Catherine Tate skit

Andrea Burns post 3

I felt that the Catherine Tate skit about the ginger minority was an interesting way to deal with the problems of racial stereotyping and prejudices. Granted some may be offended that it turned a very serious issue into a joke, but sometimes that is the best way to handle it. The skit used comedy to show how people can discriminate others based on outward appearences. The skit made obvious the ridiculousness of stereotypes and hatred towards people who are of different races and backgrounds. The skit reminded me of other examples where comedy was used in order to point out negative prejudice and discrimination. A similar tactic was used in the movie and Broadway show Hairspray. It used music and comedy to tell the serious story of racial segregation and integration in the 1960s. It made light of a serious situation in efforts to show the audience the real dilemmas with discrimination and segregation. The muscial Avenue Q used a method to voice a similar problem with their number of "Everyone is a Little Bit Racist." It uses comedy to indicate that racism is a very real problem that many people are too afraid to admit to. I think these examples of using comedy can be a beneficial idea when addressing racism since many are to afraid to discuss the topic and the comedic relief allows it to be a more addressable subject.