For a generation that probably only knows the comedy of Eddie Murphy and “Def Comedy Jam,” a new documentary from HBO brings to light a rich and sometimes turbulent history of African-American humor.
“Mo’ Funny: Black Comedy in America” traces a cultural humor that dates back to the minstrel shows at the turn of the century, all the way up to the present boom in African-American comedy personified in “Def Comedy Jam,” HBO’s raunchy hit standup show.
But more than anything, “Mo’ Funny” can been seen as a primer for those who don’t have an idea of how far back black entertainers’ involvement in comedy reached. It also shows the evolution of the genre and its influence on today’s black comedy.
“I wanted to show how we found our voice, so to speak,” said “Mo’ Funny” writer and director Yvonne Smith. “Where we went from blackface and basically operating within a framework of expanding on other’s vision of ourselves to being ourselves and making others see us as we are.”
“Mo’ Funny,” which premiered Feb. 9 and has showings Feb. 15, Feb. 18, Feb. 24 and March 6 on HBO (check local listings for times), begins with those minstrel shows, where white actors in blackface “made the Negro acceptable to white audiences, neutralizing any idea of intelligence, sexuality or rebellion,” says narrator Charles Dutton of Fox-TV’s “Roc” situation comedy.
“Mo’ Funny” travels the history of black comedy like a televised road map, highlighting:
– The unfairness of discrimination that hit black minstrel performers such as Bert Williams and Miller & Lyles, and the “comic servant” movie stars of the 1930s, like Lincoln “Stepin Fetchit” Perry, whose image of a shuffling, lazy and buckeyed fool was ridiculed by groups like the NAACP.
– The growth of theaters and clubs in the 1930s and 1940s for African Americans, the black comics who performed for black people and the standups of the 1950s who refused to talk in a black dialect and wear blackface.
– The comics of the 1960s, influenced by the explosion of the civil rights movement; the 1970s influence of Richard Pryor; and the ’80s influence of Eddie Murphy, two men who would shape the African-American comics of the 1990s.
“As the times changed, the opportunity changed, the boldness changed,” said Smith, 44, who has done work in documentaries for close to 20 years. “The feeling of entitlement changed. And I wanted to show the continuum of how each one opened the door for the other to pass through.”
Clocking in at about 90 minutes, there’s plenty of comedy and education to be found. Chief among them is the defense mounted by several of those interviewed in the program for such 1930s actors as Perry, whose Stepin Fetchit character was one of several that came under fire for their demeaning portrayals.
“That whole thing was part of a culture,” says Dick Gregory in the program. “Culture has a negative thing and a positive thing. And that was part of our negative culture.”
“Def Comedy Jam” is at times applauded for giving black comics a forum all their own. But it is also slammed in certain circles for the rough language and themes that a lot of the comics use in expressing themselves. “Mo’ Funny” shows that despite the raunchy language and material, there was thought behind the words of Richard Pryor, whom many claim as a role model.
“For a lot of young comics, they don’t know the difference,” Lily Tomlin says on camera. For Pryor, “the language was just like a little salt and pepper, you know, on a very big, substantial meal that he was serving up.”
One can see the points in history where one voice has put his or her imprint on a generation. Gregory, Pryor and Murphy are excellent examples of that. But what “Mo’ Funny” doesn’t do is show the current generation’s voice.
“A Richard Pryor is a phenomenon. Eddie Murphy is a phenomenon. We have not yet seen the phenomenon of this next generation,” Smith said.
“But the comedy continues to develop and to move,” she added. “And what we are seeing is a broad range of African-American heritages represented.”
