You got some splainin to do!

In lieu of an FAQ or bio page, it seems to me that the most interesting part of this blog is both its "sweaty" premise and its bizarre title, and I think that that merits the most exposition. Should you happen to be reading this and not in Uni High African-American Lit (in this fine year of 2012, but I suppose that the course itself is more important here), congratulations! You have spammed random words into Google and hit I'm Feeling Lucky! The rest of this blog will probably be of no concern to you, because for right now, it's purpose is to discuss ideas that come up in the aforementioned high school English class. Should you choose to soldier on, I commend you!

Of course, the premise is that I (and whichever brave souls choose to quest here) will be discussing topics from the class on the wonderful, ever-loving internet. Sweaty, in terms of defining said premise, will now mean "shaky" for the purposes of the blog. This is not to say I have doubts about the system, but it is an unusual concept that deserves an unusual title. And what an unusual title it is! It happens to be linked somewhat indirectly to the television show 30 Rock, specifically the song "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah" as performed by Tracy Jordan. While the version that appeared in the show is rather brief and fleeting, there also happens to be a longer version that floats around on the internet. The producer speaks to Tracy in between verses, trying to dissuade him from continuing with the song, at one point telling him the song is becoming "sweaty." Tracy's response, here and forevermore immortalized, can be found at the top of this page.

So, what's significant about "Werewolf Bar Mitzvah"? You might think that this has nothing to do with African-American literature, and you would be somewhat correct. But, I have a few rationalizations. The first, and most insultingly obvious, is that Tracy Jordan is, of course, African-American. In fact, it is so insultingly obvious, that we will ignore it and move on to number two. There is an idea that the movie (I cannot speak for the show now on MTV, as I have never myself watched it) Teen Wolf uses lycanthropy as an allegory for being black. Or, rather, I should say it uses it as an embodiment of several blatant stereotypes of black people. Suddenly, after discovering his werewolf-y self, Fox's character becomes incredible at basketball, breakdances randomly in school, turns into a major show-off, starts hitting it off with the opposite sex, sniffs out marijuana, and exclaims his non-homosexuality in a rather offensive way. At this point I should point out (both to you and to myself) that this is really only tangentially related to the title as it stands, but it is interesting nonetheless. If nothing else, it stands as an example of the problems that we are still dealing with today, despite the fact that we have made progress. In any case, it is important to remember that it is a strange title for a strange idea.