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Is "ironic racism" funny anymore? Was it ever funny?

Asked by Demosthenes (14949points) June 23rd, 2020

“Ironic racism” in this context meaning the portrayal of a character in a TV show or movie or book as racist to mock racism, i.e. the character in question is supposed to be hated or an idiot or completely oblivious to what they’re doing. The idea is that this character’s racism mocks racists and racism rather than endorses it.

The problem with “ironic racism” is that even if the intent was to mock racists, actual racists would not get the satire and would simply laugh at it because their racist ideas are apparently being validated, i.e. so-called “wrong laughter”.

The show 30 Rock had a few episodes where characters wore blackface, in particular the vain air-headed character Jenna Maroney. Tina Fey, the creator of the show, has called for the episodes in question to be removed from streaming services citing that this kind of satirical racism is no longer relevant and may be perceived as offensive even if the intent was not to offend.

Can this kind of “ironic racism” work as satire? Or is it just offensive?

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