Did your admiration of Dave Chappelle settle when he started saying what was actually on his mind rather than dancing for everyone? Me too. Did your admiration for Dave decrease when he gave up $30 MILLION for one season of Chappelle Show? Me too. He should have shut his mouth and done another season. If the well-educated ignore chappelle's biggest sociopolitical commentary (giving up 30 Million due to ethical discomfort) then there is no hope. If you think dave is cool because he is sociopolitical in his skits, isn't it funny that he started to hate his own skits?
Why would they edit this out? we can never really know,but... I think it relates to the nanjo-tapdancing troupe who open the show. Chappelle's post-commercial intros poke fun at white people and they don't even know it because they are well educated. Chappelle cautiously walking in a totally white place with the old time entertainers. Chappelle is artisitically asking can us youngbloods be comfortable in our own skin like the oldtimers in this white world. The confused look he gives says it all. White people never come up with that because unfortunately it is difficult with their American education and role models and favorite tv SHOWS.
According to Maxim magazine interview white co-writer Neil Brennan, chappelle walked out when a white crewmember laughed condescendingly (Racism, Laughter, and Approval) when he acting in the black pixie sketch (extreme Southpark type crude humor) They address this poorly in the Lost Episodes
In actuality, Dave Chappelle's insider comments and rejection of Comedy Central inspired me to question Comedy Central and other corporations. Comedy Central's number one prospect was Chappelle. He was going to get 30 Million for a cable show??!!!! Why did he reject 30 Million dollars. He comes from a genius background with both parents as professors. I think his action should be held as an example to all minorities or any person, never to sell out for money. A very important message for minorities. Yes Oprah and Si Mencia yo hablando tu.
I bring this example to the Comedy central Progressives who responded to my Spark blog (I really appreciate the comments to, they give me insight, and the guy who admitted he was white has the best chance of understanding what I'm saying. Because he understands what he is: 17 years old, white, and has an American education (the target audience. education can't be good or bad)
From wikipedia:
Season 3 turbulence
In a June 2004 stand-up performance in Sacramento, California, Chappelle walked off the stage after berating his audience for constantly shouting "I'm Rick James, bitch!", which became a catchphrase from the popular "Rick James sketch". After a few minutes, Chappelle returned and continued by saying "The show is ruining my life." He stated that he disliked working "20 hours a day" and that the popularity of the show was making it difficult for him to continue his stand-up career which was "the most important thing" to him. He also told the audience:
| “ | You know why my show is good? Because the network officials say you're not smart enough to get what I'm doing, and every day I fight for you. I tell them how smart you are. Turns out, I was wrong. You people are stupid.[10] | ” |
In May 2005, Chappelle stunned fans and the entertainment industry when he abruptly left during production of the third season of Chappelle's Show. Chappelle has since stated that he was unhappy with the direction the show had taken, claiming pressure from network executives regarding the show's content. Chappelle left the United States to visit South Africa. His decision to visit South Africa while leaving the public in the dark regarding the details about his absence triggered reports of drug problems. On May 11, 2005, news sources reported that Chappelle had checked himself into a psychiatric facility in South Africa.[11] On May 14, Chappelle gave an interview to Time Magazine's South African bureau chief. Chappelle denied any drug or mental problems though he did have a 40 minute session with a psychiatrist. Chappelle stated that his reasons for visiting South Africa were to reflect on his life and career.[12]
Um, isn't a huge amount of Dave's stand-up stuff laced with stuff stereotyping white folk?
You must really hate Chris Rock, um and Eddie Murphy, oh and Richard Pryor, why not throw in Wanda Sykes too...shit wait, sorry, does it count when Black comedians are racially stereotyping other races or is it only White comedians you have a problem with?
For the record, I think every comedian I've just mentioned is funny as fuck, I also don't think that they are racist. I'm beginning to get the sneaking suspicion that you might be though.
You cite Dave's whole minstrel epiphany, but you fail to mention anything about when he dresses up as a White guy and people pissed themselves laughing at him....or is that okay with you? It's fine with me, but I'd like to hear from you how disgusted you are by all the Black comedians I've just mentioned, including Dave, for their re-enforcing of White stereotypes.
I would like to see it here in writing, if you are really that concerned about this whole stereotyping business. If you aren't willing to criticize these comedians for their unfair portrayal of other racial stereotypes then stop whining about the fact that non-Black comedians do it.
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I am the people my mother warned me about.
I thought he left for religious reasons (among all those you mentioned earlier).
In either case, everyone knows (or should know) that television show and network producers control the content and direction of shows far more than the stars it features. Even The Simpsons, which has been a Fox sitcom for 20 years, faces conflict with its network producers when content is deemed "too liberal" for the conservative network.
Yes everyone does know that television shows and network producers control the content and direction of shows far more than the actual writers. (I also like generalizations and how people SHOULD know things.)
And why is that?
Because presentation and images and fantasy count more than the actual craftsmanship and humor.
Why is Chappelle giving up 30 Mil to do stand up and block parties? We haven't seen such an upheaval of entertainment shifting from corporate to grassroots since MTV was established. Block Party=Wood stock. The man travelled all over to get people free tickets to a concert in Brooklyn. That seems more sociopolitical than his sketches but American culture can't realize it unless someone (network producers like Oreilly or other strategic liberal clergy)tells them. We had to be told Crash was a good movie by Oscar. We would never have been able to do it on our own. That's why we watch multicultural shows like Friends, South Park, Heroes, and The View and Pirates of the Carribbean 5. Whatever happened to Fiona Apple?
Sounds like a progressive to me, but do you even realize it. He hates what the TV business does to him and his work. The network producers prefer Chappelle to be an actor and writer, but not a producer. Chappelle was supposed to be a symbol of Comedy Central Multicultural Comedy Block along with Mind of Mencia.
Call me crazy but I think the majority of the people who watch these shows on Comedy central are unemployed or don't have much responsibility and probably under 28. I doubt the average SouthPark fan or Dave Chappelle fan is actually culturally literate. They think culturally literate means they know the stereotypes and are above them by "laughing" with them.
They're not laughing with you minority, they are laughing at you.
You use just as many generalizations, if not more, than I, when you say that you "doubt the average SouthPark [sic] fan or Dave Chappelle fan is actually culturally literate." I'm not sure what your definition of cultural literacy is, but it's obvious that these shows are well-known and favored by a significant portion of the population. Do these people just not count as part of our culture? I love South Park, and I love opera, and theater, writing, socializing. In fact, I'm working for an opera company right now, but once I'm done listening to people rehearse their Verdi all day, I want to chill out with Kyle and Stan. Yeah, I'm under 28, but I'm employed and have plenty of responsibility. I don't think I'm exactly above anything, but I don't find either of those shows any more offensive than your generalization of the people who watch them.
Let me clarify one generalization I made for you- when I said "everyone should know that producers write the shows" (or something similar) I meant "should" in the "ought" sense of the word, because I think it's ignorant if people don't know.
It's early yet, so my faculties are not altogether here, but I hope that clarified some things.
I am not sorry to say that I think that Dave Chapelle is a comedic genius, and I think that his criticism of the viewing public that was so upset by his show is dead on the mark.
"You know why my show is good? Because the network officials say you're not smart enough to get what I'm doing, and every day I fight for you. I tell them how smart you are. Turns out, I was wrong. You people are stupid."
I base my opinion on the now infamous skit where Dave potrayed Clayton Bigsby, a black blind man who was raised to believe that he was white, and further indoctrinated into the white-supremicist movement an who became a prominent author and defender of white supremecy. Now, on its face, this was a skit litterally filled with stereotypes, but the situation being potrayed struck me as making several very perceptive comments about racism and racist stereotypes.
First of all, the fact that Clayton Bigsby was black, but was raised to think he was white demontrated that race is in fact an illusion. It is something that is defined not by any inherent characteristic, but rather by our perception of others, and by our perception of ourselves. The situation continued to deepen when I realized that Clayton also represented the way that minority groups often play into the whole idea of racism, and in some ways actually discriminate against themselves by their acceptance of the idea that "we" are different from "them." But the part that struck me the most, was when the character said that he had diverced his wife because he found out that she was a "n*****-lover." This demonstrated the sheer spiteful self-destructiveness that racism represents. It is an attitude that poisons everything around it, and the people who are "blinded" by their "hatred" do harm to themselves even as they lash out at their chosen victims.
I was raised in a small, rural town in the Deep South, and I'm probably one of the very few people on ProU who has actually heard a family member use the term "n*****-lover" with complete and utter conviction. I have never understood the mind-set that breeds racism. Maybe its because of my early life. My father was killed when I was very young, and I was very sickly when I was an infant, so my grandparents provided my mother with a nurse (who was black) to help care for me for the first several years of my life. I called her "Nanny"and I loved her very much. She lived with us and cared for me while my mother was away at college. I never viewed her as a "servant" (though most of my family probably did). I just knew her as a kind old lady who fed me and took care of me and played with me and wiped my nose and put band-aids on my boo boos.
Even so, I can't honestly say that I am blind to race, even today. But I think that comedy like this is upsetting to many people because they see their own racism reflected on the screen in front of them. The best satire is always upsetting to the people it is meant to provoke...and that is kind of the point. While I am normally skeptical of modern comparisons to great classical authors, the parallels between Chapelle's Blind Supremecy Swift's A Modest Proposal are remarkable. Swift was also harshly criticized from his "bad taste" and suffered greatly under the ire of a public that thought he had stepped over the line of acceptability when he suggested that the problem of Irish poverty could be solved by cooking and eating the infant children of poor Irish families. His work very nearly cost him his career, but today is recognized by one of the most brilliant examples of the classic satier in Western Literature. I don't know if Blind Supremecy will enjoy the eventual understanding that A Modest Proposal eventually received, but I for one "got it" and thought it was a luadable piece of work.
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"Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici." ~ V.
Percivale. Do you think the average Southpark fan can watch the show and see through metaphors like that. Chappelle is a comedic genius, and he criticizes his own audience for not being up to the mental task of comprehending his comedic intent. Southpark has to have Stan monologue at the end to justify the bs. Isn't that like Deus Ex Machina or some cheap ending when they just explain it to you. That shows me the producers (Trey Parker and dude) lack of confidence in their audience.
Chappelle unlike Parker had faith that his audience could discern punchlines from satire. It took him only 1 year to find out otherwise.
I appreciate the book recommendation, and I personnally think Chappelle has incredibly lost support from fans after he decided to quit the Show. Would you agree? And if so, is there any hope for the world?
And by responsibility I mean taking care of family, not going to high school or college.
I like South Park, actually, and for the same reasons, but I think that any artistry that they have is sometimes lost behind their rush to shock their audience. And yes, I do think that Stan's monologues are sometimes kind of a "cop out," and that the work would be better if they didn't step out of the characters to "explain" what is going on.
That being said, I don't think that an artist has any responsibility to ensure that his message is understood. Art is what it is, and an artist can only hope that his (or her) message will be understood.
I do think that Chapelle has lost support from some (even a lot) of his fans, but that's just the way the ball bounces sometimes. Is there hope for the world? Sure, there is always hope so long as even one of us holds on to it.
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"Vi Veri Vniversum Vivus Vici." ~ V.