3) Richard Pryor
I went to Zimbabwe. I know how white people feel in America now; relaxed! Cause when I heard the police car I knew they weren't coming after me!
Subject/Target: Race in America
Why it's funny: Pryor was a master at presenting race relations in a humorous way. In this joke, he pokes fun at the perspective of whites in America. He attacks "white privilege" in a way that is sharp, yet anti-establishment. He also makes white people laugh at themselves by revealing things about race that they take for granted or might not think are race related.
Bonus discovery: Richard Pryor from 1964 doing 5 minutes of stand-up:
4) Steve Martin
"I believe you should place a woman on a pedestal high enough so you can look up her dress."Subject/Target: Male-Female relationships. Why it's funny: Martin took a normal idea - that a man should hold a woman he is with in higher regard or put her on a "pedestal" - and made it literal with the insertion of a mischievous touch that also negated the original idea. The humor is that someone would be so flattering to a woman in order to get an advantage that is perverted or worse, demeaning.
Bonus discovery: Steve Martin on sex
Number 5 and 6 tomorrow!
