How Hbo's a Black Lady Sketch Show Utilizes Humor to Cope and Resist Against Racism and Sexism
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Illinois State University ISU ReD: Research and eData Theses and Dissertations 3-31-2021 How Hbo'S A Black Lady Sketch Show Utilizes Humor To Cope And Resist Against Racism And Sexism Regina Lynnette Sanders Illinois State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd Part of the African American Studies Commons Recommended Citation Sanders, Regina Lynnette, "How Hbo'S A Black Lady Sketch Show Utilizes Humor To Cope And Resist Against Racism And Sexism" (2021). Theses and Dissertations. 1409. https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/1409 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ISU ReD: Research and eData. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ISU ReD: Research and eData. For more information, please contact [email protected]. HOW HBO’S A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW UTILIZES HUMOR TO COPE AND RESIST AGAINST RACISM AND SEXISM REGINA L. SANDERS 102 Pages HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show is a sketch comedy series with a cast and crew of Black women. I draw on rhetorical scholarship from various traditions and Black Feminist Standpoint to analyze how the writers and performers use humor imbued with African American rhetoric to cope with and resist systematic racism and sexism in the United States of America. I begin by analyzing interviews with the creator Robin Thede. Then I analyze sketches and the intentional use of African American rhetoric, such as rhythm, stylin’, indirection, call and response, signification, and double word choice, which leads me to three themes: trauma, support, and sex and romantic love as expressions of coping with and resistance to systemic racism and sexism. Trauma centers around the pain that Black women experience, support concerns how Black women support the Black community, and sex and romantic love highlights Black women exploring their sexual and romantic desires. These themes are expressions of systemic racism and sexism’s impact Black women’s daily lives as seen through the lens of the Black women who create, write, direct, and star in this show because systemic racism and sexism cause Black women trauma, alter how and when they give support, and affect the lens through which they view healthy romantic and sexual relationships. I argue this show allows the confrontation of painful tropes and historical experiences while Black women can be themselves. KEYWORDS: Humor, Racism, Sexism, Television, Black Feminism HOW HBO’S A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW UTILIZES HUMOR TO COPE AND RESIST AGAINST RACISM AND SEXISM REGINA L. SANDERS A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE School of Communication ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY 2021 © 2021 Regina L. Sanders HOW HBO’S A BLACK LADY SKETCH SHOW UTILIZES HUMOR TO COPE AND RESIST AGAINST RACISM AND SEXISM REGINA L. SANDERS COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Lauren Bratslavsky, Chair John Baldwin Ashley Hall ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing this thesis was one of the hardest and most rewarding things that I have ever done. I would not have gotten through this process without my faith. I remember times when I wanted to cry in frustration and could only turn to God. I thank Him, first, for holding my hand throughout the entire process. Next, I would like to thank my family. My father, Reginald, my mother, Lenora, and my sisters, Raven and Rebekah. Thank you all for accepting both my tears and joy as I labored with this project. I would like to thank my friends for sending me memes, funny videos, and general encouragement. For the sake of not wanting to forget anyone I won’t list all your names, but you know who you are. Last, but not least, I want to thank my committee. Thank you to both Dr. Baldwin and Dr. Hall for the lessons I learned in your class. Thank you for being a part of my committee and believing in my vision. Thank you, Dr. Bratslavsky for being my chair. Thank you for working with me for nearly a year to craft this thesis. It has been a long, eventful, process. We made it! R.L.S i CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS i CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1 Self-Reflexive Statement 1 Black and Lady in a Contemporary Context 2 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 11 Functions of Humor 11 Affiliative Groups 13 Satire 15 Structures and Tropes for Representations 17 Minstrelsy and Vaudeville 19 Network Television Production 20 HBO 24 Conclusion 25 CHAPTER III: METHOD 28 Rhetorical Analysis 28 Double-Consciousness and Antithesis 32 Black Feminist Standpoint 34 Artifact 34 CHAPTER IV: ANAYLSIS 39 Interviews 40 Production 41 ii Narrative 42 Audience 43 Sketch Analysis 44 Types of Sketches 44 Themes 46 CHAPTER V: DISCUSSION 77 Reflection About the Process 79 Limitations and Further Research 86 Conclusion 89 REFERENCES 92 APPENDIX: TABLE 102 iii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION Self-Reflexive Statement As a Black woman, Black sitcoms and dramas like Good Times, The Parkers, The Jamie Foxx Show, and others were staples in my household. I saw myself, or at least the best possible representation of myself, in each dramatic and comedic moment on screen. I developed an academic interest in television after taking a course titled Seminar in Critical Studies in Mass Communication Representations of Race, Class, and Gender in Media while attending Illinois State University. We read a critique on the popular NBC sitcom Friends and the show’s depiction of Manhattan as predominately White. I compared this scholarly evaluation with my favorite sitcom from the time. I preferred Friends’ predecessor Living Single, which chronicled the lives of six Black friends living in their Brooklyn brownstone. I found myself relating to and laughing more often with the characters of Living Single than of Friends. My frustration for Friends’ universal praise and what felt like Living Single’s erasure grew when David Schwimmer, known for playing Ross on Friends, commented that there should be an all-Black version of Friends. I was confused at Schwimmer’s lack of awareness as Queen Latifah, the star of Living Single, previously spoke about the NBC network executive who explicitly stated his desire to create a show like Living Single before creating Friends (Rosen, 2020). This same frustration fueled my desire to support Black projects. I was tired of projects not receiving recognition, such as Moesha, Girlfriends, and The Parkers (Sanchez, 2020), and I wanted to add my own views as support. So, I was excited when HBO premiered A Black Lady Sketch Show. I argue that A Black Lady Sketch Show offers answers to my frustrations. I argue that by taking an Afrocentric approach to affirm Black culture, using a Black Feminist 1 Standpoint to highlight Black women’s knowledge, and using humor infused with African American rhetoric A Black Lady Sketch Show has the unique position of addressing the issues that Black women face. The use of African American rhetoric in each sketch lends credibility to the fact that A Black Lady Sketch Show is centering Black voices and Black culture. My choice in themes reflects my Black Feminist Standpoint Framework and the uplifting of Black female voices. I argue that the trauma Black women suffer, the support Black women give and receive, and sexual and romantic relationships Black women engage in are affected by systemic racism and sexism. The following sections are introductions to this theoretical framework as I situate my interest in this project and examine some contemporary issues that inform my perspective. Black and Lady in Contemporary Contexts Living Single was a program that contributed greatly to my personal identity as a Black woman. Not only did I witness characters with the same skin color, but I saw myself as silly as Synclaire, hardworking like Khadijah, and witty like Max—and I shared a name with Regine. This show reflected my lived experience. Collins (1989) writes about the subordinate position society puts Black women is and how that affects believability. Black women do not have a shield of being White or male and must rely on their lived experiences as evidence of credibility. It is through lived experience that Black women become the experts (Collins, 1989). This experience is knowledge and Black women are the experts. My experience watching Living Single, enjoying it, and seeing myself in it, work to create knowledge of my unique worldview. By watching this show and critiquing its reception I am engaging in. Black Feminist Standpoint, ultimately, revolves around Black women’s shared attitude about the oppression we face and how we structure our resistance (Collins, 1989). This means I, 2 as a Black woman, can insert myself into the conversation. I cannot divorce myself from my identity. The fact that I am a woman and I am Black shape how I interact with the world as well as how the world interacts with me. I am both personally and academically invested in the portrayal and reception of Black women on television. The original draw for A Black Lady Sketch Show was both my interest in comedy and my desire to support Black creatives. I have long held the notion that if there are numbers demonstrating viewership then the network will renew the program. It is important to me that a power dynamic exists where Black people can control the narrative about Black people. Types of representation is important in the conversation of what images are considered “normal” by society and inform the status quo. Collins (2005) discusses controlling images for African American women. She gives one such example of a “bitch” and how this image is often attributed to poor or working-class Black women.