As much as it may pain me to admit, I have watched the comedy of Carlos Mencia. I find it to be horrible, and what is more, it has been stolen from various other bad comics (and some good ones). I don't feel as though his constant stereotyping of Latino(a)s is productive or respectful. By consistently making jokes that stereotype a certain race, we are left with stale, overused comedy that does nothing but set back an entire race of people.
Chris Rock, on the other hand, while he might stereotype, is consistent in his description of the hardships that his race faces while being politically and practically poignant. The difference lies with the way those differences are perceived. Stereotyping Mexicans as lazy and dirty as Carlos Mencia so often did (before he was caught ripping off other comics and his career died), is only going to fuel anti-Latino sentiments. Chris Rock spoke passionately (and hilariously) about his plan to increase the price of bullets and how that would truly reduce the crime within the African American community. (See Below)
My point is that there is a very fine line between appropriate and inappropriate when it comes to utilizing race in comedy. Rock, Pryor, Red Foxx=Good Carlos Mencia=Worse than boxed wine and hot dogs.
No comments:
Post a Comment