A Review of Chris Rock's 'Tamborine'

The last two years or so have been enriched with black comedy. From Dave Chappelle's previous work with Netflix and his time at Radio City Music Hall to Trevor Noah's brilliant job on The Daily Show, black comedy has not been this prominent in pop culture in years. When I saw that Chris Rock was going to have a new comedy special on Netflix, I was extremely excited, and of course, Rock did not disappoint.

The importance of black comedy mainly rests on its ability to act as a social commentary that is easily digested by those that we would not consider ideal consumers. It brings diverse audiences into the lives and experiences of the black community through a lens that makes it easy for them to understand and listen, but as the comedian goes on to develop and build on the idea, the audience realizes the point that is being hammered home.

Upon the opening of Rock's Tamborine, the first thing that he says is politically charged:

"Here's my question. You would think that cops would occasionally shoot a white kid just make it look good."

Rock takes an approach that is different than the one that I have outlined above. He hits the nail right on the head from the beginning, which implies that we all know what the issue is, we all know what needs to be done, yet the issue persists. There is no need to tiptoe around an issue that is laid out right in front of us.

This tone does not turn down at any point during the comedy special. Rock touches on the importance of equality, training his kids to expect racial discrimination, how bullying prepares kids for reality, Donald Trump, God and religion, marriage and cheating. He addresses all of these topics head on, the way that he believes that his audience needs to hear them.

Thus far, the opinions on this special seem to be uniform. Rock has been sorely missed in comedy and most people just seem glad to have him back. People also seem to really love Rock's attitude and transparency regarding social issues.

One thing that does not seem to be a popular topic of discussion is the title of the comedy special: Tamborine. Based on the teaser that Netflix released, many people thought of the instrument. The tambourine. Rock also makes a joke about the experiences that one can have in a relationship when they feel like the tambourine player of a band. He asserts that even if you're just the tambourine player, you have to play it right. However, the name of the instrument has a 'u' that the name of the special is missing. This couldn't be a mistake, it had to be scrutinized by several people before getting to audiences everywhere.

Here is my theory as to why 'Tamborine' is misspelled:

As an entirety, the special seems to be about mistakes. Rock discusses all of the mistakes that the American public is making. Trump has been elected president. Mistake. Bullying being frowned upon in schools. Mistake. God's rest when forming the world. Mistake. His infidelity within his marriage. Mistake. His unrealistic expectations in his marriage. Mistake. He didn't play the tambourine. Mistake.

Specifically, Rock talks about the rippling effects that these mistakes can have. Some of these are positive. For instance, Rock suggests that since the Bush Administration led to eight years under the Obama Administration, the Trump Presidency may lead to something positive. Regarding the mistakes in his marriage, Rock talks about the negative effects that his actions have add on his ex-wife and his custody battle. But he also talks about how the outcome of his marriage has positively affected his state of mind.

There is a need for this type of comedy, especially in an era where information and tragedy are so accessible, but solutions seem so far away. We need comedians like Chris Rock in order to continue to publicize and take stances on issues in the black community in order to push the American people toward solutions.