Christian Lander, EIC of the blog Stuff White People Like, just inked a book deal for 325K. While the blogosphere has been ripe with race-based blogs for a while, this might be the first of its kind to go from pixel to print. I’m now curious to see the tone of future white-scribed humor blogs that touch on racial politics and poetics.
Of note is that SWPL, and its progenitor Black People Love Us, are both racially self-immolating. Based in the concept of white folks being goofy and absurdly unaware that ‘others’ are equals, not exotics, this brand of humor doesn’t spit fire beyond the white man in the mirror.
Historically, white (liberal) comic commentary has avoided other races, while on the flipside comics of color use greater narrative freedom in speaking their mind. One root of this is simply in our nation’s power structure – white people get to run the country and so everyone else can have comedy & cool. Now does this rubric change if Obama becomes president? Will white folks then feel a new sense of comic and cultural freedom, so that next time someone says “Larry Bird is overrated”, they’ll retort with ease “Yeah, well so is Antwone Fisher.”
(black people love this movie)