BLACK FRIEND

An essay collection that reveals personal and theoretical underpinnings of a Black woman’s innovative approach to anti-racist entertainment.

“I do not exist just to move plot. While I am a supportive friend, I am not a supporting character.” So begins Ziwe in her wide-ranging collection that centers her experiences as a Black, immigrant woman. The author covers everything from the struggles of others to pronounce her name, to the irony of facing racism at a screening of a movie adaptation of James Baldwin’s If Beale Street Could Talk, to her decision to acquire a guard dog to protect her from racist street harassment. The latter project failed miserably because Ziwe ended up adopting a Chow Chow “too cute to intimidate strangers.” As she does on her show, Ziwe uses jokes as vehicles for her staggeringly insightful cultural analysis, fueled by her unparalleled knowledge of history, literature, criticism, and popular culture. For example, in an essay about her guests’ answer to the question “How many Black friends do you have?” she includes a footnote in which she describes her show as “a modern deconstruction of the American interview that has devolved from thoughtful discourse about societal issues (Dick Cavett talking to James Baldwin, Muhammad Ali, etc.) to inconsequential conversations about celebrities promoting their movies in between anecdotes of their movies.” The author then unravels the patronizing, racist, and misogynistic questions that people ask her about her show: “You would never ask this question to Howard Stern, Zach Galifianakis, Andy Cohen, and The Colbert Report’s Stephen Colbert, the latter of whom my character is based off of, despite the confrontational questions that they’ve asked their guests for decades.” Ziwe fans will revel in the behind-the-scenes details, while those unfamiliar with the author or her show will delight in their personal discovery of one of the smartest, funniest voices in modern America.

A satirical feminist and anti-racist essay collection showcasing a formidably talented comedian and cultural critic.