ABSTRACT

Through close analysis of the supporting role played by black jazz musician Jon Batiste on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, this article examines how the legacy of minstrelsy shapes late night comedy in the twenty-first century formally, spatially, and acoustically. For the majority of The Late Show’s history, Batiste has primarily operated as a voice without a body, or an acousmêtre, incorporated into a technical apparatus that deploys his reactions in a racialized manner that recalls minstrel conventions. This dynamic is exemplified in an episode from 2017 featuring black actor Morgan Freeman as a fantastical “sidekick” for the white host, Stephen Colbert, in a skit that made explicit the connotations of Batiste’s role on the show. However, when The Late Show began recording remotely as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Batiste’s relationship to the show changed. By redefining his relationship to the technology that shapes the show, Batiste has been able to transform his position on the show and exceed the technical confines of the acousmatic role he once played.

摘要

通过仔细分析黑人爵士音乐家乔恩·巴蒂斯特在斯蒂芬科尔伯特的晚间秀中所扮演的配角，本文探讨了吟游诗人的遗产如何在形式上、空间上和声学上塑造 21 世纪的深夜喜剧。在The Late Show 的大部分历史中，巴蒂斯特主要是作为一个没有身体的声音或一个音响，并入一个技术设备中，以一种让人想起吟游诗人惯例的种族化方式来部署他的反应。这种动态体现在 2017 年的一集中，黑人演员摩根弗里曼作为白人主持人斯蒂芬科尔伯特的奇幻“搭档”，在一个小品中明确了巴蒂斯特在节目中角色的内涵。然而，当晚间秀由于 COVID-19 大流行开始远程录制，Batiste 与节目的关系发生了变化。通过重新定义他与塑造节目的技术的关系，巴蒂斯特已经能够改变他在节目中的位置，并超越了他曾经扮演的声学角色的技术限制。