The most astute analysis of the 2016 election was SNL's 'Black Jeopardy' sketch

Jamelle Bouie, Slate and Business Insider

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-astute-analysis-of-the-2016-election-was-snls-black-jeopardy-sketch-2016-10

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One outlet managed to convey that nuance the other night. Improbably, it was Saturday Night Live. Political humor is old hat on Saturday Night Live, but it’s rare to see anything with real subtlety or sophistication. In general, we get caricatures and impressions—exaggerated renderings of individuals, ideas, and events. Occasionally, those renderings are so brilliant that they add something to our larger understanding of a particular politician. Most times, they aren’t and they don’t.

This past Saturday, however, SNL struck gold with one of its sharpest political sketches in recent memory. Instead of Kate McKinnon doing her repressed-mania bit as Hillary Clinton or Alec Baldwin playing the fleshy id of Donald Trump, we had three ordinary people as contestants on “Black Jeopardy!”, a recurring bit on the show. Kenan Thompson played the host, with Leslie Jones and Sasheer Zamata as two of the three competitors. The third was Doug, played by Tom Hanks wearing a denim shirt, graying facial hair, and a red “Make America Great Again” hat, and speaking as if through a freshly applied hunk of Skoal. In past versions of the sketch, the white contestants are too tied to their whiteness and their political correctness to accurately answer questions about black cultural tropes and stereotypes, which is to say that these bits are typically little more than refurbished Sinbad jokes.

At first, that’s what we seem to have with Hanks’ character. Thompson is skeptical that Doug is in the right place, and when he interjects after questions, Thompson is dismissive. But then Doug begins to answer questions. When Thompson reads a clue for the category “They Out Here Saying”—“They out here saying, the new iPhone wants your thumbprint ‘for your protection’ ”—Doug gives a correct response: “What is, I don’t think so, that’s how they get you.”

When Thompson reads a second clue for that category—“They out here saying that every vote counts”—Doug answers again, and again correctly: “What is, come on, they already decided who wins even ’fore it happens.” With each correct answer, Doug gets cheers and applause from Thompson, the black contestants, and the black audience. They all seem to understand the world in similar ways. “I really appreciate you saying that,” says Thompson after Doug praises Tyler Perry’s Madea movies, leading to an awkward moment where Hanks' character recoils in fear as Thompson tries to shake his hand, but then relaxes and accepts the gesture.

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