Revolution Televised.pdf

Conclusion 193
In this recuperation Rock envisions a generally patriarchal relationship,
with each gender having its assigned duties and responsibilities.
Whereas his societal critiques are sharp, his observations about
black mothers, either single or married, are uneven. He blames these
women for their children’s illiteracy and delinquency. He places the
man in the position of provider, yet he seems to forget the male role
in the child’s upbringing, and he overlooks the notoriously poor
education system in urban neighborhoods. His comedy addresses
some problems apparent within African American society. “If the
kid call his grandmama Mommy and his mama Pam, he going to
jail.” However, this critique seems limited by a perception of black
womanhood framed within the context of images presented on programs
such as The Ricki Lake Show (1993–).
Rock left HBO and, to a large extent, stand-up comedy in 2000
to concentrate on a career in feature films. However, he has not
been able to bring his prior level of insightful critique to the big
screen. The disappointing Head of State (2003), in which Rock
plays a Washington DC alderman who runs for presidential office,
showed some potential but fell far below the wit of The Chris Rock
Show. Chris Rock made a welcome return to the comedy stage with
the Black Ambition Tour in 2004. 34
As with any other African American public figure, an intense and
unfair responsibility has been placed on Rock to be a spokesperson
for the race. What this continues to suggest is the U.S. notion of a
monolithic black society, in which one person represents all class
and social backgrounds that compose African American society.
The issue of uplifting the race is a constant concern, because what
Rock says is inevitably interpreted by a mainstream audience as
representing the entire race, not the specific segment of the society
that he focuses his observations on. As discussed, this is the common
concern of any mediated image of blackness, and this situation
will continue as long as the present U.S. racial climate persists.
There is a need for an increased awareness of the influence of
the ideology of uplift and the changing forums for black popular
culture. The question, What will white America think? has been
the basis of criticism throughout African American television history.
This is a constricting situation for media critics that improves
by changing the methodology of interpretation, understanding
historical meaning, discussing the multiple meanings, and discovering
underlying political agendas of artists and producers. I am not