Good evening everyone!
I will be talking about the YouTube comedy video created by Key and Peele, two comedians that primarily do sketches about African-American culture and relations.
The video begins with Key and Peele stepping up to the auction block seemingly angry and threatening the auctioneer to "put that whip down and see what happens." We get a glimpse of Peele whispering to Key about "staging a revolt" once he is sold to a new owner. They are put on the block with another individual and are given lot letters so slave owners can bid on them. The first slave (lot A) is sold and K+P show a little disappointment that they weren't picked. The next slave that is sold is a large, muscular individual and K+P have short dialogue claiming that "I would buy that dude" and wondering "how did they catch him". The next slave was old and frail and was sold, thus garnering the disapproval by K+P. The viewers start to see that they really want to get picked. This trend continues until the end where they make their case as to why they should have been picked. Traits such as being harmless and docile show that their attitudes have changed since the beginning.
Although I don't find the video complete laughter-inducing, I find it intriguing to pick out the subtleties of K+P's choice in writing a sketch comedy about slavery. At first, I thought it was distasteful due to the nature of the subject. However, a lot can be said creating a narrative where the slave wants to be sold. This is unexpected due the history of slavery and the violence that comes from being a slave. My assumption is that the humor comes from the fact that it is the complete opposite of what one would expect from a slave, especially how they went from threatening to revolt to "selling" themselves and their best characteristics.
In relation to Kindred, the viewer/reader gets to see how language functions in a different where/when setting. We see that many of the characters have different reactions to how Dana speaks. Being an individual of the 1970's in modern-day California, it is important to note that she speaks "white" compared to the linguistics of the time. This makes everyone uncomfortable: the slaves find it difficult to identify her while the white people find it hard to believe that she speaks just as well, if not better than they do. The modern-day language implemented in the video creates a time distortion like in Kindred. Visually, they portray themselves as slaves but they speak from our modern time. This contributes to the absurdity and humor as their language is out of place along with the idea of creating this type of positive slave narrative.
Finally, we can tie this idea to Marx and his theory of capitalism and consumerism. The idea of wanting a job to support oneself is valid as it is important to be able to live. As K+P are constantly being passed on, they become more aware of the fact that they aren't a desirable "commodity". For whatever reason, they aren't worth the price in the eyes of the slave owners causing them to feel unwanted despite them trying to flex their muscles or showing their passiveness.
I would love to hear what yall think about this skit. Feel free to leave a comment or question below so we all can discuss this video or anything related. Thank you!
-Tem
Your reading of the Key and Peele skit as a kind of neo-slave dramatization is so apt, Tem--so interesting. As you put it, a different "where/when setting." As you mention, Dana's speech in Kindred plays into her time-distorting "strangeness," and here, K + P recast the auction block not as spectacle but as a site of non-stop commentary that both plays against while playing into the logic of slavery.
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