Revolution Televised.pdf

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That Nigger’s Crazy 159 reporter: Brother Bell from Ebony magazine. As-Salaam-Alaikum, Brother. pryor: Wa-Alaikum-Salaam. (A white female reporter looks at the Ebony reporter.) reporter: What you looking at, Snow White?! Brother, about blacks in the labor force, I wanna know what you going to do about having more black brothers as quarterbacks in the National Football League. pryor: I plan not only to have lots of black quarterbacks, but we gonna have black coaches and black owners of teams as long there going to be football, gonna be some black in it somewhere—you know what I’m talkin’ about? I’m on the case now. (A white reporter puts up his hand.) pryor: (In a dismissive manner) Yes, what, what is it? reporter: Mr. President. pryor: (Staring angrily at him) Yeah, what?! reporter: Mr. Bigby, Mississippi Herald. pryor: Sit down. (A white female reporter raises her hand.) pryor: Yeah, what is it? reporter: Mrs. Fenton Carlton Macker, Christian Women’s News. Mr. President, since you have become president, you’ve been seen and photographed on the arms of white women. (Audience oohs.) Quite frankly, sir, you have been courting an awful lot of white women. Will this continue? pryor: (Looking around nervously) As long as I can keep it up. I mean, why you think they call it the White House? The session eventually breaks up when a white reporter starts a “your mamma” confrontation with Pryor. The room breaks into mayhem as Pryor leaps off the stage at the reporter and is carried out of the pressroom. In this skit Pryor is able to comment on several issues relevant to black social and political life. His first comment on the unemployment rate immediately indicates the discrepancy of statistics based on race and the ways in which politicians’ promises end up benefiting the white community more than the minority community. In 1977, the country was in the midst of an economic recession, which only worsened in the upcoming years. A connection can be made between this comment and the results of affirmative
160 That Nigger’s Crazy action, which in the end secured jobs for white women more than any other minority. The presence of reporters from black publications such as Jet and Ebony at the news conference, with the president favoring their questions, assures that the discussion stays on black issues. The nomination of Huey P. Newton for the director of the FBI is an acknowledgment of J. Edgar Hoover’s role in targeting the Black Panther Party for extinction. The idea of having Newton in Hoover’s position is particularly humorous for a black audience cognizant of the FBI’s tactics to repress black political speech. Today’s continued lack of black ownership and coaches in the National Football League and the majority of other national sports is ironic in light of the president’s promise to correct that situation. Pryor’s dismissal of the reporter from Mississippi further emphasizes that, if there were a liberal black president, the black community would have a greater chance of getting its issues in front of the highest office in the land. For a black viewing audience, this was a pleasant fantasy, especially in light of the black community’s suffering under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, whose presidencies immediately preceded The Richard Pryor Show. Nixon was successful in his overt attempt to reverse the progress made during the Civil Rights era. In his attempt to clean up widespread “lawlessness” caused by the antiwar and black power movements, Nixon, through the FBI, used repressive tactics to squelch African American protest. Finally the white female reporter’s question targets both the reality of Pryor and the fears of a nation, exemplified in the D. W. Griffith epic Birth of a Nation (1915). By having the black president, now in the ultimate position of power, engage in interracial relationships, the skit realizes the fears and expectations of Griffith and a segment of the U.S. viewing audience: that given the opportunity, black men will take advantage of the “virginal white woman.” 25 While Pryor’s skit can be seen as perpetuating a myth of black rape and black masculinity, he addresses the racism implicit in the idea through the look of disgust on the reporter’s face. He flaunts his ability to make his own sexual decisions. Pryor also winks at the issue to a black audience. His personal life and his relationships with numerous women, both white and black, were a long-standing topic of discussion within black circles, driven by the idea that dating a white woman was selling out the black community. Pryor converses
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Revolution Televised
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Revolution Televised Prime Time and
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This book is dedicated to Ailsa Jea
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Contents Acknowledgments ix Introdu
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Acknowledgments Revolution Televise
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Introduction Dy-no-mite! What’s h
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Introduction xiii texts were chosen
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Introduction xv in black television
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1. Reading the Roots of Resistance
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Reading the Roots of Resistance 3 t
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Reading the Roots of Resistance 5 p
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Reading the Roots of Resistance 11
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Was the Revolution Televised? 25 Bl
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Was the Revolution Televised? 29 Bu
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Was the Revolution Televised? 33 to
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Was the Revolution Televised? 49 On
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Was the Revolution Televised? 51 li
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Was the Revolution Televised? 53 ca
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What You See Is What You Get 55 ces
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What You See Is What You Get 57 VCR
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What You See Is What You Get 59 tur
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What You See Is What You Get 61 Wit
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What You See Is What You Get 63 bac
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What You See Is What You Get 65 MTV
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What You See Is What You Get 67 and
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What You See Is What You Get 69 asp
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What You See Is What You Get 71 str
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What You See Is What You Get 73 “
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Reverend Leroy is a critique of the
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What You See Is What You Get 77 Fli
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What You See Is What You Get 79 Joh
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82 What You See Is What You Get Whe
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84 What You See Is What You Get wit
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86 This Ain’t No Junk my idol, I
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88 This Ain’t No Junk In an era i
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90 This Ain’t No Junk bought his
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92 This Ain’t No Junk garnered el
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94 This Ain’t No Junk activities
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96 This Ain’t No Junk Aunt Esther
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98 This Ain’t No Junk but tells h
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100 This Ain’t No Junk where they
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102 This Ain’t No Junk Another ep
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104 This Ain’t No Junk it would b
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106 This Ain’t No Junk fred: Hey
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Page 127 and 128: 110 5. Respect Yourself! Black Wome
Page 129 and 130: 112 Respect Yourself! This was the
Page 131 and 132: 114 Respect Yourself! actors and bl
Page 133 and 134: 116 Respect Yourself! voice of the
Page 135 and 136: 118 Respect Yourself! may not have
Page 137 and 138: 120 Respect Yourself! white schools
Page 139 and 140: 122 Respect Yourself! races.” She
Page 141 and 142: 124 Respect Yourself! Julia’s poi
Page 143 and 144: 126 Respect Yourself! spaces. These
Page 145 and 146: 128 Respect Yourself! the fact that
Page 147 and 148: 130 Respect Yourself! the father, w
Page 149 and 150: 132 Respect Yourself! poverty and g
Page 151 and 152: 134 Respect Yourself! The character
Page 153 and 154: 136 Respect Yourself! disparity in
Page 155 and 156: 138 Respect Yourself! down in the m
Page 157 and 158: 140 Respect Yourself! 1978), J.J. b
Page 159 and 160: 142 Respect Yourself! and white con
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Page 163 and 164: 146 That Nigger’s Crazy ’bout,
Page 165 and 166: 148 That Nigger’s Crazy Crazy, Pr
Page 167 and 168: 150 That Nigger’s Crazy stereotyp
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Page 171 and 172: 154 That Nigger’s Crazy Pryor as
Page 173 and 174: 156 That Nigger’s Crazy network r
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Page 187 and 188: 170 Conclusion: Movin’ On Up Cont
Page 189 and 190: 172 Conclusion States at the time,
Page 191 and 192: 174 Conclusion Indeed, contemporary
Page 193 and 194: 176 Conclusion Cerebral and black
Page 195 and 196: 178 Conclusion and this film recogn
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Page 201 and 202: 184 Conclusion Connerly to speak on
Page 203 and 204: 186 Conclusion HBO to discuss socia
Page 205 and 206: 188 Conclusion the interviewees are
Page 207 and 208: 190 Conclusion credit montage estab
Page 209 and 210: 192 Conclusion Shut the fuck up! Wh
Page 211 and 212: 194 Conclusion saying every black p
Page 213 and 214: 196 Notes to Chapter 1 within U.S.
Page 215 and 216: 198 Notes to Chapter 1 Guerrero dis
Page 217 and 218: 200 Notes to Chapter 2 47. Thomas C
Page 219 and 220: 202 Notes to Chapter 2 45. Black Pa
Page 221 and 222: 204 Notes to Chapter 3 Listening to
Page 223 and 224: 206 Notes to Chapter 3 46. John Kie
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210 Notes to Chapter 5 9. I specify
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212 Notes to Chapter 6 14. McPherso
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214 Notes to Conclusion 7. See Omi
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216 Notes to Conclusion where he le
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218 Bibliography Gender and Contest
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220 Bibliography Eisner, Joel, and
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222 Bibliography Hodges, Ann. “La
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224 Bibliography Mitz, Rick. The Gr
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226 Bibliography Shapiro, Joseph P.
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230 Index and TOBA, 11; and transfe
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232 Index education, 132, 133-36, 1
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234 Index 2, 21, 78, 107-8, 149, 20
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236 Index Roots, 163, 171-72 Russel
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238 Index Williams, Al, 100-101 Wil
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