Racism as a Comedic Device in American Cinema

Racism can be described as ugly, disgusting, ignorant, degrading, insulting, psychological, stereotypical, and even interesting. We don't often relate racism to comedy but yet we can find multiple examples in American cinema where this is the case. Ultimately this questions the ethics, intent, and perception of both the creators and the viewers. Lets take a look at a few films in American history where we can find racism as a comedic device and try to explore some of these questions.

1963's Shock Corridor, Written and Directed by Samuel Fuller is a great example. Shock Corridor is a B-list satire film from the acclaimed director starring Peter Breck. Breck plays a young journalist, named Johnny Barrett, determined to win the Pulitzer Prize by voluntarily admitting himself to a mental institution in an attempt to uncover evidence of murder in the mysterious death of an inmate. Through the course of Barrett's investigation he meets three inmate witnesses, uncovers the mysteries of the murder, and through a series of events is straitjacketed and subjected to shock treatment. He is left mentally inept.

Before the shocking end Breck meets Trent (Hari Rhodes) a witness to the murder and inmate at the institution. Trent is introduced as "The only negro student from a southern university." Our first visual of Trent is of him holding a sign in front of his face which reads, "Integration and democracy don't mix. Go home, nigger." Trent lowers the sign and continues to preach racist slander. Here we see racism used in a satirical manner. The scene creates a sort of visual Irony. A black man holding anti black propaganda. What we hear and see does not fit with what is initially revealed to us. This blunt shock and the numerous riduculous actions of a 'black' white supremacist ultimately makes us laugh. See for yourself below:



Fuller does a great job of creating a comedic satire by using over the top inappropriate content in what is supposed to be a very serious setting. But does he go over the top with this character? The answer is no. His intent here is not to be creating a racist message or character but rather an individual that is so shockingly deranged it insights laughter. If he doesn't go this far with all of his characters he fails to accomplish the satire that makes this film a staple.

Our next example is the 2004 Academy Awards winner for Best Picture Crash. Written and Directed by Paul Haggis Crash is a web of lies, greed, and racism. The film follows the lives of many Los Angeles area residents. They all come from different backgrounds, ethnicity, status, and class. Among them are a couple of black car thieves, a racist LAPD officer, an Asian slave trafficker, and a hispnic locksmith.

Crash is not intended to be a comedic representation of racism, rather a more blunt look at how ugly it can be in the face of fear. More often than not in this film we are seeing normal characters interacting in their normal everyday lives, but when get in a position where they feel threatened or fearful they begin to take it out on those around them. When those around them are of a different race it comes out in some form of racist action.

But Haggis does use instances of racism in a comedic manner. In the following dialogue Graham (Don Cheadle) uses racist statements towards Ria (Jennifer Esposito) which elicit laughter:

Graham: [on the phone] Mom, I can't talk to you right now, okay? I'm having sex with a white woman.
[hangs up, and Ria gets out of bed]
Graham: OK, where were we?
Ria: I was white, and you were about to jerk off in the shower.
Graham: Oh, shit. Come on. I would have said you were Mexican, but I don't think it would have pissed her off as much.
Ria: Why do you keep everybody a certain distance, huh? What, you start to feel something and panic?
Graham: Come on, Maria. You're just pissed 'cause I answered the phone.
Ria: That's just where I begin to get pissed. I mean, really, what kind of man speaks to his mother that way, huh?
Graham: Oh, this is about my mother. What do you know about my mother?
Ria: If I was your father, I'd kick your fucking ass.
Graham: OK, I was raised badly. Why don't you take your clothes off, get back into bed, and teach me a lesson?
Ria: You want a lesson? I'll give you a lesson. How 'bout a geography lesson? My father's from Puerto Rico. My mother's from El Salvador. Neither one of those is Mexico.
Graham: Ah. Well then I guess the big mystery is, who gathered all those remarkably different cultures together and taught them all how to park their cars on their lawns?

We have to ask if it is OK to use this here? And the answer is yes. Again we see a situation where our author is not exploiting or promoting racism. We have an interaction between Graham and Ria where Graham uses a stereotypical racist comment as a defense mechanism. We're left as viewers with a pretty funny comment when he says, "Well then I guess the big mystery is, who gathered all those remarkably different cultures together and taught them all how to park their cars on their lawns?" Even though he makes this statement we know Graham is not a racist. He is just using it here as a little comic relief to a tense situation.

Gran Torino(2008), Directed by and Starring Clint Eastwood, is our last example. Eastwood plays Walt, a bad-tempered Korean War veteran who befriends Thao (Bee Vang), his Hmong next door neighbor. After Thao attempts to steal Walts prized Gran Torino, Walt realizes Thao is really a good kid being influenced by his gang banger cousin. He befriends Thao after a period of time and tries to guide him in the right direction.

Walt is not the typical role model type though. Living life as a war vet, having ungrateful children, and losing the wife he loved have left him bitter and cold. Throughout the film Walt defines the stereotype of a racist old man. It seems he has a problem with everyone, and certainly has something to say about it. The approach is very comedic though. He uses his racist remarks in most instances to either establish dominance and intimidate or rag on his new friend Thao. The first is much like Cheadle in Crash.

We see a very social aspect to his comments. Walt prevents a very real portrayal of racism as a comedic device, much like one normally would in a social setting with their friends. Because of his experience he may be a bit more harsh than most. A good example is this bar scene:




We eventually are able to see that Walt is not necessarily a racist but a critic of those who are viruses in our society. He disrespects gang bangers, low life's, and those who cannot maintain their properties. He shows he can overlook race for the benefit of a genuinely good person like he does with Thao.

In all three of these films we see racism used in different ways to get laughs. Regardless of the application one must be careful and ultimately bold to work with such a controversial concept in an attempt at humor. In all three cases we see characters who, like regular people, possess flaws. These flaws help us to develop and give the character an identity and when used this way racism can actually strengthen a film.

As long as we are careful not to glorify or promote racism we can use it to create a humorous situation without a direct or deliberate offense against anyone. As viewers we cannot just take what we see and hear as what it is. To get the full effect of the experience we have to look deeper into the intent of the writers and directors to decipher if a message really does portray racism or if there's a greater message that racism helps us portray.

Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, or other examples to prove or disprove the topics and theories I've discussed above.

If your interested more about race in film check out The 25 Most Important Films on Race