Entry #9 Michael Richards Comedy Act

Brian Gerker
Media Portfolio Entry #9
11-12-07

Michael Richards in Stand Up

1.Representation of the Item:
Michael Richards, former “Kramer” from the Seinfeld series performs a stand up routine where he is heckled by a couple African-American guys. He then let’s them have it and throws out many words that are very offensive.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3RjiVcIlhY


2. Intro and Why: Michael Richards is one of the greatest comedian actors of the late 20th century. He is well known for his role as “Kramer” on the television series Seinfeld. After Seinfeld, he began doing stand up comedy and in one of his performances he became greatly juggled by some of the members of the audiences. A couple black males started to heckle him during his act. Having enough of it, Michael Richards let loose, throwing out many racial terms, the N word in particular. This also did not make the hecklers any less agitated, and then a huge conflict erupted. Richards made many controversial comments to the young men, and this huge argument also ended his act, as he walked off stage after the hecklers left.
I chose this as a media portfolio item because I am a fan of Michael Richards. After seeing so many of his Seinfeld episodes where he played the hilarious “Kramer,” I couldn’t believe this comedy act when I saw it. I thought his comments related well with some of our class discussions and therefore would be a good topic for this assignment.

3.Analysis: In his comedy act, Michael Richards called the hacklers N------s (to spare you the word) and stated that “fifty years ago [they] would have been tied down with a fork up their [you know the word].” This comment about them being tied down rpresents how racism still exists in America today. Also, Richards says these things with absolute fury in his voice, which sort of point out that he himself may have racist-like qualities. And the use of the N word alone is bad enough in today’s society because of what the word has come to represent, like racism and slavery. Also Richards later states, when the African-Americans are leaving and say “that was uncalled for,” that that is “what happens when you interrupt a white man.” In saying this, Richards is setting himself above them, announcing that white privilege allows him to say the things he says..
This situation relates to the movie Ethnic Notions, and Johnson’s “Privilege, Oppression and Difference.” Ethnic Notions showed images of hung black people, and referred to the N-word term. This relates to the comments the Richards made about them being N-----s and how they would have been tied up if they had interrupted him in society fifty years ago. His comments also relate to “Privilege, Oppression and Difference,” because “that is what happens when you interrupt a white man,” referring to white privilege Johnson talks about. He talked about how white people have access to special treatment because of their social rank. This situation which Richards created because of his act relates well to class discussion and how racism still exists today.

4. Response: I was shocked when I first saw this clip. I have always been a fan of Michael Richards, and thought he was a hilarious comedian. I love him in his role as “Kramer” and his one Tonight Show appearance as a fitness trainer. I could not believe that a man as prestigious as him could come up with something like this in his act. It is also sad to see that these racist type things are still in society in the 21st century.