"We cool?" Satirizing Whiteness in Obama-Era Black Satire Academic Article

abstract

• ABSTRACT This article explores Obama-era whiteness by examining two television shows of the period: Comedy Centrals Key & Peele (201215) and ABCs Black-ish (201422). Focusing my analysis on the sketch Apologies from Key & Peele and select scenes from two Black-ish episodes, I analyze the relationship between whiteness and postraciality as well as the consequences this relationship has on Black subjectivity today. I argue that in the postracial era, liberal white people have remained complicit in white supremacy through a fear of being labeled racist. Both shows suggest that overt racists and liberal whites alike partake in white supremacy, making it crucial to talk about how whiteness functions. By fostering conversations about race, both shows work against the USs entwinement with white supremacy.

authors

• Heneks, Grace

published proceedings

• STUDIES IN AMERICAN HUMOR

author list (cited authors)

• Heneks, G.

citation count

• 0

complete list of authors

• Heneks, Grace

publication date

• January 2022

publisher

• The Pennsylvania State University Press  Publisher

published in

• Studies in American Humor  Journal

keywords

• African American Satire
• Black-ish
• Key & Peele
• Stereotypes
• Whiteness

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

• 10.5325/studamerhumor.8.2.0275

start page

• 275

end page

• 296

volume

• 8

issue

• 2

URL

• http://dx.doi.org/10.5325/studamerhumor.8.2.0275