Midterm Topic

I will being analyzing a segment of Louis C.K.'s standup comedy special "Chewed Up" on being White. In it, he impressively manages to discuss White racial identity, White privilege, contemporary power structures, and historical oppression in only a few minutes. I think it is an important source to look at first because it is a rare example of a White person defining themselves within a racial scheme. It is useful to question not what allows him to do this, but also what allows him to do this so quickly and effectively (i.e., Who is his audience? How is he sure that his audience will all understand and be in agreement with his position? Does this point to shared understandings of racial hierarchy?) Secondly, it is interesting to dissect the medium through which this conversation of White racial identity (not a popular conversation) happens. I think that the role of comedy is huge here, and I would like to question what allows comedians to address things we otherwise cannot. I may chose to note trends within racial humor of who has the agency to make which jokes- minorities can laugh at themselves, other minorities, and white people; white people can only laugh at themselves.