BoW - Key and Peele

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Key & Peele - Body of Work

The American sketch comedy series 'Key & Peele' was created by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele and aired on Comedy Central. The short skits from this series which you are about to watch are available on YouTube. Key & Peele initially wanted to explore themes (think GI) related to masculinity but now cover a wide range of themes. Their sketches on racism went viral and eventually won them two Emmy awards.

Write down what you remember of the "Magical Negro" video and what impression it made.

We are going to explore the BoW that is 

Key and Peele!

• Watch a few of Key & Peele's sketches on the following slides. The titles as they appear on the slides: text message confusion, auction block, gangsta standoff, civil war reenactments, das negros, country music, gay wedding advice, white zombies, black ice, negro town, substitute teacher, yo momma, cult, someone's gotta say it, office homophobe.
• Choose one of the videos. (Remember, punchlines can occur towards the end of a text (or video) so do not be too quick to judge).

• Answer the questions based on your video of choice.

Which video did you choose and why?

Why is the sketch funny?

Why might the sketch be considered offensive? And for whom?

How does this sketch question cultural norms, representations of (black) communities, stereotypes, values or practices?

What is the main purpose of the sketch? Which message is it trying to convey?

Humor Techniques

What kinds of humor techniques do K&P use from the list below in order to achieve their purposes? Give examples of each relevant technique.

Find a secondary source on K&P and answer the following questions:
1. What is the purpose of your secondary source? 2. How does it shed light on the videos that you've seen already and make you see them differently?
3. How relevant or significant is your source to previous discussions that you've had as a class on these videos?

AFTER FRIDAY'S LESSON!!!!
Write a short (300 word) reflection based on the following question:
To what extent do Key and Peele sketches reinforce the racial stereotypes that they challenge?