Dave Chappelle - The Closer
If you find yourself offended by anything short of a kick to your mother’s nuts, I recommend sitting this one out. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
I kid. I kid. But that’s what we’re here to talk about, right? Jokes.
I’m always intrigued when this conversation comes around. In the realm of comedy, how far is too far? Which jokes are, and which are not, funny? And who’s the arbiter of those questions?
So, let me start by letting you know where my comedic tastes lie. I love dark comedy. I also have always enjoyed raunchy comedy. I like my comedy a little dangerous, and on the outer fringes. I think the best comedians are those who are able to talk about relevant topics in of course a funny way. However, I think when you’re talking about the issues of our time, you’re bound to push buttons, and of course many comedians have made careers out of doing just that. The late great Paul Mooney comes to mind immediately, and of course the man that he often wrote for and with, the incomparable Richard Pryor.
I love a good nigger joke. That hasn’t always been the case. When I was younger, I hated nigger jokes. Probably because growing up I heard that word spoken so often, with so much venom…of course it was hard for me to laugh at it. But over time, I developed a better sense of context. Additionally, now as an adult, the word nigger does nothing for me. It doesn’t even get my heart pumping fast. It is what it is.
Are you uncomfortable yet? Let’s proceed…
Chris Rock is the reigning king of nigger jokes, and one of the biggest comedians of his generation. But that’s not to say that some black folks aren’t offended by nigger jokes. And if that word were used by a white comedian, the world would end and that person would be immediately cancelled, right?
Wrong! Lisa Lampanelli, the self proclaimed Queen of Mean has dropped the N-bomb. Both in her standup, and more famously on social media, in reference to another white woman, in which she caught an entire media storm. She responded with a swift middle finger and an “eat my dick” and kept it moving…and continued to have a prosperous career for many years. She wasn’t cancelled. I think it’s harder because of cultural norms and flavors to be white and tell a good nigger joke, but when Lisa Lampanelli said “Warren Sapp! You’re so hot if I owned you, I’d let you in my house!” during a Comedy Central roast, I damn near fell out my chair.
I love Lisa Lampanelli, who is now retired from comedy. In preparation for writing this, I decided to go back and listen partially to her first standup album, “Take it Like a Man.” Within the first 20 minutes she uses a variety of racial slurs, ranging from “faggot” to “spic” and of course talks about the jew bastard in the second row. If you don’t know Lisa’s work, it hinges solely on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic stereotypes, and no one goes unscathed, including those “skinny white bitches” and the “white bastards” who won’t date her because she’s a BBW, which is why she bangs the blacks, who don’t date her because they actually like her and her badonkadunk, but so they have someone to hide behind when the police start shooting.
Yes, typed out, that all sounds horrible…but it is funny as hell when heard in context, and Lisa Lampanelli throughout her career has found herself particularly embraced by the gay community, whom she lampoons mercilessly in all of her standup.
Context is really important I think when it comes to comedy. I’ve heard some people say that comedy is like entering a domain where nothing is off limits. Some feel that comedy is a place where we can talk about uncomfortable subjects, and taboo topics, and do it in a fashion that allows us to explore the topic, and hopefully open ourselves up to have real, serious, meaningful conversation about those topics in the aftermath.
And yes, I am one who sits in that camp who thinks that when it comes to comedy, no topic is off limits. One of my favorite standup specials is Anthony Jeselnik’s “Thoughts and Prayers.” If you’re not familiar with Anthony Jeselnik, he takes dark comedy to a whole new level. In the aforementioned special, he starts by insulting the audience several times, and then offers a series of jokes about essentially kicking babies. Dark. And he caps it off with,
“I know what you’re thinking. Anthony are all your jokes going to be about hurting children??? I don’t know. Probably. Sounds like something I would do.”
But it’s all about context. I know listening to this that Jeselnik isn’t actually going to harm a baby.
So here we are. My barometers for offensive comedy are Chris Rock, Anthony Jeselnik and Lisa Lampanelli. I love comedy that you’re laughing. while kind of cringing and going “damn dog….they went there.” Hopefully that provides some context for my thoughts on Dave Chappelle and his newest Netflix special, “The Closer.”
I heard all the hubbub about Chappelle’s special before I actually watched it. I actually was a little worried. I mean, I know that Chappelle’s relationship with the LGBTQIA+ community has been tenuous at best. But reading that a writer for Netflix actually resigned from her job in protest was quite surprising to me. However, I’ve never been one to avoid controversy, and I pulled a bowl of grapes out of the refrigerator, sunk into my basket chair, and dove into this special.
Before I go further, allow me to say that I consider myself an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, and have for many years at this juncture. In the past, I’ve written about how I was introduced to the BGLFA (Bisexuals Gays Lesbians and Friends Association) as an 18-year-old at Western Illinois University. In my life today, there are many people I think very fondly of, and whom I love dearly, who identify somewhere on the Kinsey Scale…is the Kinsey Scale still the barometer of sexuality???
I’ll freely admit that I don’t know everything, and that I have a lot to learn, about my LGBTQIA+ brethren and their experiences; about all things that encapsulate their existence. However, I fully recognize that, to quote Daphne Dorman “they are having a human experience.” I would like to believe that me liking this special does not make me any less an ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, however, I have never been in their shoes, born as a cisgendered heterosexual male, I can’t imagine what many in that community go through.
With that being said, I must say that I enjoyed this special. Dave Chappelle has evolved into not only the best comedian of his generation, if not ever, but a masterful observer of the human condition. Unfortunately, I did not have time to go back and listen to Dave’s previous Netflix specials, but it was obvious from the jump of this one that all of the tomato throwing that had occurred in the time between these specials was going to be his almost sole topic of discourse, which he freely announces at the beginning of the special.
Were there jokes that pushed the boundaries? Absolutely! Dave has always told jokes that pushed the boundaries, and ultimately, that was kind of what painted him into a corner at Comedy Central and with is co-writers at The Chappelle Show. Did I at any time feel that Dave was being overtly transphobic during his routine? Personally no. I felt that Dave was aiming at a topic that has been a large focus of conversation over the past few years for not only him, but fellow comedians. Additionally, he knew it was a topic that would push buttons, court some controversy, but also allow him to offer insight into where his heart and mind is on the topic at this juncture. Also, it is obvious that he is also defending himself, his positions, his friends, and some of the hypocrisies that he sees, from his perspective, looming around this topic, and related issues.
I think that combination ultimately is something that people struggle with. They hear the jokes where they insist he is “punching down” on the trans community, but then he offers moments where he makes statements that would seem to offer support of said community. To paraphrase:
“No, no…that’s not a good law. No. You should not have to show a birth certificate to take a piss in a Walmart bathroom…”
What makes Dave so masterful is how is able to tap dance on the line between satire, full on over the top comedy, and moments that feel so real and devoid of levity. I wish I had a larger vocabulary to better express my thoughts on his comedy. I feel I fall short, but man…no one does it like Dave Chappelle.
We live in a strange time where speech is highly debated. Where does one draw the line at acceptable speech? When does speech become dangerous?
Of course not all speech in this country is protected. To quote:
”Categories of speech that are given lesser or no protection by the First Amendment (and therefore may be restricted) include obscenity, fraud, child pornography, speech integral to illegal conduct, speech that incites imminent lawless action, speech that violates intellectual property law, true threats, and commercial speech such as advertising. Defamation that causes harm to reputation is a tort and also an exception to free speech.” Source
I’m no lawyer, so I can’ t say whether Dave’s standup falls into any of these categories. but I imagine the category that would be of contention would be “speech that incites imminent lawless action.” That’s tough. Could a joke about transexuals lead to imminent lawless action? I think the answer is yes, but once again we must take into consideration purpose and context.
I personally have never heard someone claim that nigger jokes incited greater crime against blacks. A question that comes to mind is if people are insinuating that it’s never ok to make jokes about trans people? If so, I think that’s ridiculous.
Ultimately, I am in no place to say whether Chappelle’s standup is or is not offensive to the trans community. I can only say that I enjoyed it. I personally did cringe at his statement “I’m Team TERF.” However, I feel that this standup was an exploration of a personality with an issue that they’re still struggling to understand.
“They canceled JK Rowling – my God,” he said in The Closer. “Effectually she said gender was fact, the trans community got mad as shit, they started calling her a Terf…I’m Team TERF.”
Chappelle added that “gender is a fact” and that “every human being in this room, every human being on Earth, had to pass through the legs of a woman to be on Earth.” Source
Like many people, I think Chappelle does fail to recognize the differences between gender and sex and the nuances of that discussion. Additionally, I think, and this is beyond my understanding and knowledge at this point, but I think the perceptions of those terms and what they mean and what they look like in our world are also evolving. Those are not static terms anymore, whether you like it or not. Whether you agree with it or not, and whether you understand it or not.
As Dave said about Daphne Dorman’s daughter, he hopes when she’s 21, he can have the conversation with her that he’s not prepared to have with her today, and say to her face, “I knew your father, and he was a hell of a woman.” I think that simple statement signaled the fact that he’s still struggling to understand.
I will say that wherever Dave Chappelle falls in that discussion, he ultimately does not need to understand, he just needs to know that sentient beings who identify as transexual are having a human experience. However, perhaps he has us fooled, and because he understands that, understands that they can be a part of a punchline like anyone else who may find themself in his audience, or watching this special. Perhaps? I mean, where I come from, real discrimination is not letting someone in the party. Not letting them in on the joke. If you don’t get roasted at the party, then no one there really gives a shit about you. Perhaps?
I would encourage anyone who reads this to watch the special and draw your own conclusions. Was this Dave’s best standup ever? Probably not. However, it definitely fits into this evolution of his comedy we’ve seen post Chappelle Show. It’s far more personal and reflective of both Dave, his career, and the world he finds himself in in 2021. As the debate about this special rages, I myself would not support having it deleted from Netflix. I do think it’s challenging, but I don’t think it’s obscene or exceptionally inflammatory. I think it’s comedy. Sometimes comedy misses the mark. Sometimes comedy cuts too deep, and yes, sometimes comedy can become mean spirited and stop being comedy altogether, but I don’t think this special was Dave Chappelle “punching down.” As Daphne Dorman herself posted on Twitter on August 29, 2019,
“Punching down requires you to consider yourself superior to another group. Dave Chappelle doesn’t consider himself better than me in any way. He isn’t punching up or punching down. He’s punching lines. This his job and he’s a master of his craft.” #SticksAndStones #imthatdaphne
I’m with you Daphne.
Let me know what you thought of the special down in the comments? Were there particular jokes you took umbrage with? Let me know.
Resources:
Huffpost - Lisa Lampanelli Defends Racial Slur, Says She Won’t Stop Using N-Word
Pride Source - Lisa Lampanelli Loves (To Hate) You
NME - Family of trans woman defends Dave Chappelle over controversial jokes
Thumbnail photo by Bogomil Mihaylov on Unsplash
