Docularious Presents: (A bi-monthly series on comedy presented by Filmwax and Adam Schartoff)
/Saturday, February 9th, 7:30 pm
Docularious Presents:
(A bi-monthly series on comedy presented by Filmwax and Adam Schartoff)
A Black History Month Special
Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy
Dir. Robert Townsend, 2009, 95 min.
Robert Townsend's Sundance Film Festival hit, Why We Laugh, with off-screen narration, four dozen talking heads, and clips of performances tell a chronological story about Black comedy: who has made us laugh since 1901, what is the nature of their humor, and what social and political contexts inform it. We look at minstrels, Stepin Fetchit, "Amos 'n Andy," "Beulah," Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory, Flip Wilson, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, "The Cosby Show," Chris Rock, Whoopi, "Hollywood Shuffle," entrepreneurship and Black comedy clubs, Robert Harris, urban street culture and "In Living Color," the rise of the Fox network, Def Comedy Jam, and the Original Kings of Comedy. The film asserts Black comedy helps America change.
Stand Up and Q&A with comedian Mark Theobald who has appeared on "Chapelle Show," "Showtime at the Apollo," BET and "Last Comic Standing."
Watch a bit from Mark Theobald: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ6F39O6iWc
Why We Laugh Trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1fIhPMZ08
Brown Paper Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/ref/17367/event/282081
