Tracey Takes On Season 2 Episode 7 Race Relations

Tracey Takes On is a sketch comedy show hosted by Tracey Ullman that ran from 1996 to 1999. Each episode consists of a variety of satirical sketches in which Ullman portrays a diverse range of characters, highlighting various aspects of contemporary culture. Season 2 episode 7, titled "Race Relations," takes on the sensitive issue of racial dynamics in American society.

The episode begins with Tracey's character Ruby Romaine, a fast-talking talent agent, who pitches a movie featuring a black actor and a white actress playing a mixed-race couple. In her pitch, she emphasizes the 'uniqueness' of such a pairing, explaining that with the "crossover appeal of white and black audiences," it would make "tons of money." The scene is a sharp critique of Hollywood's long-established tendency to whitewash or tokenize people of color on screen for the sake of profit. The sketch highlights how ingrained racial stereotypes and biases can be, even in ostensibly progressive spaces like Tinseltown.

In another sketch, we see Tracey play Marcy, a suburban housewife who has hired a black maid (played by Jenifer Lewis) to clean her house. Marcy tries to make small talk about race relations, but her insensitive questions and assumptions repeatedly create awkward, cringe-worthy moments. The scene is a satirical commentary on how white people often attempt to show that they're 'woke' about social issues by making ill-informed or tone-deaf remarks, thereby reinforcing the very structural inequalities that they claim to be fighting against. The sketch creates a tension-filled, uncomfortable environment that provides a window into the depths of racism and prejudice that people of color still experience around the globe.

The following sketch features one of Tracey's most famous characters, Sheila Levine, a mid-life crisis sufferer who works at a cosmetics counter in a department store. She undergoes a transformation to appear as though she is black by getting a skin tan, an afro hairstyle, and putting on a Madea-like Southern accent. Sheila's performance is not only a commentary on racial stereotypes, but also on the extent to which people's identities are shaped by their appearance. The sketch illuminates the way in which blackface and minstrelsy have been used in North America to dehumanize and other people of color, and highlights the damaging legacy of institutional racism.

The show's next act shows Tracey play a white suburban mother named Peggy who brings her teenage son to a rap concert. The sketch highlights the cultural disconnect between the predominantly white audience and the black musicians, who complain that their music is being appropriated without any real knowledge or respect of the culture it came from. This sketch draws attention to the commercialization of African American culture as it is imported into the overwhelmingly white space of popular music and reveals how this can lead to the so-called "cultural appropriation" of Black people's social and cultural practices.

The final sketch of the episode is an absurdist rewriting of the Othello story, as we see Ullman play the titular character-turned-hairdresser who bemoans being married to a showbiz-loving Desdemona. The humor of the sketch comes from seeing how absurd such a reversal might be, pointing out to the audience the stereotypical image of Blackmen in their feisty accents and jazzy style. The sketch encapsulates the show's satirical style and its willingness to take on sensitive and controversial themes with intelligence and wit.

Overall, Tracey Takes On season 2 episode 7 takes on race relations with an insightful humor that cuts to the core of the thorny issues facing American society. The episode provides a space to comment on pertinent racial issues, such as unequal treatment, institutionalized racism, and harmful stereotypes still present in society today. Utilizing the show's signature combination of satire, farce, and humor, this episode presents an incisive critique of the cultural trends that shape our perceptions of race and identity.