Our generation has become addicted to lit up screens and hand-held bricks. Because of these new technologies, we are able to use new mediums to have conversations. With the invention of texting, internet, and social media, it has become extremely easy to “slide into the dms”. But these innovations have posed a series of complications, including the struggle to convey tone when someone is having a conversation through these new forms of communication.
We have become fixated to the screens of our phones, maybe trying to decipher what our boyfriend or girlfriend meant by a certain message, or what mom meant when she that “LOL”. A majority of the time is spent trying to figure out what messages mean in context to the conversation one is having with another. Key and Peele’s Text Message Confusion is a prime example of how two people can interpret the same message in two completely different ways.
The scene opens up with Keegan walking into the kitchen with his phone in his hand and making coffee. He says what he is typing out loud to Peele, in a frustrating tone.
With Keegan’s tone, the demeanor he is trying to give off is visible to the audience as we can hear what he is trying to make of the message, but Peele doesn’t see it that way. Peele is actually focused on the video game he’s playing and the bowl of weed in his hand. He hears his phone go off and was shocked that Keegan was texting him. He apologizes for missing his earlier texts and finishes it off with a “whatever, I don’t care.” These five words set Keegan off in a rage. Peele’s laidback response is taken in a different way than he was aiming for. Both of them are reading the messages out of context throughout the entire conversation up until they “agree” to meet at the bar, where “the first round’s” Peele’s. Keegan interprets that as them fighting and showing up to the bar with a bat with nails in it, whereas Peele really meant that he’d pay for the first round of drinks.
Key and Peele over-exaggerate the situation. They make it more entertaining as they read their own and each other’s messages out loud. It contrasts how each person sees the other’s messages as Keegan thinks they are arguing, but Peele thinks Keegan is being considerate. Because we are able to see how each of them view their conversation and what they are doing, it changes the whole outlook of the situation. Keegan is portrayed in an angry mood, showing how upset he is during the whole exchange. He makes a cup of coffee in the middle of the day, representing the struggle he is having to be alert and awake. Their drug of choice further develops their characters and creates the whole vibe of both party.
Caffeine (which binds with adenosine receptors and prevents the chemical from making us tired) makes people more productive, and for someone who is an avid coffee drinker, the withdrawal makes them cranky and may be followed by a headache. Weed, on the other hand, releases dopamine — the chemical that makes people happy and more relaxed. Keegan may have been going through a caffeine withdrawal, therefore he needs some more coffee to keep him more aware and less cranky. With the sketch showing Peele smoking, he’s had a much more relaxed day and is inclined to be in a happier mood, but he may have a harder time taking everything in, as smoking marijuana causes cognitive impairment…which may play into effect why he could not understand Keegan’s tone.
With modern-day technology and modern-day drugs, Key and Peele demonstrates the confusion that people have when conversing with another through text messages. People don’t normally read their messages out loud, but because Key and Peele’s premise of the sketch is to understand how one can confuse certain messages for another, reading the messages out loud gives us the chance to really understand what is going through the characters’ minds. Key and Peele show two totally opposites of the spectrum — one who is laid-back and easygoing and one who is grumpy and uptight. When they get to the bar at the end of the sketch, they sink even further into the two ends. Peele is sitting by the bar, enjoying the music and patiently waiting for Keegan to show up and Keegan runs in with the bat in his hands. Once Keegan and Peele face each other in real life, the realization hits Keegan right in the face. Peele was never trying to start an argument with Keegan in the first place — hell, he didn’t even know that they were arguing at all. They both read all the signs wrong and that caused the conflict that half of the party didn’t even realize was happening.
What makes this sketch so brilliant is the dramatic irony that is seen throughout the entire clip. The audience is aware of what is happening on either side, and can see where each stand on their conversation. So when they are brought together, there is still some misunderstanding. Keegan is ready to confront Peele, armed and furious, and Peele is ready to buy the first round of drinks. Peele looks at Keegan and is confused as to why he has a bat, but still then believes that Keegan was only contributing to his post-Apocalyptic Jackie Robinson costume.
Everyone has had those moments where they misunderstood the tone one was trying to convey through messages. Technology has taken away one of the most important part of having a conversation — the face to face experience. It takes away from seeing the person’s facial expressions, body movements, and their tone of voice. Being in someone’s physical presence allows us to actually understand them better. Key and Peele takes such a simple dilemma — one that occurs to almost everyone on a daily basis — and make a relatable situation into a dramatized version of the truth.
