Post by Brad Nelson on Sept 16, 2019 8:04:48 GMT -8
I watch three-fifths of Dave Chappelle’s “Sticks and Stones” stand-up act on Netflix. In a nutshell, drawing from the words of Mr. Kung, this is the celebration of debasement. I won’t bother you with long stretches of “tsk tsk” or “Have you ever?”
I wasn’t offended by the act in the usual sense. Chappelle relies on f-bombs like ducks do their wings. He does make a few genuinely humorous jokes or observations. And he makes lots of political points. The one that brought him to my attention was when the Cuckold Conservatives were all a-twitter about his observation that, if one wanted equality, therefore if women were free to kill the baby then men should be free to abandon it.
But otherwise his act, despite the foul language, is actually very tame. That is, he doesn’t actually challenge any core liberal beliefs of the audience. But he pretends to. Outwardly he seems outrageous. But his social points are completely tame….for a liberal/black audience (and I saw a spattering of whites as well). And any minor infringement on the beliefs of the audience are smoothed over by the in-group identity chant of “mother fucker.” Black, white, or brown, it's how you declare yourself hip and cool.
I was not offended by the language. But I was offended by his dishonesty. He had one bit about a show he used to do. He mentioned having to work with “Standards and Practices” who he said were generally pretty good to him.
But the woman there called him in once to tell him he couldn’t use the word, “faggot.” Chappelle asked her why. She said “Because you’re not gay.” And Chappelle delivers the punch-line: “But I use the word ‘nigger’ all the time but I’m not a nigger.”
Ha ha. That got a big laugh. And there is, of course, a broad point to be made about identity politics. But anyone who uses that word, “nigger” or “nigga,” with the frequency that Chappelle does, is trying to make a distinction that is dishonest — or trying to have his cake and eat it too. If you’re free to use that word, and derogatory words can only be used by particular groups, then what are you?
He seems like a nice enough guy. He’s persona is not that of an “angry nigga.” Except for his constant stream of vulgarity, he would otherwise be amusing and relatively tame.
There were a couple laugh-out-loud moments, although I forget what they were. Chappelle has some comedic talent. But at the end of the day, this is a frontal assault on the senses. When social lubrication is provided by the words, “mother fucker,” you know you’re looking at the bottom. This is about people steeping in their own degradation.
Even for this purely anthropological undertaking, I had to turn if off after a while. But I would say this is where our culture is now. Bob Hope is but a memory (or Bill Cosby, for that matter). And Nefflix continues to offer the worst of the worse.
I wasn’t offended by the act in the usual sense. Chappelle relies on f-bombs like ducks do their wings. He does make a few genuinely humorous jokes or observations. And he makes lots of political points. The one that brought him to my attention was when the Cuckold Conservatives were all a-twitter about his observation that, if one wanted equality, therefore if women were free to kill the baby then men should be free to abandon it.
But otherwise his act, despite the foul language, is actually very tame. That is, he doesn’t actually challenge any core liberal beliefs of the audience. But he pretends to. Outwardly he seems outrageous. But his social points are completely tame….for a liberal/black audience (and I saw a spattering of whites as well). And any minor infringement on the beliefs of the audience are smoothed over by the in-group identity chant of “mother fucker.” Black, white, or brown, it's how you declare yourself hip and cool.
I was not offended by the language. But I was offended by his dishonesty. He had one bit about a show he used to do. He mentioned having to work with “Standards and Practices” who he said were generally pretty good to him.
But the woman there called him in once to tell him he couldn’t use the word, “faggot.” Chappelle asked her why. She said “Because you’re not gay.” And Chappelle delivers the punch-line: “But I use the word ‘nigger’ all the time but I’m not a nigger.”
Ha ha. That got a big laugh. And there is, of course, a broad point to be made about identity politics. But anyone who uses that word, “nigger” or “nigga,” with the frequency that Chappelle does, is trying to make a distinction that is dishonest — or trying to have his cake and eat it too. If you’re free to use that word, and derogatory words can only be used by particular groups, then what are you?
He seems like a nice enough guy. He’s persona is not that of an “angry nigga.” Except for his constant stream of vulgarity, he would otherwise be amusing and relatively tame.
There were a couple laugh-out-loud moments, although I forget what they were. Chappelle has some comedic talent. But at the end of the day, this is a frontal assault on the senses. When social lubrication is provided by the words, “mother fucker,” you know you’re looking at the bottom. This is about people steeping in their own degradation.
Even for this purely anthropological undertaking, I had to turn if off after a while. But I would say this is where our culture is now. Bob Hope is but a memory (or Bill Cosby, for that matter). And Nefflix continues to offer the worst of the worse.
