Chocolate News
can david alan grier make us forget about chappelle?
Thursday, October 23, 2008
By Patrice Evans
When black-oriented comedy or satire falls short it's usually because it's outdated. This is in contrast to say The Sarah Silverman Program, where a joke falls flat due to "huh?" responses to her brand of comedic esoterica.
See Black comedic esoterica doesn't make it off the cutting room floor, so Black comedy ends up feeling safer, more conservative. Even the controversial
"Return of the King" Boondocks episode, doesn't compare to a recent South Park premise depicting The Raping of Indiana Jones. Do you think Aaron McGruder could get away with illustrating something similar but with characters from the Black community? Surely we can find something the Wayans Brothers have raped.
And the safety in the writing isn't even necessarily "PC" safe, it's just the people with money funding the show (likely white) have to get the jokes. So if you're pushing the envelope from a Black perspective, and they don't quite follow the logic, you're probably poop out of luck.
This is why I'd suspect most young bruhs and sistahs weren't especially motivated by the previews/trailers/ads for Chocolate News, David Alan Grier's attempt at filling the Black Hole in television programming with his urban version of The Daily Show. Fronted by a guy who hasn't made you laugh since In Living Color, and teasing us with clips premised around ideas like hip hop being sexist/violent/ho-laden, and white people using the n-word. Ehhh, done and done. Even the show's mildly amusing ad campaign was executed better a couple years ago by a different network.
Of course in premise alone, the show feels soooo right. And soooo necessary. One can understand Comedy Central pulling an all out marketing blitz. A Black Jon Stewart, A Black Colbert, and the first mainstream initiative of this nature since the wildly successful Chappelle's Show. Well let's say it all together now: CHA-CHING, I'M RICH BEEOTCH!
But, though I'm rooting for victory, I suspect Chocolate News will be a case of close but no cigar. Here's why:
1. Chappelle Is Dead, Long Live Chappelle: Only a few short years ago, Chappelle was just leaving center stage of the public eye. Dave himself was doing his "I Ain't Crazy" tour, and we wondered what might follow. Turns out: NOTHING. The common denominator in every review and commentary on this initiative is realizing the void has only gotten bigger (and blacker!) since Chappelle's Show's departure from the scene. And given the lack of alternatives the show has only gotten more idealized and glorified in the mind's eye; like Illmatic, or sliced bread, the reputation far exceeds the actual product at ths point. Chappelle is gone, but has left a daunting legacy for negro sketch satirists to follow.
2. Can The Satirical News Show Work For Negroes?: Beyond the challenge of execution and high expectations, this is the heart of the problem for a show like Chocolate News. And I can't articulate it better than this waffling Salon review:
When Stephen Colbert launched his "Report," he made it clear to anyone with a sense of irony that he was riffing on Bill O'Reilly and his ilk. But even if Grier were to base his caricature on a media figure like Tavis Smiley or Tom Joyner, how many of us would get it? And how much fun could you make of either of those guys, anyway? Political humor is best served as a poke in the eye of power; Smiley and Joyner's influence and name recognition aren't anywhere near as strong as O'Reilly's."
The black-gold standard in Chappelle only dabbled with the news anchor character, perhaps realizing the black dude doesn't have the luxury to sit in any one spot. And while that imbalance of tolerance might be a product of racism, it's also a progenitor of good comedy. So you can't just hate on it; we want our entertainers to keep things fresh. The reference to Smiley and Joyner brings us back to the issue of "safe humor." It seems that some of our cows are too sacred, or rather too important to the cultivation of our community to sacrifice for the sake of a laugh. If the target hits close to home, we get sensitive and find the satire to be misguided rather than irreverent.
3. Grandpa Rock Star: Tethered to the previous point, one wonders about the show's potential because of the choice of frontman. You can't be the new hot buzzy hip hop band today... but be fronted by Melle Mel. An old man acting a fool works for a while, but is more a game left to the youth. Don't get me wrong, David Alan Grier commands some respect. He has pedigree. We know he's a veteran of the game. And honestly, he deserves this show. But he's also 53. Chris Rock is 43. Chappelle is now 36 and was early 30s for the show. It's one thing to mature into being a great writer, but I don't know if you can age into being the LEAD PERFORMER on an edgy sketch comedy show. And yes, I know Stewart came into his own over time, but he's also not really in the sketches. It's more like he lets the kids/correspondents play while he manages the three-ring circus with a plum... I mean aplomb. Ha, my grandfather wrote that joke!
All this said, most of the reviews are optimistic with reservations. Acknowledging the show is not quite funny yet, but if it gets time the talent and concept could lead to a solid piece of television. Which is a fair assessment. Listening to Grier do his Maya Angelou on the radio for NPR translates a whole lot better than seeing another black-guy-in-a-fat-suit routine. So there's hope. Who knows, maybe by the time we get a Black president, we'll also have a Black Daily Show that's worth talking about.
Until then, even if it's a little bittersweet, I might have to settle for my chocolate news no matter who gives it to me.
Patrice Evans (aka The Assimilated Negro) is a writer, blogger and EbonyJet.com contributor whose work has appeared in Gawker, Time Out New York and The New York Times. His blog is www.theassimilatednegro.blogspot.com.
Front page photo: Gayle Goodrich
Article page photo: Ian White
