Revolution Televised.pdf

Conclusion 181
Various album covers are superimposed over the image—those of
Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin,
Pigmeat Markham, Woody Allen, and Eddie Murphy. As Rock
explains,
Those are my albums—I didn’t have to go out and find them. I’ve
got a big Pigmeat Markham collection, Moms Mabley. . . . I really
study comedy in general, and I’m still learning from the old masters.
. . . I meet a lot of the comics that have come up in the “Def
Jam” generation and, frankly, the reason a lot of those young comics
suck is that they don’t study comedy. They look at Richard Pryor
and Eddie Murphy and that’s it. There’s a much broader spectrum
to get into. I’m still studying. 19
Pigmeat Markham and Moms Mabley are not typical references.
Rock has studied both African American and white comedians and
has taken the time to understand the art form and its African American
roots from the Chitlin’ Circuit to today.
His comic presence and vocal cadence reflect an understanding
of this history, as his approach to the audience echoes that of a
country preacher. Yet he purports a contemporary urban aura as
he paces ceaselessly back and forth on the stage. His topics for the
night are varied, including the Million Man March, which “had all
the positive black leaders there: Farrakhan, Jesse Jackson, Marion
Barry. Marion Barry! You know what that means? That even in our
finest hour, we had a crackhead onstage.” In his observational style
he pulls apart some of the core issues surrounding African American
life: religion, relationships between the sexes, beliefs about education,
jail, O.J. Simpson, and politics. What moves Rock on to another
level is the purpose of this observational style. Other performers
such as Jerry Seinfeld are considered observational comedians,
because they target the everyday as a comedic source. However,
Rock’s comedy is on a different plane, as he addresses social and
political issues. “I just talk about what is happening. If racism is
happening, that’s what I talk about. I’m the newspaper.” 20
Rock expresses a distinctive point of view about issues significant
to African American life and is far from passive in his barbs
regarding mainstream society and its views of African Americans.
For example, his bit on Colin Powell addresses the external and
inferential racist constraints placed on Powell and at the same time
acknowledges the internal need for a black leader.