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English 101

16 October 2018

Injustices and Unfairness of Life

In modern comedy, few comedians are experts at delivering jokes surrounding

uncomfortable topics in the likes of religion, inequality, divorce, youth problems and other

traditionally non-humorous topics. Chris Rock is one of the masters at making light of these

unpopular subjects, and, not only does he take away some of the negativity, he can make these

situations very comical. His talent with such ideas is shown in his special, ​Tamborine.​ In this

special, Chris rock highlights divorce, police shootings, justice system punishments,

relationships, intercourse, inequality and even the president. All of these topics seem to be

sensitive in society, yet Rock creates an entire special solely on these subjects.

The reason such concepts aren’t comfortable for audiences traditionally is because

disputative situations tend to carry a negative connotations. Chris Rock, on the other hand, runs

with the challenge of discussing the negative connotations and controversial topics through his

humor, leaving the audience more aware of these negative parts of life. Through the special,

Rock attempts to cast an amusing light on uncomfortable and negative situations through the use

of irony and amplified sarcasm in order to further expose the unjust and unfair aspects in society.

When Rock initially introduces the recent shootings, the topic seems inappropriate

because of the close proximity of the situations and Rock’s performance. Rock states, “Honestly,

I wanna live in a world with real equality. I want to live in a world where an equal amount of

white kids are shot every month. An equal world. I wanna see white mothers on TV cryin',
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standin' next to Al Sharpton, talkin' about ‘We need justice for Chad!’” Rock’s amplified

sarcasm in this quote exemplifies the extent of the injustice spread through the country by using

a radically opposite example. Although the idea of any kids getting shot is horrific, Chris’

sarcasm calls upon a stereotypical white, American name (Chad) and the scenario of seeking

justice through Sharpton. Because white teens involved in shootings and white families pairing

with Sharpton for justice aren’t usually related ideas, the extent of the injustice within these

shootings is further exposed by the uncommon scenario. With his sarcasm, Chris also verbalizes

the idea that more white kids should be shot ​while in reality,​ which creates the irony in the joke

because the reality is any shooting is an unwanted tragedy. The irony and sarcasm used

exemplify and bring to sight how unjust the public safety system has become in our society.

Rock also jests about the unfairness in regards to different judicial sentences. He says,

“We got a justice system where two people can do the exact same crime, in the exact same place,

at the exact same time and get a different sentence. Only in America. We gotta change this

justice system. Yo, the American justice system should be like Walmart. It should be just like

Walmart. ‘Hey, if you can find a lighter sentence, we'll match it!’” In this quote, Chris’ sarcasm

shows the radecal extent of unfairness in the justice system by comparing sentences to prices

from Walmart. The sarcasm Rock uses in this joke demerits judicial penalties, which are thought

to be judgements which are equitably distributed, to the low level of grocery store prices which

can fluctuate and have no true level of integrity in which to be held. Rock’s use of magnified

sarcasm creates a comical comparison of these polar opposite scenarios, because the irony in the

idea of price matching a honorable and reasoned system of punishment amplifies the unfairness

of the penalties and consequences in the court system.

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Chris crafts his jokes on relationships using relatively common normativity as far as

comedy is concerned. Normativity is a standard or stigma created in society which becomes

“normal” after common use and repetition. In his jokes, the normative roles are that the woman’s

position is a hard to please, tyrant figure over the male while the role of the male is the victim of

the relationship who spends a copious amount of time trying to please the woman. These

normative roles are common in stand up. Chris is intentionally using the irony of the

tyrant-victim system because the examples he uses of the relationship rolls further project the

“unfair” theme of his comedy. The relationship roles create the irony of the joke because it is

very unexpected that the “big man” would be controlled by the “helpless dame.” Rock’s initial

irony of relationship roles sets a precedent for unfairness in the entirety of his relationship

punchlines.

In this sense, Chris addresses this previously discussed unfairness in the scheme of

relationships. When comparing relationship roles to a band, Rock states, “And when you're in a

band, you have roles that you play in the band. Sometimes, you sing lead. And sometimes, you're

on tambourine. And if you're on tambourine, play it right. Play it right. Play it with a f___in'

smile, because no one wants to see a mad tambourine player.” Here, Chris uses his sarcasm to

dramatically compare unfortunate roles in a relationship to a band. Everyone wants to “sing

lead” in the band; everyone wants to take the lead in a relationship. While society creates these

normative cameos for relationships, they are generally undesirable therefore exposing the lack

of fairness. Rock’s sarcasm highlights these unfair niches by ironically comparing them to

playing a tambourine in a band. Being the tambourine player or occupying the “worst” position

in a band seems very miniscule when comparing to the worst position in a relationship which
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would entail long periods of misery, so the extreme comparison Rock crafts is able to bring to

sight the unfairness of the situation.

Although Rock is using irony in a primary sense to entertain, the magnified sarcasm used

puts a spotlight on the unfairness and the injustice which occurs daily. He shows this in several

magnitudes from simple instances like relationship roles to complex and serious issues like

justice system penalties and shootings, but, in all scenarios, the exaggerated scenarios show the

larger picture of inequality to the members in the audience. The sense that controversial topics

like shootings can be turned into jokes is hard to understand because of the sensitivity around the

subject, but Chris Rock uses his intensified sarcasm to not only create humor from these

instances but also further uncover the injustices and lack of fairness brought by society.

Although uncomfortable at times, these ideas in society are present, so Chris Rock is simply

revealing the injustice while still entertaining in a comedic performance.