Comedians 'Crossing the Line"
Jonathan Riley
Issue date: 10/15/09 Last update: 10/16/09 at 5:04 PM PST
Section: Arts
Dr. Darby Li Po Price visited Laney Sep. 30 for a presentation of 'Crossing the Line: Multiracial Comedians,' a documentary which he co-produced with the film's narrator Teja Arboleda.
The film focuses on the experiences of multiracial comics and how they deal with issues of race in their comedy and their lives. The majority of the movie consists of interviews with comedians on some pretty serious topics, but often cuts to bits from their comedy routines, which keeps it entertaining and engaging through to the end of the film.
Many comedians of mixed ethnic backgrounds appeared in the movie, the most notable probably being Rain Pryor, daughter of comic legend Richard Pryor, and offered insights from their personal experiences and their comedy. The film was shot in three areas of the country, these being New York, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area, so many local comedians from San Francisco and Berkeley also appear.
The inspiration for the movie came out of a dissertation that Dr. Price wrote to get his PHD in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley titled 'Mixed Laughter: Mediating Multiracial Identities in American Ethnic Comedy.' When asked why he chose to explore the issues of ethnicity and racial identity through the medium of comedy, Price said "The image you see in mainstream media is that of the tragic mixed race person (...) which is a very negative image, but by using comedy we are able to explore the issues in a less confining context."
The event on Sep. 30, which was facilitated by Dr. Price and Helena Jia Hershel, a psychotherapist who also appears in the film, began with a showing of the movie in a shortened version. Afterwards Dr. Price answered questions and allowed the audience to participate in a brief discussion of some of the issues brought up by the movie. For more information about the film visit http://www.entertainingdiversity.com/CrossingTheLine/.
The film focuses on the experiences of multiracial comics and how they deal with issues of race in their comedy and their lives. The majority of the movie consists of interviews with comedians on some pretty serious topics, but often cuts to bits from their comedy routines, which keeps it entertaining and engaging through to the end of the film.
Many comedians of mixed ethnic backgrounds appeared in the movie, the most notable probably being Rain Pryor, daughter of comic legend Richard Pryor, and offered insights from their personal experiences and their comedy. The film was shot in three areas of the country, these being New York, Los Angeles, and the Bay Area, so many local comedians from San Francisco and Berkeley also appear.
The inspiration for the movie came out of a dissertation that Dr. Price wrote to get his PHD in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley titled 'Mixed Laughter: Mediating Multiracial Identities in American Ethnic Comedy.' When asked why he chose to explore the issues of ethnicity and racial identity through the medium of comedy, Price said "The image you see in mainstream media is that of the tragic mixed race person (...) which is a very negative image, but by using comedy we are able to explore the issues in a less confining context."
The event on Sep. 30, which was facilitated by Dr. Price and Helena Jia Hershel, a psychotherapist who also appears in the film, began with a showing of the movie in a shortened version. Afterwards Dr. Price answered questions and allowed the audience to participate in a brief discussion of some of the issues brought up by the movie. For more information about the film visit http://www.entertainingdiversity.com/CrossingTheLine/.
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