Friday
Ice Cube starred, produced, and co-wrote the script for this “stoner buddy comedy” film. Its success sparked two sequels and an animated TV series.
Viewing
- Friday (F. Gary Gray, 1995)
After you enter your SWAN username and password, the film will open in Swank Digital Campus.
Discussion
Humor
Do NOT try to answer all of these questions in your initial posting. Instead, use them as a spring board for your own thinking, and then write a tight, coherent statement addressing a single issue or point.
Is it OK to be sexist if you are joking? You might answer this question in relation to Dolemite, to 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.,” or to your own examples taken from hip hop or contemporary film.
Is the humor in Dolemite and Rudy Ray Moore’s “Signifying Monkey” similar to the humor found today in rap music? Use concrete examples to support your response.
Two of the assigned videos documented an exchange between rapper Joe Budden and Prof. Tricia Rose. Who did you find more persuasive, and why?
Both Dolemite (1975) and Friday (1995) are very-low-budget comedies aimed at Black audiences. In what other ways are they similar? In what ways are they different?
