Given that English is not a consistently phonetic language and has many arbitrary pronunciation rules, especially around names (e.g. It expertly dramatizes this concept by focusing on name pronunciations in English. “Substitute Teacher” flips cultural stereotypes about white and black names by centering around a black man who considers traditionally white names to be “silly-ass names.” The sketch draws out the relativity and subjectivity of cultural norms - how the designation of something as “normal” or “abnormal” depends entirely on culturally inflected perspectives and, often, on cultural power. Garvey’s cluelessness, we might also ask ourselves: why should a style of “classroom management” in one high school be so ludicrously inappropriate in another? “Finally, someone makes sense!” While we laugh at Mr. Garvey expels “A-A-Ron” from the classroom and then goes on to call for “Tym-oh-thee.” To everyone’s surprise, the class’s only black student, played by Jordan Peele, emerges suddenly from behind a white student and calmly responds, “Present.” “Thank you!” Mr. Garvey, played by Keegan-Michael Key, is convinced that students are intentionally mispronouncing their names to disrupt the class and undermine his authority, and becomes increasingly exasperated. Garvey’s pronunciations and offer the common pronunciations of their names, Mr. Garvey during roll call, Jacqueline becomes “Jay-Quellin,” Blake becomes “Bala-Kay,” and Denice becomes “Dee-Nice.” And of course, Aaron becomes A-A-Ron. ![]() “Substitute Teacher” plays with our cultural conceptions of stereotypically black and white names. Like other Key & Peele sketches that elicit laughter while delivering social commentary, the “Substitute Teacher” series brilliantly explores cultural relativism and educational inequality. Garvey does not follow that well-worn path: he is paranoid that his well-behaved students are “messing” with him and, in response, takes an excessively aggressive and authoritarian tack, creating hilarious classroom interactions. The sketch offers a parody of the familiar film convention of white teachers as inner-city savior figures, in which they overcome resistance from unmotivated students of color to eventually lead them, through tough love, to a bright future. Garvey, a black substitute teacher from an inner-city school, is maladapted to a classroom full of white middle-class students. The success of the sketch is, in part, attributed to its simple premise: Mr. This is a now iconic line from “Substitute Teacher,” Key & Peele’s most viewed comedy sketch on YouTube, with 188 million views and counting. Garvey, a substitute teacher, at Aaron, an innocent-looking student, pointing at him with both an index finger and a pinky. When Stewart announced the arrival of two new guests, Jones said: “That would help me out a lot…” then mugged his disappointment when he saw Key and Peele.“You done messed up, A-A-Ron!” yells Mr. After watching one clip about a little boy who dressed up as a KKK member for Halloween, Williams and Mandvi declared it “racist” while Jones held up a sign that said “adorable.” "All I’m saying is it would be nice if we could get some impartial judges in here,” Jones said. At first the main joke was Jones as the beleaguered white guy who couldn’t say anything right. The segment kicked off with a round-up of news anchors asking their viewers, “Was that racist?” Then Stewart rolled news clips and panelists debated them. Before their interview with Stewart, they joined him for a bit called “Racist or Not Racist,” along with "Daily Show" correspondents Jessica Williams, Jason Jones, and Aasif Mandvi. But though race and racism is a staple of their comedy, they more often spoof the various ways black men, and men in general, perform masculinity for each other: as gangsters, as baseball players, as drug dealers, as high school bullies.Īnd the segment "The Daily Show" built around Key and Peele last night was a perfect extension of their brand. In a different sketch, they were Germans who hastily coat themselves in whiteface to ward off an SS officer. ![]() In another, they played slaves on an auction block, at first intent on rebelling but unable to resist the urge to compete over who gets sold first. One sketch featured an inner-city substitute teacher who insists on changing his name from Aaron to A.A.Ron. On last night’s "The Daily Show," host Jon Stewart interviewed the excellent comedy duo Key and Peele, whose show on Comedy Central is one of the slyest, strangest treatments of race on TV.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |