Thursday, March 2, 2017

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Satire

Amy Schumer, a queen of comedy, has devoted her adult life to blasting messed up societal practices via the medium of her televised (and youtube-ized) broadcast series, "Inside Amy Schumer". Amy has no qualms with making a complete fool of herself in the name of hilarity. What elevates Schumer above other comedians who reveal embarrassing truths about themselves and relate to the everyman in cringe-worthy displays of day to day life, is her ability to speak directly to pervasive topics of American culture. Through the combination of self-deprecation and brilliant writing, Schumer and her team employ a great deal of satire to shed spotlight on rather glaring offenses that have become normalized in modern society. Her latest hit song, "Milk, Milk, Lemonade"  is a harmonious tribute to the perplexing phenomenon that is the obsession with women's rear ends. 
Milk, milk, lemonade
Milk, milk, lemonade
Milk, milk, lemonade
'Round the corner, fudge is made
...
 Turd cutter 
                                                                        Loaf pitcher
Dookie maker
Fudge machine 
                                                                         Cheektastic
Booty mastiff
Giant tuchus
Fudge machine 


The tune continues, singing (literally) the praises of big booties and reminding listeners over and over and over again that "this is where your poop comes out" pointing to their bums. Schumer and friends dance around in tight, elastic yellow dresses, cascading milk over their rubbery behinds and loosening the taps of lemonade kegs, allowing for a glistening, golden lemonade waterfall to flow into their mouths. The whole song, and video that goes along with it, is a scene of uncomfortable levels of immaturity and inappropriateness matched with obvious poor acting to illuminate the crazed strangeness that forms societies sexual adoration of women's bodies. 

This hypersexualization of a form of human anatomy allows for mistreatment and disrespect to flourish in most every corner of the world. Women cannot exist without having their bodies analyzed in a way that men simply do not experience. This visual roadblock serves as the main obstacle standing perpetually in the way of female freedom: the continued and institutionalized association of a woman's body with sex. Through classic Amy Schumer style of self-humiliation, the song she wrote attacks a form of sexism head on and by doing so, calls for a deep evaluation of the way society interacts with the female form.

Schumer even speaks to the creeps directly when she says, 


This is what you think is hot
This is what you think is hot
This is what you think is hot
Talkin bout my fudge machine
When they make videos like this, Inside Amy Schumer provides a space in which women can relax and feel less eager to comply to sexist societal processes and purposefully mocks the sexist perpetrators all in one foul swoop. Bet you can't think about fudge the same way anymore, and I believe that's exactly what Amy wants.




2 comments:

  1. I think Amy Schumer is amazing! I have yet to see this lil song/ skit but I will be sure to check it out! Sounds great

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  2. I love Amy Schumer! This video is so funny and it definitely emphasizes how weird it is for society to sexualize the female body as much as it does. Great post Maria!

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