Saturday Night Live’s Gen Z skit was definitely interesting and has been receiving quite a bit of backlash. In the skit titled “Gen Z Hospital”, everyone is using lingo and terminology that SNL (via writer Michael Che) claims is Gen Z lingo. You can watch the skit here. Ironically, every term and phrase used is actually verbiage made popular by Black people. ?
In the skit, a doctor (played by last week’s host Elon Musk), is delivering the news of a fatality to a group of young people visiting their friend. The entire skit’s communication is lingo ripped off from Black folks. Comedic was what they were going for but the reality is, it’s cringy to watch. Since when was deada** an invention of Gen Z? Where did you first hear someone say “On Gang“? We’re not buying it!
How Did We Get Here?
The skit has received criticism for ridiculing Black lingo, but more than that this skit is holding up a mirror to the media’s obsession with Blackness. This era of social media hyperdrive that we are living in has made Black influence more prevalent than it’s always naturally been. It’s more accessible now than it ever has been. Therefore, every aspect of Black culture is consumed and replicated, constantly. Jokes and lingo exchanged via Black Twitter have a funny way of making it to the commercial space, being used even out of context sometimes.
The connection between Gen Z and Black lingo is social media. The youngest generation is the most social media involved than any generation before them. Online culture is a big part of their world for a lot of Gen Z folks. Gen Z is influential in their own right but it’s inaccurate to say that they originated lingo commonly found on Black Twitter and in music made by Black artists.
We deem this skit a miss but don’t let us decide for you. Check out the skit and judge for yourself. Let us know what you think.
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