| Description |
1 online resource (664 pages) : illustrations |
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text txt rdacontent |
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computer c rdamedia |
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online resource cr rdacarrier |
| Note |
Originally published: New York : Simon & Schuster, ©1994. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 615-632) and index. |
| Contents |
Slavery -- Minstrelsy -- Black minstrelsy to Vaudeville -- Vaudeville and early twentieth-century Black humor -- Hollywood's silent years -- The new negro: Harlem and Hollywood -- Radio and early television -- Race records and Black films -- The Theatre Owners Booking Association and the Apollo Theatre -- Literary reflections of African-American humor -- Folklore and street humor -- The new comics -- Pryor and thereafter. |
| Summary |
This comprehensive history of black humor sets it in the context of American popular culture. Blackface minstrelsy, Stepin Fetchit, and the Amos 'n' Andy show presented a distorted picture of African Americans; this book contrasts this image with the authentic underground humor of African Americans found in folktales, race records, and all-black shows and films. After generations of stereotypes, the underground humor finally emerged before the American public with Richard Pryor in the 1970s. But Pryor was not the first popular comic to present authentically black humor. Watkins offers surprising reassessments of such seminal figures as Fetchit, Bert Williams, Moms Mabley, and Redd Foxx, looking at how they paved the way for contemporary comics such as Whoopi Goldberg, Eddie Murphy, and Bill Cosby. |
| Note |
Description based on print version record. |
| Subject |
African American wit and humor -- History and criticism.
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SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Ethnic Studies -- African American Studies.
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| Genre |
Electronic books.
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Criticism, interpretation, etc. (OCoLC)fst01411635
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| Subject |
African American wit and humor. (OCoLC)fst00799436
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ocls african american ebooks
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| Added Author |
Freading.
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| Related To |
Print version: (DLC) 98052336 (OCoLC)40589162 |
| ISBN |
9781569767603 (electronic bk.) |
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1569767602 (electronic bk.) |
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