# Comedies with slavery **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379 "2013-05-03T03:33:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/1 "2013-05-03T03:33:50Z")
I was just reminded by a thread about horses about one of my favorite comic action westerns – _The Scalphunters_, with Burt Lancaster as a fur trapper who is forced to trade all his pelts for a black man played by Ossie Davis. Burt plans to sell Ossie off after, of course, Ossie helps him get his pelts back. Ossie is no fool and asks what’s in it for him … But it struck me that humor and slavery are a kinda rough fit. I can’t think of many comedies with funny masters and slaves running around. In fact, the only other one that comes immediately to mind is _A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum_. I suppose you could count _I Dream of Jeanie_ because she seems to consider herself Major Nelson’s slave. But I’m sure I’m missing tons of them. Name me some and tell me something about them. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/2 "2013-05-03T03:38:33Z")
Blazing Saddles? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/3 "2013-05-03T03:47:36Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Blazing Saddles? Set after slavery was abolished in the US. The line where the redneck says “When you _was_ slaves, y’all sang like birds” clearly indicates past tense. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/4 "2013-05-03T04:01:29Z")
_[Skin Game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_Game)_ ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/5 "2013-05-03T04:16:43Z")
Are you counting comedies that were written and performed back when slavery was still socially acceptable? Greek comedies like Aristophanes’ _Frogs_, Roman comedies like Plautus’ _Pseudolus_, not to mention 19th-century American works? ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/6 "2013-05-03T04:23:43Z")
For ancient Egyptian slavery comedy, there’s [A Rugrats Passover](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rugrats_Passover), or the “Lisa’s Dream” segment of [Simpsons Bible Stories](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simpsons_Bible_Stories). _It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia_ did a 1776-set episode called “The Gang Cracks the Liberty Bell” where Kaitlin Olson plays a “slave-witch.” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/7 "2013-05-03T04:28:52Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > _[Skin Game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_Game)_ I remember that movie! Very enjoyable, and I’ve always been a big fan of James Garner. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/8 "2013-05-03T04:30:30Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Are you counting comedies that were written and performed back when slavery was still socially acceptable? Greek comedies like Aristophanes’ _Frogs_, Roman comedies like Plautus’ _Pseudolus_, not to mention 19th-century American works? Not really, I was thinking about things written since slavery ended, but WTF, the more the merrier! Just like slaves! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/9 "2013-05-03T04:30:33Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Are you counting comedies that were written and performed back when slavery was still socially acceptable? Greek comedies like Aristophanes’ _Frogs_, Roman comedies like Plautus’ _Pseudolus_, not to mention 19th-century American works? 😕 I thought Pseudolus was one of the characters (the wily slave, that is) in _Miles Gloriosus_. (checks wikipedia) Huh, that was _Palaestrio_. Okay, I nominate _Miles Gloriosus_, also by Plautus. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/10 "2013-05-03T04:50:38Z")
There was _Roman Scandals_, with Eddie Cantor. I’m stuck for one set in the American South, though–excluding moments of slapstick or comic relief in dramatic movies. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/11 "2013-05-03T05:06:57Z")
Never mind me, I was just going to mention _Forum_. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/12 "2013-05-03T05:15:30Z")
Hattie McDaniel’s role as “Mammy” in “Gone With the Wind” was comedic. Yeah, the movie wasn’t a comedy…but the role and the performance were (to some degree, anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/13 "2013-05-03T06:44:39Z")
I remember a Little Rascals feature or short that took place during the civil war. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/14 "2013-05-03T07:41:27Z")
There was an episode of the _Chappelle Show_ where he went back in time and confronted a slaveowner. And _Django Unchained_ wasn’t a comedy, but it had some humor. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/15 "2013-05-03T07:43:00Z")
The Comedy of Errors ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/16 "2013-05-03T09:22:07Z")
Carry On Cleo. Roman-time slavery. I guess you could include Monty Python’s Meaning of Life for the galley slave scene at the start. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/17 "2013-05-03T09:37:14Z")
Though Monty Python’s _Life of Brian_ is set in the Roman Empire, where 30 to 40% of the population were slaves, I can’t think of any speaking characters in the film who are slaves. I think the only slavery reference is when Brian’s mother Mandy mentions how his father, a centurion, promised to take her to Rome where she would have “a house by the forums, slaves, asses’ milk, [and] as much gold as I could eat”. ---
**Author:** ![Skara\_Brae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f0a364/32.png) [@Skara\_Brae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skara_Brae)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/18 "2013-05-03T10:53:34Z")
[Year One](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045778/?ref_=sr_2) (Though this may not be what you are looking for because 1. it doesn’t take itself seriously and 2. it’s not very funny) “When do you get off?” “Never. I’m a slave.” ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/19 "2013-05-03T10:57:19Z")
_Up Pompeii_ was a UK comedy series set in Roman times with a slave (Frankie Howard) as narrator/hero. It had a [spin off film](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067916/). Lots of double, indeed, single, entendres. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2013, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379/20 "2013-05-03T11:36:41Z")
Mel Brooks’ _History of the World: Part I_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comedies-with-slavery/657379.md?page=2)