Revolution Televised.pdf

xiv Introduction
individual politics of Cornelius and Wilson impact these shows’
construction of blackness?
Chapter 4 focuses on Redd Foxx and the mainstream format of
the situation comedy. Foxx is a crucial figure in the transition from
black-only settings to a mainstream forum. A veteran of the Theater
Owners Booking Association (TOBA, another venue for black
performance) and Chitlin’ Circuit, Foxx had a reputation as a blue
comedian whose X-rated party records sold in an underground
market for years. How did this comic move into the public forum
of prime-time television?
Black women played an important role in publicizing the concerns
of black artists within the television industry. Through interviews
and comments in mainstream magazines, black actresses
participated in a culture of resistance by critiquing their televisual
images and the industry’s approach to race. In chapter 5, I consider
the question, Did their efforts impact the narratives of their shows?
The latest historical show included in the book is The Richard
Pryor Show, and in chapter 6 I analyze Pryor’s four-episode primetime
run. Pryor evolved from a conservative comedian into one of
the most controversial black performers. Using street language, he
portrayed characters from the black underclass to provoke insightful
criticism of U.S. society. The Richard Pryor Show used both
comedy and drama to address issues pertinent to the black community.
Why was this show so short-lived?
Finally, I conclude Revolution Televised by reflecting on the possibilities
and problems of using television as an instrument to impact
social change. Focusing on Chris Rock’s two comedy specials, Bring
the Pain (1996) and Bigger and Blacker (1999), as well as his HBO
weekly series The Chris Rock Show (1997–2000), I propose ways in
which this medium is either successful or underutilized in vocalizing
the continuing concerns of the African American population, and I
suggest the role that African American artists play within this process.
Does cable television offer the space for resistant black voices?
Influenced by African American historians and cultural critics
such as Robin D. G. Kelley (whose book Race Rebels looks at areas
often ignored by mainstream historians), I chose to follow suit with
my study of black television. Kelley locates resistant culture in unlikely
places, and because of its commercial nature television is typically
considered an improbable space for an alternative culture—
but Revolution Televised finds many oppositional strategies at work