The first time I watched this sketch by Key and Peele a year ago, I never thought to connect what they had done to the idea of minstrel shows. However, when thinking about this assignment, it was one of the first things that popped out at me as an example the modern day minstrel show. In this sketch, Key and Peele choose to put a degree of separation from those shows by placing their work in Nazi Germany. However, this is what makes their work truly a “show.” In their previous work they have never shied away from representing slavery and repression and this is no exception. They use the Nazi theme as a way of role reversing, turning blackface into whiteface to reveal the ridiculousness of painting ones face to take on a culture. Their whiteface is done just around their faces, leaving the rest of their skin showing to give more transparency to what they are attempting to do. The “German” names they come up with for themselves are ludicrous, making light of their ignorance about the culture they are trying to appropriate. Lastly the use of cat toys as something the “negro” can’t resist reveals the absurdity of cultural stereotypes. All of these elements work together to create a modern minstrel show, but this time the tables are being turned. Is this use of a whiteface minstrel show less offensive than, say, the 30 rock sketch we saw in class? If it is less offensive, what makes it more palatable to us? Do Key and Peele successfully make an inoffensive version of the minstrel show to the modern populace where others have failed?
This Key and Peele skit is much more palatable simply due to the fact that two black men are in whiteface, as opposed to the 30 Rock clip which utilized blackface. Blackface has a historical context that sparks negative emotions and an adverse response. Whiteface on the other hand, has no such history. In this clip, it is Key and Peele that are making fun of the African American stereotypes in a way that we are used to seeing in their videos. The stereotypes are also so absurd and bear little similarity to stereotypes played on in other skits, such as the Chappelle Show clip we watched in class. Using the whiteface and exaggerated German names is also a commentary on the inappropriateness of taking on another culture with only superficial knowledge of it. Key and Peele definitely succeeded in their efforts to produce a critique on the minstrel show.
This blog is part of an American Studies course at the Scripps College. Students will make posts and comments related to the history and contemporary relevance of race in media and popular culture.
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This Key and Peele skit is much more palatable simply due to the fact that two black men are in whiteface, as opposed to the 30 Rock clip which utilized blackface. Blackface has a historical context that sparks negative emotions and an adverse response. Whiteface on the other hand, has no such history. In this clip, it is Key and Peele that are making fun of the African American stereotypes in a way that we are used to seeing in their videos. The stereotypes are also so absurd and bear little similarity to stereotypes played on in other skits, such as the Chappelle Show clip we watched in class. Using the whiteface and exaggerated German names is also a commentary on the inappropriateness of taking on another culture with only superficial knowledge of it. Key and Peele definitely succeeded in their efforts to produce a critique on the minstrel show.
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