Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/06/12/dave-chappelles-846.html
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Chappelle is fucking amazing at teaching people to see things from a different point of view.
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Really, we could probably just stop there and it would still be accurate. Watched this earlier and it should be required viewing for everyone today.
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From Pancake Breakfast with Prince to this, man we’ve driven off the edge.
Powerful indeed.
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Thank you for sharing this
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I started my day with this and it was an incredibly powerful piece, that I probably shouldn’t have watched before having to pretend to be cheerful.
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I realized halfway through that Chappelle is represented in the Ohio senate by this guy:
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Chapelle should run for his seat.
I don’t live in Ohio, but hell, I’d cross state lines to canvass for him if he did.
This sketch- not so funny, except a couple swipes at Laura Ingram. It wasn’t intended to be funny as a focus, I think he just wanted to speak from the heart on what he’s seeing- and it was damn powerful indeed.
Thank you for sharing this.
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I stopped listening to this guy after he made fun of trans people in his stand-up special a year ago. For me to hear what he has to say, he needs to reflect on his own behavior. There are many other great voices out there who treat humans better. Fuck him!
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He has made fun of everyone at some point, he’s a dam comedian. So it was ok when he was telling jokes about Asian people but when he drops a trans joke he needs to treat humans better?
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I understand, and agree: he has said some absolute crap. However, here, in this instance, he has laid out a case for understanding what’s happening in the streets at a very deep level. He is 100% on the money here in this 30 minute special. It’s a must watch.
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I’m Asian.
Dave Chappelle makes me laugh. And think. Often.
And not just because he walked away from $50 million dollars.
I respect his efforts to work on himself. I learn from him. From his Wikipedia entry:
Chappelle stunned fans and the entertainment industry when he abruptly left during production and took a trip to South Africa.[4] Chappelle said that he was unhappy with the direction the show had taken, and expressed in an interview with Time his need for reflection in the face of tremendous stress:
“Coming here, I don’t have the distractions of fame. It quiets the ego down. I’m interested in the kind of person I’ve got to become. I want to be well-rounded and the industry is a place of extremes. I want to be well-balanced. I’ve got to check my intentions, man.”[40]
His perspective has my attention. He makes himself available and vulnerable. I believe I seem him in touch with his own humanity on stage and off. Some of the resonance I feel when I hear his observations is that humanity and his acknowledgement that he is a work in progress. Yeah me too.
He is the first to admit his flaws and most times I’ve heard it, it’s been in packed venues in front of hella lotta people.
I love this piece with Dr. Maya Angelou and Dave Chappelle, and though it’s edited in a way that I think is unfortunate and not in service to the material, it does really have some amazing moments in it. Her Tupac Shakur story was worth my wading through the clumsy editing.
Yes. Sometimes.
Yes.
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Damn.
That said, structurally, he’s just an amazing story teller. Every bit of that set folds in on and supports itself.
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You’re not wrong about him punching down.
And,
is not an excuse for dismissing the struggle of LBGQT+ people and contributing to diminishing their fight for equality.
Yes. He does.
Yes. Doesn’t mean he should get a pass because “he’s a comedian.”
Yes, it was powerful. He can also maybe do better on other issues. Both can be true.
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Real talk.
I’m a Black woman originally from Ohio, and I used to love his work.
But the last few times I tried to watch his recent stuff, I couldn’t get through more than a few minutes, because DC’s routine wasn’t funny anymore… it was just mean. I haven’t been able to fuck with him since.
That doesn’t mean he can’t be absolutely on point about systemic racism and police brutality; even broken clocks are right, twice a day.
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Yeah, I’m not a big fan of comedy that is just mean for meanness sake either. I like comedy that highlights the absurdity of our world and calls to our sense of solidarity. Comedy (as a genre) works best when it’s punching up, George Carlin style.
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As a former resident of the area, I think Chappelle is on the east side in District 10 which is represented by a different old white guy, but it is easy to get this wrong because of how gerrymandered the OH districts are. They successfully diluted Dayton into three larger rural districts, each currently with a republican state senator, so take your pick.
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Chappelle is in this weird twilight zone space where he seems to be aware of his own limitations and shortcomings but unable to transcend them. Just in this video here he makes a lame excuse for saying “bitch” all the time. Dude, don’t rationalize it, just stop. You know better.
He’s a man of his time. And that time was a while ago now.
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why can’t we do better? why can’t we acknowledge our common humanity?
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Perhaps there’s a subtle difference where the comedian is the butt of the joke?
That doesn’t excuse hateful language or the like, but if they are telling the edgy joke about themselves you know it works out OK! It’s laughing at shared experience versus mockery of the other.
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