Midterm Proposal

I guess the original premise for what I wanted to write about centered around my Capstone documentary on Jewish humor. While my original plan was to keep things light and humorous, my research has taken me to a different level and has given me pause for thought. In our Devils Advocate lesson we were taught to question things from another point of view and I think that is what I am proposing to do for my final writing assignment.

I want to propose a paper on the appropriateness of humor, specifically ethnic humor. Is it OK for a Jewish person to tell a Jewish joke? Is it the same thing as an African-American using the "N" word? We all know how inappropriate it is for a non-Jew or a white person to go in this direction.

I saw that in April, National Security adviser James Jones decided to open his remarks at the 25th Anniversary Gala of the Washington Institute for Near Mid-East Policy with a joke.

A Taliban militant gets lost and is wandering around the desert looking for water. He finally arrives at a store run by a Jew and asks for water.

The Jewish vendor tells him he doesn't have any water but can gladly sell him a tie. The Taliban begins to curse and yell at the Jewish store owner. The Jew, unmoved, offers the rude militant an idea: Beyond the hill, there is a restaurant; they can sell you water.

The Taliban keeps cursing and finally leaves toward the hill. An hour later he's back at the tie store. He walks in and tells the merchant: "Your brother tells me I need a tie to get into the restaurant."

So is this joke offensive or inappropriate ? There are different strokes for different folks but it did get me to thinking how humor is used and when it used are subjects that may be worth looking into.

While comedians such as Don Rickles , Chris Rock and George Lopez have all integrated their routines with ethnic humor, what would Dane Cook sound like doing Chris Rock's act ? We only have to look at Michael Richard's on You Tube to understand how that would go over. What would it sound like for Denis Leary to do Woody Allen's act or Sarah Silverman doing George Lopez?

I see it amongst my friends. We will sit around at a wedding or at an event and try to figure out who is Jewish and who is not. That same conversation taking place amongst a group of non-Jews might have a completely different connotation. That leads to another question worth exploring, is ethnic humor a defense mechanism against antisemitism. It's almost as if you are saying, "you can't hurt me with words because I have already said it."

I know I have been writing a lot about sports in my blogs, it's part of my niche but not the sole voice I am attempting to put out there. It's my passion and it's what I know so I am comfortable writing about it. Now it is time to take that passion into a new direction and do something that may force me to stretch a bit.

The one constant I have tried to maintain throughout this process has been to tell a story. Whether its a sarcastic look at the U.S. approach to soccer, a memorable experience at an outdoor concert or a look into my fascination with Jewish humor, I have always tried to weave into story form. Even my rants on the Knicks and Isiah Thomas have been attempts at story telling.

I think this unexpected turn in my research will provide me an opportunity for some very poignant and possibly humorous story-telling. I will plan on interviewing rabbis, writers and others about the proper usages of humor. By getting their unique take on the discussion, I hope to be able to construct an essay on the "Appropriateness of Humor".