…So, here we are in our meeting (for Black Men Speak Up!) this past Sunday and we are discussing buffoonery as it relates to black urbanized T.V. shows, when J.J. Walker from ‘Good Times’ comes up! As much as I might agree with characterizing some of his actions and catch phrases as clownishness and yes, even buffoonery… is that not still comedy? You have the ‘3 Stooges’, ‘Beverly Hillbillies’ and ‘Joey’ from ‘Friends’ for comparisons, but what makes the difference? Someone in the group even said that both Ester Rolle and John Amos had problems with that part of his acting, because it reinforced negative stereotypes of young black men and that the character of JJ kept getting mixed up in schemes and shady dealings. We then began running down the list of other characters in T.V. history who where considered the same as JJ and I began to wonder if we leaving room for actual comedy or had we become so serious and cynical that we could no longer tell, ‘where humor ends and buffoonery begin’! What say you?
http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/TV/9811/18/rolle.obit/
Sure…we all got laughs from JJ’s antics on Good Times, just like we laugh at the comedians that make fun of black people in their comedy routines. However, I do have a problem with what I call “shuckin’ and jivin’” or as you call buffoonery, especially now in 2008. Characters like JJ were the only way that many of our Black actors would ever be seen on television..so I do give actors and actresses like him credit for taking on roles that cast Blacks in a negative light. Take a show like the Boondocks. Although animated, it presents a pretty strong stereotypical image of Black people. Honestly, some of the episodes had me doubling over with laughter, others had me cringing and wondering what the rest of America is thinking. I wish that we could get television networks to back Black shows of substance, but until then…we do what we must to be seen.