoning
behind the implementation of the policy.

"Dave Chappelle - Native Americans." YouTube. YouTube, 19 Jan. 2009. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
This scene comes from one of Dave Chappelles stand up routines. Chappelle uses a
multiethnic approach to analyze Native Americans. While Chappelle may reference
common stereotypes associated with Native Americans, he makes these stereotypes
appear ridiculous and outdated in an effort to break them down.

"Davis and Miller "28" Routine - Blackface Minstrel Comedy." YouTube. YouTube, 9 Jan.
2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
This video clip comes from the film Yes, Mr Bones (1951). The plot of the film
revolves around a young child who stumbles upon a retirement home for minstrel
performers. The rest of the film is a compilation of flashbacks from the minstrel
era, like the one that is included above.

"Family Guy - Black Woman In Hindsight." YouTube. YouTube, 3 Nov. 2012. Web. 17 Nov.
2014.
In this clip from the episode Tiegs for Two from the animated sitcom, Family Guy, two
black women are together in a salon. One of the women is angered and portraying the
stereotypical angry, independent, sassy black woman.

"Family Guy - Black Woman vs Italian Guy." YouTube. YouTube, 10 July 2014. Web. 17 Nov.
2014.
In this clip from the episode Seahorse Seashell Party from the animated sitcom, Family
Guy, a black woman parks her car in a no parking zone outside of a restaurant. The owner
of the restaurant is visibly annoyed by the black womans persistence, stubbornness, and
overall belligerent attitude. The aforementioned characteristics are commonly associated
with the angry black woman stereotype.

Gillota, David. "Introduction: The Boundaries of American Ethnic Humor." Ethnic

Humor in Multiethnic America. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 2013. Print.
In Chapter 1 of Gillotas Ethnic Humor in Multiethnic America, he analyzes
African American comedy while incorporating a series of performances from a
wide range of comedians. Gillotas insight provides the audience with a broad
understanding of multiethnic (modern) African American comedy.

Lang, Nico. "41 Mind-Blowingly Racist Vintage Ads You Need To See." Thought Catalog.
The Thought & Expression Co., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014.
This cartoon was an ad for Pears Soap in the late 19th century. The pitch from Pears was
that their soap could change ones skin complexion from black to white. While this pitch
is obviously a cruel racist joke, it plays on the perception that blacks are filthy or dirty.

Littleton, Darryl. Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African-Americans Taught

Us to Laugh. New York: Applause Theatre & Cinema, 2006. Print.

Darryl Littelton explores the historical progression and evolution of black

comedy. Throughout the text, Littleton makes reference to notable black
performers ranging from minstrel shows to present-day stand-up. Black
Comedians on Black Comedy: How African-Americans Taught Us to Laugh also
incorporates commentary from black comedians like Aresenio Hall, Chris Rock,
Eddie Murphy, and Dick Gregory.

"Rick Ross - Thug Cry Ft. Lil Wayne." YouTube. YouTube, 5 May 2014. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.
This music video for Rick Ross song Thug Cry embodies many of the present-day
black stereotypes (i.e. violent, evil, poor, gangsters, drug lords, etc.)

Smolko, Joanna R. "Southern Fried Foster: Representing Race and Place through Music in
Looney Tunes Cartoons." American Music 30.3 (2012): 344-72. Web. 3 Dec. 2014.
In Joanna Smolkos scholarly journal she analyzes the underlying racism in music from
the late 19th century (blackface era). More specifically, she focuses on songs like Dixie (
I Wish I Was in Dixie) as well as other songs that mention the good times associated
with slavery.

"Substitute Teacher - Key & Peele." YouTube. YouTube, 17 Oct. 2012. Web. 05 Dec. 2014.
In a clip from the sketch comedy series, Key & Peele, a black, inner city, substitute
teacher comes to teach in a white middle-class school. He has a difficult time
pronouncing many of the students names while taking attendance. The point of the

sketch is to make fun of the teachers ignorance and inability to pronounce the students
due to his natural black vernacular.

"The Most Racist Cartoon Ever!" YouTube. YouTube, 11 Aug. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
<https://youtube.com/watch?v=sls5H4xVHys>.

This video is a compilation of racist, vaudeville era African-American cartoons. This

source is incredibly useful in demonstrating the evolution of black humor
over the course of the past century.

Watkins, Mel. "What Was It About 'Amos 'n' Andy'?" The New York Times. The New York
Times, 06 July 1991. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.
In this New York Times article, Mel Watkins analyzes the nature of the humor found in
the television show Amos and Andy. Watkins argues that while the two main characters
embody some of the deeply-rooted stereotypes associated with blacks, the humor is
relatively unrelated to race.

Zolten, J. Jerome. Black Comedians: Forging An Ethnic Image. Journal Of American

Culture (01911813) 16.2 (1993): 65-77. America: History and Life with Full Text.
Web. 9 Nov. 2014
In this scholarly journal article, Jerome Zolten discusses and analyzes the idea of
humor as an act of persuasion. More particularly, Zolten examines how African
American comedians, used stand-up comedy to counter a stereotyped image of
blacks (74) over the course of the past century. The article provides a timeline of

black humor with specific examples from Amos and Andy, Bert Williams, Dick
Gregory, and Lenny Bruce.