Research Paper On Richard Pryor

606 Words2 Pages

“Painful punchlines of a flawed funny man; Richard Pryor was recognised as a groundbreaking comedian whose profanely personal insights into race relations and modern life made him one of Hollywood's biggest stars.” Richard Pryor: widely known as that foul-mouthed comedian, but too many others he was known as a hilarious comic who attracted large crowds of people from all ethnicities. Richard Pryor was one of the few comedians who influenced/promoted freedom of speech in stand-up comedy by saying things on stage that no one had dared before (Williams para.2). His style of comedy broke down many barriers in American stand-up comedy (Williams para.1). A lot of controversies began to rise over what many people believe was Pryor’s excessive use of the N-word. Pryor thought that is was only right that people spoke their mind. When Richard Pryor would perform on stage, he was always confident and humor- ous when discussing topics such as racism/race relation, drug use, politics, etc.(Richard Pryor, A Comedy Pioneer). His everyday life heavily influenced the jokes he told on …show more content…

The words he used started to become sensitive in the aspects of who were allowed to say the N-word but Mr.Pryor believed that people were allowed to say anything they wanted too. Instead of using the word nigger he uses the slang version, nigga. He considers the original N-word created by white slave owners in the 1800s to be dead. As for the slang version, he used it not assuming it had a racist connotation behind it. In paragraph 6, Juan Williams records a quote from Richard Pryor: “Mr. PRYOR: I think that people should say what they feel. I mean, you know, I don't give a (censored) if it's racism or whatever ism it is. I mean, whatever, man. Just to be yourself is such a nice thing. I like to be accepted.” “He refused to tiptoe around controversy, preferring to dive head first into the previously uncharted waters of racial commentary”(Collier

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of John Griffin's Black Like Me And Dick Gregory And Nigger

    743 Words  | 2 Pages

    He effectively moves from a position of “Other” to one of empowerment through his active participation in the Civil Rights movement, and his comedy. In fact, Gregory views comedy as “friendly relations,” allowing him to abandon his repressed identity—one that was “mad and mean inside” (134)—and move to a position of empowerment that allows Gregory to “make jokes about [whites] and their society” (Gregory 132). Through his comedy, Gregory is also able to dissociate himself from the term “nigger,” as well as the namelessness, de-individuation, and dehumanizing effects associated with it: “Every white man in America knows we are Americans, knows we are Negroes, and some of them know us by our names. So when he calls us a nigger, he’s calling us something we are not, something that exists only in his mind. So if nigger exists only in his mind, who’s the nigger?” (Gregory 201). In refusing to adopt the word and its negative connotations as self-definition, Gregory “returns” the word and its negativity to the dominant society of the white middle class—the discriminatory “. . . system that makes a man less than a man, that teaches hate and fear and ignorance” (Gregory

    Read More

  • Clayton Bigsby's The Black White Supremacist

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    If you visit http://www.cc.com/shows/chappelle-s-show, there is a listing of Dave Chappelle’s shows. You will notice by the titles e.g. The Niggar Family, that Chappelle is not just being funny but is attempting to make his audience consider the effects of certain social practices in our society. The Black White Supremacist is one of his skits; Clayton Bigsby is the name of the main character. Bigsby is blind. He was brought up in an all-white school for blind children. The director said it was easier to tell him that he was white like everyone else. He absorbed the white racist dogma he was around his whole life and as an adult, he marries a white woman, spouts racist views publically, and writes books containing racist sentiments. His downfall comes when he is found by Ted Wallace, a reporter for Frontline, and goes on a book writing tour where his identity is unwittingly revealed. Wallace’s supposed serious interview of Clayton Bigsby is laughable. Ted Wallace is the instrument used to expose the stupidity of the white power movement.

    Read More

  • Gloria Naylor's The Meaning Of A Word

    425 Words  | 1 Pages

    Naylor implies that derogatory terms have a twist and are a disguise of acknowledgement to her race. Although it was initially created to humiliate and dehumanize African Americans, ‘the n-word’ develops into a word that admires men of that race.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Huckleberry Finn Racist Trash

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    How many times have you heard the “N” word being used as not an insult, but as a nickname for a friend? The truth is: In 2016, the “petrifying” “N” word has become less of an insult, and more of a simple nickname that many teens and young adults use for each other. The simple connotation of the word has been modified throughout the years from being something that was used as hurtful slander of the black population, to a petty pet name. For this simple reason alone, all of the arguments about Huckleberry Finn being “Racist

    Read More

  • African American Humor Research Paper

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    In an article published by “Journal of Blacks in Higher Education” Lawrence states that “even though I am always troubled by public use of the term nigger, the most uniquely hateful words in the American vocabulary. And yet I would never criticize Chris Rock for when, where and how he uses it” (Lawrence 84). The reason why the writer in the article stated the he do not criticize Chris Rock for using the word Nigga he fell as if American is ‘censoring and policing black creative and expression” (Lawrence 84). Racial slurs can be positive in the African American culture because it is an image that project how black can become better parents for their kids at home and role models, how education is very important and good work ethics. “On the other hand the significance of Mr. Richards’ upheaval is about more than terrible drama strategy. Jamie Masada, the proprietor of the Laugh Factory, and Paul Mooney, a black humorist who used to compose for Richard Pryor, have joined legislators and activists, including the Democrat of California, in requiring a conclusion to the utilization of what they call the N word by everybody including blacks” ( Allen 1). This is why individual in America looks at racial slurs differently because its interpretation black culture and black entertainment depending on how they perceive the jokes.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Bigsby And Ruckus

    1860 Words  | 4 Pages

    The majority of comedy is centered on identity. Comedy, like many other aspects of different cultures contains barriers that are broken only by an understanding of the context of the comedy. In order words, it is unlikely that an African would fully understand a joke by an American comedian if the joke draws from a primarily American historical or social context. Hence, what one can identify with affects what kind of jokes one can relate to. Identity is predicated on the ability to relate because identities are formed through personal interpretations of the environment one finds himself or herself in. These personal interpretations can be highly influenced by a manipulation of the context or amount of representation. Using Bigsby and Ruckus

    Read More

  • Robin Williams Research Paper

    1515 Words  | 4 Pages

    Robin Williams: Living the American Dream Americans are blessed with the freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Each person is entitled to pursue the true dreams and desires of his or her heart. These individualized opportunities are often referred to as the American Dream. Difficulties frequently arise on the journey to one's dream. One must find a way to conquer these struggles to make his or her dream a reality.

    Read More

  • Jim Carrney Research Paper

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jim Carrey is a successful comedian and actor, who has been a part of many award-winning films, and is world renowned for his talents. He did not start out this prosperous; he overcame many obstacles, and encountered many choices from a very young age that affected his path to infamy. He kept trying diligently to reach his goal of making people laugh, and through trial and error, he succeeded.

    Read More

  • Controversial Issues In Trevor Noah's 'Born A Crime'

    1392 Words  | 3 Pages

    At this time, controversial topics are really hard to talk about without offending someone. Nowadays you could potentially offend someone just by saying one wrong word. But some comedians are able to talk about these controversial topics in a way that doesn’t spark negative backlash. Trevor Noah is a comedian from South Africa who talks about his life during apartheid. In his comedic bits he talks about apartheid and he is able to make fun of it even though he grew up in apartheid. In this essay I will use Trevor Noah’s book, Born a Crime, and one of his stand up bits to show that humor is an effective way to talk about sensitive or serious topics or events.

    Read More

  • I No Longer Use the N-Word

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    I have not used the N-word since February 25, 2015. Reflecting back to the first time I had ever heard that derogatory word, I distinctly remember we were living in Long Island, New York, and on this specific day my father and I, driving down a very busy street in an old pick-up truck, while turning into our local Home Depot my father made a very wide turn causing a white lady to miss her turn. She screamed out the window, "You dumb ass nigger". At that time I didn't grasp the meaning of that putrid word, but it didn’t take me much longer to realize the force and hatred behind it.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Nigga Reappropriation

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    To begin, the word ‘nigga’ is a colloquial term from African American Vernacular English. It is derived from ‘nigger,’ which originated as a neutral descriptor for black people, but later became highly pejorative (Kennedy, 2011). Both ‘nigger’ and its derivatives have been historically used as established derogatory terms, and have retained their association with discrimination against blacks in their modern day use, which remains pejorative (Middleton & Pilgrim, 2013). However, in recent years, the form ‘nigga’ has been reclaimed to some extent, particularly among the younger generation of African Americans, although this is almost always limited to its use in an intra-group context and its reappropriation remains controversial. As is the case with other instances of reclamation, the reappropriation of ‘nigga’ and ‘nigger’ has been influenced by several social factors, including a history of racism and other forms of discrimination, issues of black identity, and

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Rappoport

    1135 Words  | 3 Pages

    Richard Pryor once said, “There’s a thin line between to laugh with and to laugh at” (A-Z Quotes). Leon Rappoport, a professor at Kansas State University, believed in the same thin line as Pryor. Rappoport received his BA and MS at New York University, and completed his PhD in 1963 at the University of Colorado (Kansas State University). He studied psychological sciences, and concentrated his studies in decision making and human judgment, even writing a book called Punchlines: The Case for Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Humor (Kansas State University). In another book, The Sword and Shield Metaphor and Other Perspectives, Rappoport claims that humor depends on how the audience receives humor because humor depends on the individual and the experiences the audience has had. The audience can either be on the side of the audience that is getting laughed at, or they can be on the side of the audience that is laughing with other people.

    Read More

  • Prejudice And Racism In The Fashion Industry

    1616 Words  | 4 Pages

    Later, he went on to justify his use of the racial slur in his presentation because he sent the idea for approval to his friend Kanye West, who is a black Hip-Hop megastar. He basically used the “It’s ok. My black friend gave me a pass” excuse. This is problematic because Kanye West does not represent the whole African American

    Read More

  • Friend Zone: Dating and Romance

    1141 Words  | 3 Pages

    Before analyzing the comedic content in question, it is important when drawing on a variety of sentiments from comedians to understand that many performers use a character or parody for their humor. Others choose to voice opinions and views contrary to their own, in the hopes of receiving a certain reaction from a specific audience. In referring to the material of writers and comedians, one must respond to the beliefs they promote (which can be known), rather than those they espouse, which cannot.

    Read More

  • A Brief Note On Stardom

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    The nature of comedy has always left it somewhat resistant to critical analysis, and to some extent the same can be said for comedic actors. The class-clowns of Hollywood like Will Ferrell are often times constructed as being nothing more than amusing, so they seem lik...

    Read More

More about Research Paper On Richard Pryor

Open Document