Update:Comedy > Politics: Dave Chappelle: unfunny SNL writers jealousy the king is hosting again

Well I guess an author who created an entire series analogous to modern race relations where the good guys are the multiculturalists is now somehow a bigot now.

 

Okay. Is someone who loves diversity of all people but just has a particular distaste for Jews not a bigot?

It's just one group of people.

 

From what I read, she doesn't have a distate for them as far as I can tell. That these are the narratives is exactly why people don't just let the issue lie. You question anything you are a pariah. Calling her a bigot is irrational.

 

Honest question, but did you watch the special until the end? He addresses all of this.

I just watched it, and thought it was his best ever. If we can't laugh together at ourselves, then we lose the whole point (Jew jokes were great as always).

 

In the third column I say just that because he says it on the nose of what his goal is. That’s stand up comedy and he’s right that trans people haven’t been able to have a safe place like that to laugh within themselves yet.

But I just think he bombs that attempt because again you missed the part where he canceled himself because he saw the crowd of white people laughing at black people. There might be a trans following on Chappelle and some in the crowd there but I doubt it. If I was trans or gay I don’t think I could have sat through the first hour and not had something that effected me negatively. I also think about the super high rate of individuals who commit suicide who are part of this community.

That would be on my mind if I was Chappelle and clearly it’s not, but my sense is that eventually he’ll get it. Because the whole point of a Chappelle bit is NOT to have one part of society laugh at another. As he says clearly he wants people to laugh at themselves as a way of self acceptance therapy through laughing. Chris Rocks stand ups are a master class at doing this right and bringing in the black community so then he can let it rip. You gotta do the work in order and that community needs agency in the act.

 

I'm of the opinion that people in general need to be less sensitive. We have created a society of sissies.

I'm also of the opinion that comedy is supposed to push boundaries and has forever offended people.

If you want to be a chick when you were born a dude, go do that. If you want to marry a dude and you're a dude, go do that. I think it's all great. I don't think people should live unhappily.

If you're going to cry foul because a boundary pushing comedian offended you, I can retain the right to conclude your opinion doesn't matter anymore.

 

The thing is comedy used to be about punching up to people of power and influence. Now a lot of comedians are edgy for edginess sake punching down.

And @dobro1229 makes a good point that Chappelle did this with the black community wanting them to laugh at themselves which in itself is fine but he became ashamed of himself when he saw the audience and it was just white people laughing at the expense of Black people.

That's what his targeted joke campaign to the LGBTQ community has become essentially. A bunch of straight people and disproportionately right wing edgelords loving his new content.

Dave also is being a hypocrite in the sense that he makes fun of people like Candace Owens and racist white people finding those few Black people that repeat their talking points to confirm their biases while doing the same with the transgender woman who tragically killed herself. He finds someone from a group he targeted agreeing with him to deflect criticism.

 

This reminds me of a comment from Norm McDonald (RIP) about comedy and specifically about Alec Baldwin and the Trump impression. Alec Baldwin didn't work because it was obvious that his contempt for Trump bled through the performance. In order to have a raw "lets all laugh at ourselves" approach that works, I believe the target has to be a willing participant. There needs to be agency on both sides.

Chappelle in his act is speaking from his perspective of having no idea where someone that is LGBTQ is coming from. It comes off all wrong, and its not a lets all laugh at ourselves as much as it is "lets all laugh at you. because we all think you are weird."

Now I will say there is a completely different style of comedy that is designed to spit fire at people in power, or privilege as @fchowd0311 alludes to in a punching up style of comedy. George Carlin was, IMO, the best at this type of comedy. Bill Hicks is well known but the guy was a bit depressing, and way dark.

To your point though, I think EVERYONE agrees that people take things too seriously and need to stop being snowflakes. But people have been overly offended by everything always. The only thing that has changed is social media where every Aunt Nancy or Uncle Joe can have their opinion elevated to the top of the Twitter feed of the Speaker of the House. I get really REALLY tired of people like Bill Maher constantly b****ing about "cancel culture" etc. etc.

The only thing more tiresome than Snowflakey Aunt Nancy is Snowflakey Bill Maher b****ing about Snowflakey Aunt Nancy. It's getting so freaking ridiculous, and they deserve to be called out from the peanut gallery themselves.

 

I watch Netflix and have a nice salary. I also love bbq and plenty of Chappelle skits and jokes. Sorry bud.

 

I agree with you on all that. I'm just a little more open with comedy and feeling that it's a much needed outlet for many. The land of anything goes.

 

Pretty close to Dave’s whole position on his problems with some (Trans) wrapped up in about 2 minutes, about equally funny, and probably a more powerful point too.

 

I mentioned Bill Hicks and Norm McDonald. I would respectfully disagree that I'm not open about comedy. Chappelle is one of the all time greats already. I just think he missed the mark on this one, but no I'm not going to "cancel" him like he likes to say people are trying to do. What sucks though is this is like the third major standup special where the main big thing he talks about is this issue. Like realize it's actually not that funny, and move on. If he has one flaw as a comedian it's sometimes being able to read the room.

 

One of those individuals was a VERY GOOD FRIEND OF HIS who the TRANSCOMMUNITY berated so badly - because she defended HIM -that she committed suicide. - I feel that is his opinion.

I think we saw alot of anger and pain behind that more than anything

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