I'll admit to being a big fan of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show," and usually I feel they would be on the side of disability rights, in their own comedic way.In a Jan. 27 segment by the show's "Senior Black Correspondent" Larry Wilmore (pictured) called "Black is in," he talked about the popularity of being black after showing a clip from the Larry King show in which he said his 8-year-old son says he wants to be black. Wilmore did a funny riff about how for centuries being black has been "out" rather than "in."
But then to drive home the point that being black is so popular these days, he gave the example of a white actor playing black being nominated for an Academy Award, i.e. Robert Downey Jr.'s nomination for playing a white man playing a black man in "Tropic Thunder."
Then Wilmore complained: "A white guy gets an Oscar nomination for playing a black guy? What are we Hollywood's new retarded?"
Jon Stewart responds: "Well, no. I think it is a little more positive than that. Larry King's son is not just saying black is in. The 8-year-old is literally saying 'I want to be black.'"
It's ironic that he would use the R-word about a film that stirred up so much controversy about the R-word, and maybe that's why he said it. I'm all for calling out Hollywood about its treatment of African Americans and people with disabilities. And I realize that part of the satire of "Tropic Thunder" was about Hollywood's use of characters with disabilities in films to try to win Oscars.
I "get" everything that Wilmore was joking about, but I think he could have been just as funny without using the R-word.
Am I being overly sensitive? Let me know what you think. You can watch "The Daily Show" segment here.
