A new 30 Rock thread because I can't find the old one

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Ha, this is kinda funny: I see Cathy's logic with being bothered by that joke, but really -- and yeah, maybe this says something about the US -- but that's so low-level for US race-culture jokes that hardly anyone here would bother getting too upset about it, especially since you're as likely to get that sort of thing from black people as white. Maybe even MORE likely to get it from black than white, hence his getting the same thing from Tracy. Also: I don't think the joke is necessarily that Frank is making a fool of himself, but I think most of the time we're meant to sympathize with Toofer as one of the long-suffering sane ones among the ridiculous. We're not being asked to laugh at the fact of a well-educated black man, as if that's a joke in itself -- most of the humor comes from him trying to maintain all his attempted dignity in an environment that doesn't suit it!

P.S. I don't think it's stretching to say that the show's spent a lot of time on race stuff is a pretty sharp way -- that Wayne Brady episode was annoying, but stuff like Toofer vs. Tracy on the n-word episode, or its self-awareness and weird twists on Tracy as the lowbrow "crazy" black clown ... this stuff is usually pretty great, I think.

― nabisco, Sunday, 29 April 2007 17:29 (nineteen years ago)

I think the resolution to the Toofer v. Tracy was interesting. They were supposed to write a sketch together, but it got cut for one where Tracy dressed up like Star Jones and barfed all over a kitchen. After watching the sketch, Toofer says something like, "Yeah, this is funnier than our sketch."

― Mr. Que, Sunday, 29 April 2007 17:31 (nineteen years ago)

it's definitely sharper (i say as a white britishes lol) than 'studio 60' which has a similar educated black writer vs black performer thing going on, only really cringey.

mr que 8080 too -- that ep also has the 'world record for "biggest mirror"' line which remains my fave.

― That one guy that quit, Sunday, 29 April 2007 17:33 (nineteen years ago)

Haha possibly a comparative point for that Frank joke is the sad-face on Toofer when he finds out his ancestor fought for the confederacy! It's more of a "poor guy can't win" thing than a "joke's on him" thing.

― nabisco, Sunday, 29 April 2007 17:35 (nineteen years ago)

"I think most of the time we're meant to sympathize with Toofer as one of the long-suffering sane ones among the ridiculous. We're not being asked to laugh at the fact of a well-educated black man, as if that's a joke in itself -- most of the humor comes from him trying to maintain all his attempted dignity in an environment that doesn't suit it!"

is also otm, as when liz calls him 'sherlock homo', which is kind of ari gold v lloyd in its nastiness. he does the buster keaton thing there too.

― That one guy that quit, Sunday, 29 April 2007 17:36 (nineteen years ago)

Ha, yeah -- I mean, note that his most comic facial expression is that totally crestfallen sad-eyed look.

Incidentally! P.S.! Tracy Morgan spotted walking alone into a McDonald's in my neighborhood, right across the street from the chicken place featured in the first episode, which is now closed! I like to imagine that he wanted chicken and then had to settle.

― nabisco, Sunday, 29 April 2007 17:52 (nineteen years ago)

Oh actually probably a more common expression = exasperated picked-on look, anywhere along the spectrum from "haha guys VERY FUNNY" to "screw you guys, I'm going home."

― nabisco, Sunday, 29 April 2007 17:55 (nineteen years ago)

were you in mcdonalds?

― cutty, Sunday, 29 April 2007 17:55 (nineteen years ago)

Toofer vs. Tracy on the n-word episode

this episode was amazing.

― horseshoe, Sunday, 29 April 2007 18:14 (nineteen years ago)

it was funny

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 18:16 (nineteen years ago)

I see Cathy's logic with being bothered by that joke, but really -- and yeah, maybe this says something about the US -- but that's so low-level for US race-culture jokes that hardly anyone here would bother getting too upset about it, especially since you're as likely to get that sort of thing from black people as white.

Yeah, I'm not sure it is totally US/UK. I had similar qualms about some Ali G jokes. There seems to have been a post-PC shift in the past few years in a lot of Anglophone comedy, where jokes about race are increasingly common. Sometimes when these jokes are done badly, the line between 'about race' and just plain racist gets blurred, and I suddenly find it very unfunny.

I do think race is such a difficult issue that you've really got to know what you're aiming for with a joke in order to justify it. If the ultimate object is, for example, satire of white people's squeamishness about race, then that is on the 'about race' rather than the 'racist' side of the line. Some of the jokes in 30 Rock seem to be about that. Others, like the one I picked out as an example, aren't clearly about anything other than getting a cheap laugh based on racial stereotypes (however widely acceptable that kind of humour might be in the US or elsewhere).

― Cathy, Sunday, 29 April 2007 18:34 (nineteen years ago)

You know who would love this thread? My racist grandfather.

― Sparkle Motion, Sunday, 29 April 2007 19:43 (nineteen years ago)

roffles @ Sparkle Motion

I always thought the whole "urkel" joke business was about how black people are generally conceived in American society as "hip" and "cool", and the white folk are meant to appreicate/emulate it.

― Gukbe, Sunday, 29 April 2007 22:23 (nineteen years ago)

Also, the whole "black comedians wearing dresses is demeaning" plot was good.

― Gukbe, Sunday, 29 April 2007 22:23 (nineteen years ago)

not a plot

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 22:53 (nineteen years ago)

i'll show you a plot

― Mr. Que, Sunday, 29 April 2007 22:56 (nineteen years ago)

thanks :)

― RJG, Sunday, 29 April 2007 22:57 (nineteen years ago)

thread?

― Gukbe, Sunday, 29 April 2007 23:44 (nineteen years ago)

Ugh.

― Nicole, Monday, 30 April 2007 00:40 (nineteen years ago)

I should go into a Francis Gay thread.

― Nicole, Monday, 30 April 2007 00:44 (nineteen years ago)

the ep w/ paul reubens was v funny

― RJG, Monday, 30 April 2007 09:18 (nineteen years ago)

you must like little britain too

(kidding)

― cutty, Monday, 30 April 2007 11:56 (nineteen years ago)

you know ;)

― RJG, Monday, 30 April 2007 13:00 (nineteen years ago)

Ugh.

-- Nicole, Sunday, April 29, 2007 8:40 PM (Yesterday)

OTM

― s1ocki, Monday, 30 April 2007 13:09 (nineteen years ago)

well done guys :)

― RJG, Monday, 30 April 2007 13:43 (nineteen years ago)

"it's not bianca, like sanka; it's bianca, like willy wonka!"

― edb, Monday, 30 April 2007 14:38 (nineteen years ago)

fyi: the entire season is now available for free viewing on NBC.com

― Michael F Gill, Monday, 30 April 2007 17:14 (nineteen years ago)

shit, I may never get work done again.

― horseshoe, Monday, 30 April 2007 18:22 (nineteen years ago)

http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/6966/30rockif6.png

― That one guy that quit, Saturday, 5 May 2007 15:24 (nineteen years ago)

hahaha

Moonquest: Quest for the Moon

― kenan, Saturday, 5 May 2007 15:26 (nineteen years ago)

very Seinfeld-ian.

"Blimp: The Hindenburg Story"

― kenan, Saturday, 5 May 2007 15:28 (nineteen years ago)

all this movies WOULD play @ cinema village

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Saturday, 5 May 2007 15:45 (nineteen years ago)

(however widely acceptable that kind of humour might be in the US or elsewhere).

It seemed to me that the point of this joke (if it had a point) was to show the kind of relationship that the people in the office have. They are comedy writers, and will make fun of everyone around them, often in cruel ways. Isn't that what comedy writers do? Also friends and long-time co-workers often have no trouble making jokes to each other that would be considered offensive if made either to or in the hearing of outsiders. I didn't think it was especially funny either, but it is exactly the kind of stupid, personally insulting joke that people in the workplace make to co-workers with whom they are comfortable.

― accentmonkey, Saturday, 5 May 2007 17:40 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.randomtuesday.com/pictures/30rock/karate.gif

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Sunday, 6 May 2007 00:33 (nineteen years ago)

'as my old man always said: "if you try, you win", and he was a hell of a garbageman...'

― That one guy that quit, Sunday, 6 May 2007 16:04 (nineteen years ago)

one month passes...

"what's that? mc lyte just murdered danny bonaduce?!? thanks PHONE."
I love this joke. A lesser, more-heavily-interfered-with show would have used a more boring choice of celebrities and would have steered clear of th m-word.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Friday, 29 June 2007 03:18 (nineteen years ago)

oh come off it. Danny Bonaduce is one of those celebrities where the mere mention of his name is an easy laugh.

― Alex in Baltimore, Friday, 29 June 2007 15:46 (nineteen years ago)

no no, let's have this discussion

― ^@^, Friday, 29 June 2007 16:03 (nineteen years ago)

MC Lyte, otoh...

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Friday, 29 June 2007 16:05 (nineteen years ago)

fyi it's still pretty funny if you've never heard of either.

― That one guy that quit, Friday, 29 June 2007 16:10 (nineteen years ago)

haven't watched this since last time

― RJG, Friday, 29 June 2007 17:25 (nineteen years ago)

i'm gon get an iphone / everybody gon be jealous

― That one guy that quit, Friday, 29 June 2007 19:50 (nineteen years ago)

on the hat?

― RJG, Friday, 29 June 2007 20:08 (nineteen years ago)

No that has this little chant Tracy's crew came up with after they thought he'd signed on to a movie and they were gonna get alotta money.

― C. Grisso/McCain, Friday, 29 June 2007 20:15 (nineteen years ago)

as funny as if it were on the hat

― RJG, Friday, 29 June 2007 20:17 (nineteen years ago)

i lolled

― That one guy that quit, Friday, 29 June 2007 20:19 (nineteen years ago)

that's your decision

― RJG, Friday, 29 June 2007 20:26 (nineteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

Seinfeld to appear on '30 Rock'

The network is...celebrating Seinfeld's impending return to the fold, with the funnyman slated to star as himself in the Oct. 4 second season premiere of 30 Rock.

"I think it's going to be so refreshing for me to be playing myself in a show that has nothing to do with neurotic, dysfunctional New York characters," Seinfeld said in a statement.

Series creator, executive producer and star Tina Fey was also enthusiastic about Seinfeld's guest slot.

"Finally, my parents have an excuse to watch the show," she said.

― jergïns, Tuesday, 17 July 2007 02:32 (eighteen years ago)

I see how this can be funny already.

― Johnny Fever, Tuesday, 17 July 2007 02:33 (eighteen years ago)

"nothing to do with neurotic, dysfunctional New York characters"

^^^this was on purpose, right?

― tehresa, Tuesday, 17 July 2007 02:45 (eighteen years ago)

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