Key and Peele have some of the funniest skits I have ever seen, my personal favorite is the substitute teacher sketch. The video up above is an interview that Key and Peele did with CBS this morning about tackling race through humor. They are asked questions about their skits and if they think it is easier for them to make them because they are biracial. I think that their comedy is special. It is not like Tosh. O because it is not out right racist. It makes the audience uncomfortable while still entertaining them. There is something so different about the humor in Key and Peele and Tosh. O. Maybe it is because Key and Peele pull at the stereotypical jokes instead of making jokes at people like Tosh. O. I do think that Key and Peele work to put together skits that bring only laughter and not to hurt people.
I am not a huge fan of Tosh.O. My dad on the other hand loves it. I don't know if it is because of their ridiculous videos or because of Daniel Tosh and his terrible jokes. I just don't think that there is much to be said about Tosh. O. The show is always the same and it doesn't show much creativity. Key and Peele while it sometimes remains the same, it tends to show way more creativity. I think the time and effort they spend writing each sketch is really important and really pays off. Tosh. O tends to just use superiority theory as a way to make people laugh. It even uses the superiority theory when making racial jokes. That is when tension builds and I don't think it is appropriate then. I think Key and Peele tend to air more on the side of the incongruity theory. They use that and some superiority theory to make their sketches highly entertaining and my personal favorite.
I think that Tosh.O is pretty lazy in general. If anything, I think his funniest stuff is when he is not trying to be offensive. His redemption segments, where they bring in people who have been embarrassed in the past, are some of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteKey and Peele I think shows the importance of creativity for race humor. Even a rather crude premise can be very funny when the performance and the imagination are present. I think the notion of the "anger translator" is also a very funny idea, as it shows in a sense what comedy about race often does--it makes anger about injustice more easily digestible.