{"id":22497,"date":"2021-05-10T20:41:09","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T20:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=22497"},"modified":"2021-05-15T17:44:43","modified_gmt":"2021-05-15T17:44:43","slug":"black-twitter-snl-appropriation","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/black-twitter-snl-appropriation\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Twitter Calls Out ‘SNL’ For Appropriation Over ‘Gen Z Hospital’ Skit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Will Heath\/NBC\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saturday Night Live<\/span><\/em><\/a> is under fire for its latest episode \u2014 and we’re not talking about host Elon Musk’s<\/a> hosting chops, either. <\/span>Saturday\u2019s telecast featured a scene titled \u201cGen Z Hospital\u201d that appeared to poke fun at the proliferation of Gen Z colloquialisms across the internet, but what Black Twitter (a sub-community largely consisting of African American users on the social network Twitter focused on issues of interest to the Black community, particularly in the United States) witnessed was yet another<\/em>\u00a0act of appropriation<\/a> in mainstream media.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The skit in question followed four Gen Zers \u2014 with pastel-colored hair and wearing the modern revisionism of cheugy<\/a> swag \u2014 awaiting the news on their \u201cbestie\u201d who got into a car accident while on Instagram Live. After talking to the neon-haired nurse, who remarked \u201cDon\u2019t be pressed. The doctor will be in shortly bro, dead*ss,\u201d the cast\u2019s dialogue quickly spirals into a glaring example of how internet slang has co-opted a distinct vernacular. From advising that the doctor (played by Musk) was \u201cgone catch hands on gang\u201d to blurting out of \u201cno cap,\u201d \u201csis,\u201d and \u201ccuh,\u201d the show\u2019s consistent left turns are apparent and for anyone remotely fluent in African American Vernacular English (AAVE), it felt like hearing the jumbled language of beginning try-hard learners who are overly confident in their abilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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This is why black people (AA) want to gatekeep aave. Aave isn\u2019t some funny internet language created by some teens on TikTok nor is it slang, it\u2019s a whole dialect with its own rules. Black people have been literally speaking like this during slavery of course-<\/p>\n

— My @ makes no sense (@MTimmitjr) May 9, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n