Key & Peele is an undeniably successful sketch comedy show with a Peabody Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards under its belt along with numerous other award nominations. The show “tackle[s] racially charged issues and ideas like no one else on television” all while making the audience laugh (Peabody Awards, “Key & Peele”). But, why? Why would an audience laugh at racially charged issues and ideas? Is it Key and Peele, both biracial men, who make the show so funny, or is it the situations they create for themselves, or some combination of both? The humor theory seeks to question and explore why what society deems as humorous is considered as such. The humor theory is divided into three camps, each with a different perspective on what makes humor. Though the camps aren’t necessarily separate and can have some overlap, Key & Peele most comfortably aligns with the incongruity theory.
The incongruity theory suggests that “humor results from the clash of incompatible discourses, which are themselves socially constructed and learned” (Creeber, 90). In certain skits, Key & Peele highlights the negative social phenomenon of racism and sets up characters that serve to challenge this idea. In the “Black Ice News” skit, the news anchors (both white) argue with Key and Peele’s weathermen characters over the dangers of black ice, sounding oddly similar to “black guys” and spoken of as if it was just that. The skit shows the way that society often portrays black men even going as far as saying, “A perfectly safe neighborhood can suddenly be terrorized by the appearance of black ice” (Key & Peele, 00:04:08- 00:04:15). The anchors argue back and forth with Key and Peele on different racist points and eventually the skit ends with the female anchor reading the headline for the next news segment: “Why is America being ruined by black people?” (Key & Peele, 00:05:52- 00:05:57). These two very incompatible discourses clash and lead to a comedic means of talking about systematic racism and the position of the black man in America. “Black Ice News” is funny to watch because it touches on parts of society that are actually true and then pushes them to an extreme. A news anchor today would never say on air, “Why is America being ruined by black people?” but that extreme is what is generally felt by all of the other smaller yet racially charged comments in the skit.
The same pattern occurs in other skits, including the cold open to the episode. Key and Peele walk into a party and immediately notice a white man talking to a group of black people. After Key says, “You must listen to how this white dude is talking to black people,” the white man continues making outrageous and strange statements such as, “I’m a DJ!” (Key & Peele, 00:00:30- 00:00:45). The white man then walks away from the group and over to Key and Peele, completely changing his tone back to his “white voice,” simply saying “Hey, Key and Peele right? So stoked you guys are here. Thanks for coming out!” (Key & Peele, 00:00:30- 00:00:45). Key and Peele take a slow sip of their drinks and simply say they have to get out of there. This incompatible discourse, along with the others, serves to show “one of the ways in which societies speak to themselves both socially and through media,” and it is what makes Key & Peele so humorous and successful (Creeber, 90).
Works Cited
“Black Ice News.” Key & Peele, created by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, presented by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, Comedy Central, 2013.
Creeber, Glen. (2015). The Television Genre Book (3rd Edition). British Film Institute.
“Key & Peele (Comedy Central).” Peabody Awards, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/key-peele-comedy-central.
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