Join us at MoAD for a powerful, provocative evening with acclaimed film scholar, filmmaker, and MoAD’s Cultural Critic-in-Residence, Dr. Artel Great, as he discusses his groundbreaking new book: The Black Pack: Comedy, Race, and Resistance,  scheduled for release on Rutgers University Press, June 17, 2025.

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In this electrifying author talk, Dr. Great takes us behind the scenes in Hollywood to detail the untold, high-impact story of five comedic pioneers— Eddie Murphy, Paul Mooney, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Robert Townsend, and Arsenio Hall— who joined forces in the late 1980s to form a comedy supergroup known as "The Black Pack." Working together, they created a series of socially and politically charged films and TV shows that revolutionized popular culture and changed the face of American comedy.

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The Black Pack weren’t just funny—they were fearless, strategically using humor as a cultural weapon of resistance to challenge and expose the stereotypic limitations of the Hollywood industry while confronting America's deep-seated racial condition. Through satire, parody, and lacerating wit, the Black Pack unleashed some of the most profitable, provocative, and enduring Black cultural productions of the 20th century, including classics like Coming to America, In Living Color, Hollywood Shuffle, Boomerang, The Five Heartbeats, and The Arsenio Hall Show.

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In this insightful presentation, Dr. Great will share dynamic clips from the Black Pack productions and read excerpts from his highly anticipated new book, offering a deep dive into the cultural history of the Black Pack. He will also detail how this comedic dream team used humor as a form of resistance, transforming 90s-era social tension and anger into art from within a political system built to silence them. This event will provide a provocative look at the Black Pack's signature comedic style, politics, aesthetics, and social impact that led to the Black cultural renaissance of the 1990s — leaving a legacy that continues to inspire new generations of comics from Chris Rock to Kenya Barris, Dave Chappelle to Issa Rae, Donald Glover and more. Don't miss this exciting new cultural program.

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Attendees will receive private access to view the Black Pack hit film: Hollywood Shuffle on-demand prior to the event.

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Pre-order your copy of The Black Pack: Comedy, Race, and Resistance today! Books will be shipped in mid-June upon release.

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This event is Virtual and will be held on Zoom. After you register for this program, you will receive an acknowledgement email with the link to join the program on Zoom. It will also contain the link to view the film HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE on-demand prior to the event. If you don't receive the email, check your junk mail or spam folder. If you still can't access it, please contact programs@moadsf.org.

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Dr. Artel Great (@dr.artelgreat) is the inaugural Cultural Critic-in-Residence at MoAD and the George and Judy Marcus Endowed Chair in African-American Cinema Studies and Assistant Professor of Critical Studies at San Francisco State University. He is also an Independent Spirit Award-nominated filmmaker and film and media scholar who has written on Black cinema and popular culture in both mainstream and academic publications.

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