Crackers by Chris Rock

It's taken 6 years for this music video to get out. If the title doesn't give you a clue why it's taken so long to get out, everything from 27 seconds on will.



Oh it's a parody of Outkast's Hey Ya music video alright. And it's dripping with sarcasm. I couldn't stop laughing the first time I saw it. In fact I'm surprised that Chris Rock made it. Bold is not the word.

The best thing about this video is what is being said. More than the insult that's the catch-phrase of the video. It's going to the heart of serveral issues.

But let's look at the catch-phrase for a second. Some Whites will be offended by being called a cracker. Which I can understand as it is offensive. But how is that different than calling a Black person the N-word? Isn't Rock "re-inventing" the meaning, just as Whites (and ignorant African Americans who likewise have no clue of the meaning and power of the term) claim when they use the term freely as if it were meaningless? If some Whites are offended, how in the hell do these same people not expect at least some African Americans to be offended?

The video goes deeper though. There is history in this. Lot's of it. They may not cover lynchings and rapes of African Americans for centuries of American history in school, but this video reminds us that it happened. Some of it far less than a century ago (the last attempted lynching on record was in 2005, and one of the more recent travesties of White on Black violence was the Megan Williams case in West Virginia - which the major media convienently avoided).

Oh this video cuts to the bone. It's not to kind to those that would adorn themselves with the N-word either.

There is just too much symbolism and truth to this music video parody. But is it racist, which it is sure to be called? I don't think so.

Slave rape, police brutality in regard to people of color, lynchings (as recent as 1981), popularization of demeaning terminology, commoditization of Black culture, insane degrees of disparity in economic and social status, and the willful disregard for inclusion of people of color in the entertainment industry are just a few facts this video hits on. If you covered all these topics in a speech, a lecture, or as I have from time to time on this blog, it's not racist. The fact it's all in 4 minutes of a music video, with more than a touch of humor and a slashing sarcasm makes it no more racist.

Chris Rock should take a bow. This music video parody is brilliant.

Pee-wee Herman is back

Some of my readers probably never have heard of Pee-wee Herman, nor his real world creator Paul Reubens. That can either be taken as a plus or a negative depending on your taste in comedy.

Either way there is no question that for a time, Pee-wee was the hottest comedian on television. He had a successful Saturday morning show that was good for kids, but held lots of laughs for adults that could read between the lines. He had made 2 successful films. All was going well.

Then Reubens did something that nearly killed Pee-wee completely. Reubens was caught doing a very adult act in a quite seedy film theater. The reaction was hardly the minor inconvienence of George Michael, it was more akin to the image bash that Tiger Woods is currently living.



Every sponsor disappeared, and Reubens was unable to find any kind of work. He languished in this realm for a time until he got a break with a "minor" role in the original film of Buffy the Vampire Killer. His take on a vampire death was a scene stealer and reminded some that talent is not the same as media exposure.



There were several other minor roles over the years, but nothing to the level of Pee-wee.

Of course Reubens was in a love-hate relationsip with Pee-wee. Not unlike Leonard Nimoy's feelings towards Spock, perhaps even the relationship of Gollum and The Ring, Pee-wee was what Reubens was known for.

But now, decades after the event, and at a time when the youth are more than prepared to see for the first time the great hits of the past, Reubens has made peace with his famous alterego and brought him back to life. The only question is how big a return will it be?

I say how big because Paul Reubens is funny. As annoying as the Herman persona can be, it works. On the big screen and on the small it conveys something to audiences of all ages. And it's far more original than most anything else out now in any medium you can name.

I'm hoping all goes well for Reubens and Herman alike. I thought he was a funny man, and the onslaught of negative publicity for something that hurt no one was unfair (though it was a bit creppy - like George Michael). He's paid his dues, more than most entertainers.

So I think it's time that another generation learn how to dance to Tequila!

Do you know Abbott & Costello?

Yesterday, while at an event at the Chameleon Café in Endicott (which I will review later) I was speaking with a group of friends. As the conversation was going along, the subject of comedy came up. Initially we were speaking about Eddie Izzard, who I think is fantastic.



But as we went along the discussion turned to some of the funniest comedy skits ever. Obviously the discussion ran into Monty Python. And thus we talked about the Dead Parrot skit. Which I believe is one of the greatest comedy skits ever.



But not everyone in the group agreed. Why not I don’t know. Probably because this is a very British skit. But I love it.

So as we continued we came on what is the greatest comedy skit ever. I believe there is nothing ever done that beats this. It’s family friendly, before such a term existed. It’s about sports, but done in a way where even non-sports fan can enjoy it. It has a fast pace, yet anyone can follow it. It’s simple in the set-up, and delivers multiple times in the execution.

Abbott & Costello’s Who’s On First.



In over 60 years of comedy and films, no one and nothing tops this. I found it amazing that the younger people in my group had no idea what this skit was. I felt really bad that they did not know the joy of true pure comedy at its best.

Now that I have presented this to you my readers, I’m wondering. Do my younger readers agree? If you don’t can you offer a better skit than this? Of all comedy teams, who is better than what I just presented?