Urban - a code word?

[Wilson Gray]

On Oct 10, 2004, at 7:41 AM, James A. Landau wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "James A. Landau" <JJJRLandau at AOL.COM>
> Subject:      Urban - a code word?
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> Jean Schiffman, "Audition Hell" in Dramatics, VOlume 76, number 2,
> October
> 2004, page 28
>
> <begin quote>
>     Also beyond the actor's control are clueless directors.  When
> Brian Yates
> Sharber read for one of the jackals in the touring company of _The Lion
> King_, he was told, "I hate to sound stereotypical, but---be more
> urban," follwed
> by "You got a little too Connecticut for me."  Says Sharber, who is
> African
> American, "I'm thinking,, If you hate to sound stereotypical, then
> don't.  He was
> trying not to say, '[Racial slur] it up,' but that's what he meant.
> The only
> way he could feel comfortable saying that to a black actor is, 'Be more
> urban.' That's the code word that some of us have come to know."
> <end quote>
>
> Does anyone know if "urban" is indeed such a code word?  If so, is the
> usage
> restricted to theater?

On the Comedy Central show, "Tough Crowd," a black stand-up comedian
made precisely this complaint. According to him, he auditioned for a
commercial. After his audition, The Man took him aside and said
something like, "Your performance was excellent. However, we'd like you
to give a reading that's somewhat more urban, something with a bit more
'attitude.' " [spoken with "finger quotes"]

Given the venue, this probably counts as another instance of "theater"
usage.

>
> I am reminded of the major cigarette company that decided to produce a
> cigarette brand that would be aimed at African Americans.  (Public
> protest killed
> this idea, and good riddance, it was probably a high-nicotine
> cigarette)  The
> name of the proposed cigarette?  "Uptown".
>
> I doubt this is relevant, but some years ago there was a movie entitled
> "Urban Cowboy", which was a flop.  (I never saw it.)  According to one
> review, most
> theatergoers didn't know what "urban" meant and assumed it was a
> risque term.
>
> Also, in the above quote, "[racial slur]" is being used as a verb.  I
> doubt
> that is a nonce usage, but I can't recall ever having heard it as a
> verb rather
> than a noun or adjective.

Assuming that "[racial slur]" means "nigger," there's nothing unusual
about "nigger it up."

-Wilson Gray

>
>  - James A. Landau
>