I think the problem is that this video couldn't exists without racism, not so much that it's somehow only funny because of racism. I think that a video of a white child with an Ottawa river valley accent saying "he kicked him in the penis. He was badly injured" with the same earnestness would in fact be equally funny. But -- when have you ever seen a white kid be the butt of a joke quite like this one? I'm not sure if this is scripted, but it SOUNDS scripted, and I can't imagine anybody putting those words in a white kid's mouth.
I think it's a little gimmicky -- a bit of a trap. By the time the thing about racism flashes up, you probably ARE laughing, even if in a nervous way, and suddenly it's like, "wha? I'm a racist? Uh-oh."
One of my office mates watched this yesterday, and today he commented that this really is funny because the kid has the mannerisms, etc., of an adult -- specifically an adult black comedian. Which, he argues, actually IS funnier than if a white kid had the mannerisms of an adult white comedian, with the same script.
Comments 5
(The comment has been removed)
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Still, I dunno... but it's a sensible argument.
Reply
Leave a comment