So Key and Peele are two of my favorite comedians, and when put together, they are unstoppable. A lot of their skits have a deeper meaning and target social issues in our world, but this specific one hits close to home.
In "Black Ice," Key and Peele come across white news reporters that are reporting on a snowstorm- a snow storm with "black ice." Black ice is deemed to be significantly more dangerous and can "sneak up" on nice neighborhoods. The way the reporters say "black ice" sounds very close to "black guys." Key and Peele argue that while black ice is always reported and is deemed terrible, regular old white snow blizzards are never targeted and go untouched. Clearly, K & P are referring to our world's perception of black vs. white.
A common theme in the news nowadays is black men being shot by white officers. The majority of the time, the men shot were doing nothing wrong. Take Laquan McDonald for example. Walking down the street, not running, just walking away from an officer. Literally doing nothing wrong. However, the responding police officer deemed it just to shoot this 17-year old boy 16 times in the back- only 10 feet away from him. Now obviously, this is an extreme circumstance, but it is often the case that just by being black, people are deemed dangerous and worthy of being shot.
K & P use a metaphor (black ice = black guys) to emphasize the ever-present racism in our society. The metaphor is easy to understand and is even furthered by the fact that the two terms are homonyms. Furthermore, situational irony is used when K & P are clearly talking about black men, which the audience understands, but the white reporters do not.
Towards the end, K & P get upset by the white reporters ignorance and continue on to explain how hard it really is to be black in our society. Being constantly watched, judged, and not understood- it is significantly harder than being white.
While being hilarious simultaneously, K & P successfully get across their message that racism, however much we want to believe is gone, is still present in our society. While slavery itself is gone, white men are still the majority and are still not making it easy for black men to advance in life. The government (snow plows) are constantly trying to take the black man (black ice) down, but always leave the white men (white snow) alone.
I really like your analysis and agree with what you are saying. Watching the video I cringe and both laugh as the reporters reference "black ice". I think you can also say the video is a hyperbole because the reporter over exaggerate the danger of "black ice" as people have done with black men.
ReplyDeleteI like your analysis and agree with what you have to say. I like how and Key and Peele can focus on tough issues we face as a society and bring some comic relief, but more importantly it opens peoples eyes to things that are an issue.
ReplyDeleteYour analysis is spot on with how Key and Peele use satirical tactics to communicate their message across specific audiences. I feel their comedy is especially useful when trying to reach from teens to young adults.
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