Does this mean submitting one's material to a political or ethnic group and allowing them to "correct" what they deem racist or insensitive? That's what Guy Aoki suggested last night to Silverman. He began to lecture her on the role of "proper" satire, and Silverman, who is a professional comic, rightly objected. "You're telling me how to do satire?" she asked of a guy who didn't show one ounce of humor in his bones.
Aoki said that the joke would have been better had Silverman replaced "chinks" with "Chinese-Americans." Of course, by doing this, the whole point of the joke is lost. It would be like telling Twain that he should change N-word Jim's name to "African-American Jim." The sting of racist speech, which is what fuels the joke, is dulled by a literal interpretation of language.
Bill Maher observed that thanks to hip-hop and black stand-ups, the words "nigga" and "n-word" have been mainstreamed and reclaimed by those for whom the term was once hurtful. The lone black panelist, a liberal named Ann Marie Johnson (who appeared in Robert Townshend's "Hollywood Shuffle" which dealt with all manner of media stereotypes, including that of the pushy, arrogant, racist Jew), said that this was absurd. She was forced by Maher's many examples to change her approach, and said that it is sad that so many young blacks use this language. One could have said that gay activists have reclaimed the terms "queer," "fag," and "dyke," but since the show was primarily a screamfest between Silverman and Aoki, this obvious comparison was overlooked.
DP