Dave Chappelle is a comedian. Hourlong Special The NearerThe comedian pokes fun at the people’s pieties with a gentleness that Chappelle has always provided. This is humane and funny. He also addresses the criticisms received from transgender activist. He has never shied away from quality material.
You wouldn’t be able to tell if you read reviews about the special. It just seems like Chappelle uses white privilege too often in The Closer to excuse his homophobia and his transphobia,” declares sanctimoniously an NPR article, while clumsily asserting that he believes that oppression facing all identity groups trumps the plights of black men in America. This suggests that Chappelle is only looking for excuses to justify his purported animus. A Daily Beast The headline says “Dave Chappelle and the Week from Hell for Trans People.”
Chappelle’s comedy lies in the middle of irresponsible, and even downright dangerous for trans people. Or so his critics claim. His humor is gratuitously provocative, pushing the boundaries because he knows it can. He allegedly prioritizes little bits of comedy over cultivating a welcoming culture for trans people. He jokes about nearly. EverybodyIf you are too serious and preening, it could lead to discomfort.He jokes that “white bitches” might get gassed at Women’s March.
No one is safe from Chappelle’s jokes—but also, everyone is safe from Chappelle’s jokes, given that words don’t directly cause harm, and that Chappelle is not uncaring or unfeeling. Chappelle is sincere in his assurance that he “not indifferently to the suffering of another” (just before jumping into a joke about Walmart, trans-basil bills, and DaBaby executing a man).
“These transgenders…want me dead,” Chappelle says later on. I am scared every time I step onstage. To see where threats may be, I look around for Adam’s apples or knuckles in the crowd.
Chappelle pauses, widening his eyes, and says that a nigga approached me in the street. He said: ‘Careful Dave. They after you.’ “I replied, “What? I said “What?”
Netflix has been criticized for making such jokes. Low-ranking employees crashed a meeting of company executives. Media sites dishonestly declaredThat “Netflix Employee Who Criticallyized Dave Chappelle’s Special Gets Stopped” neglecting to mentionIt wasn’t the headline. criticism This was not the problem. It was actually the questionable practice of going to the leaders’ meeting. (Many media outlets from The Daily Beast You can find more information here The VergeTo NPR The New York TimesThey failed to include the right nuance in their headlines. We are not implying that employees have been suspended from tweeting about this series. Netflix spokesperson stated that Netflix encourages employees to express their opinions and supports them in doing so. Variety, failing to stop the deluge of misleading headlines.
Ted Sarandos, Netflix’s CEO, issued an eloquent rejoinder earlier this week to employees who were protesting the airing of the Chappelle special. “Our goal is to entertain the world,” Sarandos wrote, “which means programming for a diversity of tastes.…We also support artistic freedom to help attract the best creators, and push back on government and other censorship requests.” Here’s an extract:
The Closer is aware that there are no offensive titles, but real world harms. Titles which might further marginalize already marginalized people, hatred, and violence, could be the reason for concern. We heard the same concerns last year regarding 365 Days as well violence against women. Although some of our employees may disagree with this belief, it is our firm belief that screen content doesn’t necessarily translate into real-world harm.
There is strong evidence that violent crime in many countries has declined over the last 30 years. This can be attributed to first-party shooter games and violence on TV. Adults can watch violence, assault and abuse – or enjoy shocking stand-up comedy – without it causing them to harm others. Our goal is to make sure marginalized communities don’t get defined by one story. Netflix has Sex Education and Orange is the New Black as well as Control Z, Hannah Gadsby, Dave Chappelle, and Control Z. The key to all this diversity is the Content Team.
Sarandos dealt a devastating blow to those who believe words are violence. A world where people don’t have the same values, beliefs, or morals as them should not be an obstacle for well-adjusted adults. Their ability to work in a place that doesn’t conform to their sense of worth or prudent should not be an issue. Chappelle’s transgressions in a Netflix Netflix special will not cause you to break or get mowed down on the streets. It is absurd that we think that the world operates in this way.
Chappelle’s comic timing is best when he takes on difficult topics, such as issues that require deftness or heart. The Foot Locker guy/Anthony Bourdain comedy about suicide is his best. Sticks & StonesFrom: The Daphne Dorman bits. The NearerHis best work is “The Laughing Man”, which oscillates between humane and irreverent. And his trans-related comedy indicates just how much he wishes he could opt out; he reserves his right to just not care that much about people’s pronouns and niche subcultures he’s not particularly interested in.
He tells us later on in the special that he’s happy to have friends who are trans—provided they’re not humorless—implying that he sees them as individuals, not as symbols or representatives of any one idea or thing. Not once has there been any assertive opposition to friends who are transgender. (In reality, Dorman’s story right before closing counters any notion that Chappelle is hostile to transgender individuals.
The great act of disappearing is Chappelle who, as it happens, famously quit. The Chappelle Show and then moved to SouthHis latest special has revealed that Africa, and Ohio for worse, is once again taking a dip. Chappelle has a reputation for avoiding the limelight. In fact, Chappelle famously took $50 million from him when he decided it was time to quit his show. Now, he says that he isn’t interested in changing his opinions and humor, nor in repeating the same thing over and over again in the public square.
Surprising no one, Chappelle—the man who once dreamed up Clayton Bigsby, a blind white supremacist who doesn’t realize he’s black—failed to make an adequately sensitive special, and he failed to make one that pleased or mollified critics. He did manage to make a funny, but also tender special, provided that people stopped harping on his supposed sins.