refined research topic - andrea

Sorry for the delay in posting this – my Tuesdays are hectic!

I hope to carve out more on my topic when I meet with Professor Hobbs tomorrow, but here is a more refined look at my ideas, with particular attention on the Troubleshooting section:

What began with a desire to understand the history and crisis of marriage within the black community morphed into an exploration of how black relationship are depicted by performers – specifically black comedians.

Recently, many social scientists are considering the depleted number of healthy black marriages a sign of crisis for African Americans. But if we look back to the early 1900s, it becomes clear that this may not be a recent problem – the black family has faced challenges and changed drastically over the 20th century, often for the worse. Especially among the black community, it has become customary to laugh at what causes trouble or suffering. This technique is often employed by comedians with regard to racial situations, but also black love and relationship situations as well. It’s interesting that those topics can be both draw attention to a crisis, while at the same time engaging the audience. Such routines are too often disregarded as simply entertainment to poke fun at the black community’s marriage and relationship predicament. I want to probe further and evaluate if those jokes truly reflected the situation facing the black community at the time of the comedians routines, or whether they were exaggerations, or if they missed the mark.

Because I want my research to cover the bulk of the 20th century, I want to look at the comedic routines and personal lives of comedians throughout recent history, including Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Moms Mabley, Dick Gregory, Whoopie Goldberg, among others. Secondary source material could include critics’ responses to the comedians’ comments on black relationships.

The way I see my question right now (and it is very malleable if future resources present themselves), it is two pronged:
1. comedic routines

LINGERING QUESTIONS:
- Do I have the time or space to look at this as a comparison to white relationships and how they are depicted by white comedians (or comedians of other races)? As someone mentioned in class – there is not real equivalent to Bill Cosby (a huge black marriage advocate and comedian) in the white community. Then again, is there a need for one?
- Should I consider separating female from male comedians?
- What do the comedians think their audience is taking away from these kinds of routines?
TROUBLESHOOTING:
- I am concerned about finding primary sources other than comedic routines. I’d like to find letters, diaries, or other original materials from these performers, so I’d need some guidance about where to do look first.
- Where can I read and/or hear these routines, from a reliable source?