Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy

Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy
Directed by	Robert Townsend[1]
Written by	John Long, Quincy Newell
Produced by	Jeff Clanagan, Richard Foos, Robert Townsend, Lydia Nicole
Edited by	Augusta Einarsdottir, Skip Robinson
Distributed by	Codeblack Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment
Running time	82 minutes
Countries	USA, Japan

Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy is a 2009 documentary film based on the book Black Comedians on Black Comedy: How African-Americans Taught Us to Laugh, by Darryl J. Littleton.[2]

Plot

The film analyzes the history of comedy and how the television and film industries have stereotyped African Americans throughout a multitude of generations. Quincy Newell, Executive Vice-President of Codeblack Entertainment, was the producer and co-writer with John Long on the project. The documentary was a selection of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, and eventually acquired by Showtime.[3] Newell himself has stated "the intent of the film is to spark meaningful discourse."[4]

Cast

The film features commentary from black comedians including:

• Chris Rock
• Eddie Murphy[5]
• Dave Chappelle
• Steve Harvey
• Katt Williams
• Marlon Wayans
• Sherri Shepherd
• Niecy Nash
• Marla Gibbs
• Dick Gregory[6]

References

1. Harvey, Dennis. "Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy". Variety. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
2. "Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
3. issues, Marcia G. Yerman Writer on women's; Rights, Human; environment; culture (2010-04-21). "Exploring Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
4. "Inside the History of Black Comedy in 'Why We Laugh'". 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
5. "Horizon Go".
6. Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy, IMDb