Good evening ladies and gentlemen, it is an honour to present here at the Brisbane Comedy Festival and to recognise the important role that humour plays in our society.

Humour is observed in all cultures and at all ages. It can shift the ways in which people think and can bring people together. It is innate yet also learned. It can be harmless and also incredibly damaging. For me, subtle humour is most enjoyable. The show about nothing, also known as Seinfeld is my favourite show.

Stereotypes have always been used in comedies. Stephen Amos says when comics consciously tackle controversial social issues using stereotypes, they can reach people on a more meaningful level. Amos contends that one of the singular properties of satire is the …show more content…
He feigns a thick black “rasta” accent and asks ludicrous questions such as, “how many ecstasy pills would you need to fly?”, “for real, what if your pet looks sad, could you give it an ecstasy pill?” The government advisor does not question his behaviour, he responds acceptingly and nods his head, which reveals that people in society believe racial stereotypes, even if heavily exaggerated and unrealistic. It seems the official thinks that this is typical behaviour of black people and they cannot be helped as they are intellectually inferior, primitive and prone to unlawful activities. The advisor believes that it is normal for black people to use and know the price of illicit drugs and have drug addict friends called “Dangerous Dave” and he accepts Ali’s caricature. Our society is largely compromised of white law abiding Christians and the pervasive culture is to distrust minorities and have preconceived ideas of them. It also illustrates that people in society are superficial and make judgements based solely on a person’s appearance and race. If a white business man were to act like Ali G, the government advisor would confront his actions as a joke and disbelieve the …show more content…
Being Italian, many people deem me based on the notorious Italian stereotypes in that I am habitually late and fashion conscious. The show conveys how people expect black people to act, speak and dress. Racial stereotypes are inaccurate and degrading as they ignore the humanity and uniqueness of people and so I believe they should be challenged. Stereotypes are applied to everyone, white teenage girls are always worried about calorie intake, whilst British people are pale and ridiculously polite, Australians are bronzed and sporty and blonde women are