Tag: Race/Ethnicity Blackness
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S50 E18: Quinta Brunson

We discuss the inside humor of racial epithets on Weekend Update: Two Applebee’s Barflies Duke and Darlene, the complicated experience of laughing at oneself in Two Bitches vs. a Gorilla and Forever 31, and the racial politics of time in Will and Todd’s Radical Experience.
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SNL50: The Anniversary Special

We talk about the show’s role in establishing comedy across the 20th and 21st centuries from Word Association to Black Jeopardy, its complicated relationship with representing Blackness and Black humor exemplified in the In Memoriam montage, and how this epic oeuvre can be used to foster conversations in the classroom.
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S50 E12: Timothée Chalamet

Fan favorites like SmokeCheddaThaAssGetta and Tiny Horse were absent In Chalamet’s third time hosting. We discuss Johnson’s ability to impersonate Trump’s haughty cruelty in Founding Fathers Cold Open, the role of AI in interpersonal relationships in AI Software, and the power of intra Black conversations in Giselle, A Concerned Businesswoman.
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S50 E11: Dave Chappelle

We discuss Chappelle’s progressively classic Stand-Up Monologue and political aesthetics, journalism’s struggle in the current communication environment with MSNBC social Coverage Cold Open, and the power of ambiguity and backstory in Evacuation Alert. We are joined in the virtual studio by friend of the pod, Chuck Hayward for an exciting conversation about Chappelle’s trajectory.
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S50 E09: Chris Rock

Chris Rock anchors a largely forgettable episode, interlaced with a few showstopping bangers. We talk about impactful lines from Rock’s Opening Monologue, fan fictionalizing the 2022 Oscars Slap in Simpsons Christmas Gift, as well as racial memory and application with Grandpa’s Magic Car and Mall Santas.
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S50 E01: Jean Smart

In Jean Smart’s first appearance as host after nearly 40 years on television, we talk about repurposing and sustainability in the parody commercial, Spirit Halloween, Black on Black humor in Devon Walker’s Eric Adams, and the privacy of public figures in Bowen Yang’s Moo Deng.
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S49 E19: Maya Rudolph

We talk about anti-queer discrimination and communities of practice with the Opening Monologue, the intersection of occupation, gender, and ethnicity in Nurse Appreciation, and the unruly woman in Hot Ones with Beyoncé.
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S49 E18: Dua Lipa

We talk about algorithms and the loss of water cooler conversations in Jerry Seinfeld’s appearance on Weekend Update as The Man Who Did Too Much Press, virtue signaling and slacktivism in Teeny Tiny Statement Pin, and the cognitive correlates of blackface and culture vultures in Good Morning Greenville.
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S49 E11: Ayo Edebiri

We discuss the importance of civic engagement and accountability in Why’d You Say It, the ironic inclusion of power in satire in the CNN Town Hall South Carolina Cold Open, and the absurdities of (and opportunities associated with disrupting) white supremacy and normativity in Trivia Quest and People’s Court – Bad Hair Day.
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S49 E10: Dakota Johnson

In Dakota Johnson’s second crack at hosting SNL, we talk about socioeconomic- and race-based othering in Home Movies, black friends and black-up bands with Justin Timberlake’s musical performance of Sanctified, and the long history of the Dozens in Roast, a film by Please Don’t Destroy.
