Luther and Katendra

June 14, 2023

There are so many reasons why Key and Peele’s “Obama Anger Translator” series is hilarious that it’s hard to know where to start.  There’s Peele’s pitch perfect, hyper-controlled Obama interpretation, and Key’s dysregulated, unconstrained physicality.  There’s the cultural, emotional, and linguistic discrepancies between the two characters.  Then there’s the name Luther, which for some reason is just funny.

Add in Katendra, Michelle’s Anger Translator, and Malia’s unnamed translator, and the whole thing gets even more preposterous.  

There is intellectual depth to these sketches, which can be viewed as commentary on institutional racism in American culture.  The characters call to mind W.E.B. Du Bois’s concept of “double consciousness,” and reveal the “code-switching” required for underrepresented populations to survive in a dominant culture.

From a psychological standpoint, the characters can also instruct us in the concept of emotional regulation.  If we’re all logic and intellect (read Spock, for another analogy) or emotion and impulse (read Kirk), it becomes difficult to sustain meaningful relationships.  It would be infuriating to have a relationship with the public Obama, who would win every argument through confidence and debate skills alone.  And it would be terrifying to have a relationship with Luther, whose capacity for becoming irrationally unhinged is unmatched.

The framework of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), as developed by Marsha M. Linehan, Ph.D., offers some guidance for those who seek middle ground.  The concept of “Wise Mind” can be visualized as a Venn diagram in which there are two overlapping circles.  “Emotional Mind” is the left circle, “Reasonable Mind” is the right, and the overlapping section is “Wise Mind.”

If we think of Luther as “Emotional Mind,” and Obama as “Reasonable Mind,” then “Wise Mind” becomes a balance of the two.  “Wise Mind” is a state of being which values both intuition and rationality, and is rooted in mindfulness and calm.  It’s a decision-making place of clarity.

An example would be if you witnessed a hit and run accident.  In the state of “Emotional Mind,” you might race after the car to get the license plate number – or to exact revenge.  In “Reasonable Mind,” you might call 911 and wait on the phone with the dispatcher to provide the location of the accident.

But in “Wise Mind,” you might call out to an onlooker to dial 911, and give comfort or emergency medical care to the injured person.

“Wise Mind” requires practice, and DBT provides concrete skills and tools which can be easily accessed through a therapist or online.  (https://dbt-lbc.org/)

Luther and Katendra aren’t just mindless late-night entertainment.  Key and Peele’s brilliant characters demonstrate that sometimes the best entertainment can teach us the most.

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