genuinegirly

hmmmmmmm this thread has taken off in a different manner than I thought it would.

I think it's pretty good that this jerk of a comedian stood up for himself and ran away when people were trying to rule his creativity. From what I have seen of Chapelle, I am not a fan, but I do agree with his actions. As crazy as it may seem, running away to Africa showed the people (whomever they were) that he wasn't going to put up with their crap and he'd rather do standup than make a few more million doing a high-stress TV show.

People are saying that his leaving is what is wrong with society today, that he's running away and ditching responsibility. I do not agree with your standpoint. AT ALL.

At times, society places so many restrictions on a person that they feel they have no jurisdiction in their own lives. Suicide is the only escape that many find. Chapelle had enough brains to run away from the stress to somepace where no one would recognize him or expect anything out of him. He took a vacation, a real vacation, and did his own thing. Connecting with yourself rather than the needs that others place upon you is the most essential part of life.

You are unable to make the kind of a difference you are supposed to make in the world if you are simply listening to everyone else's dream.

Good for Chapelle.

I hope that the narrow-minded fools that drove him to this extreme will take such a hiatus themselves.

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Coppertop

zero, you want to have it both ways. You lose credibility when you say one thing in one thread and the opposite in another. I suspect you simply do not like Chappelle's show and are scapegoating him - exactly what you deride others for doing a la video games. Sorry, but I'm calling bullshit on you.

SERPENT7

How did you do that? I am always interested in learning new computer kung-fu.

and

I do not consider Dave to be irrisposible, nor do i think he has had a negative impact. Quite the opposite, in fact. He is not perpetuating stereo-types as much as he is demanding they be re-examined.
All of the things he says are true. (If a bit rude.) The skit about how the white guy moves in with a family of blacks and then gets victimized is true in that MANY blacks are indeed victimized. by other blacks. (Look at the stats, blacks kill each other by the thousands.) Or it could be read to mean that he feels victimized by white culture. (Purely speculation, but it is important to realize it is his show, his perspective...etc.)

Jinn

This is the crux of the argument. There are people who believe that by joking about (usually through the use of) racist or ridiculous jokes/language, you perpetuate that language or behaviors. This argument allows people to deride Chapelle, Eminem, et al.. for being racist/sexist/etc.

However, I personally believe that closer examination reveals that their very USE of the language and slang in a silly or humorous manner lessens their use in a negative manner. I call this satire;

If Chapelle or Eminem stood on a soapbox and told us how ridiculous race-differences were and how we shouldn't beat and mock women, no one would listen. It's a sad part of humanity, but everyone would dismiss it as common knowledge without truly thinking about whether they upheld the principle. However, by offering it in satire, it's ridiculousness is unveiled -- without directly attacking it. While I'm not very familiar with Chappelle, I can offer many citations from Eminem's lyrics which were labelled "racist/sexist/bigoted" by politically correct persons (as above) which were quite the opposite under a satirical examination.

Like I said; some of you believe that even saying the word bitch or nigger perpetuates the word and the connotation of denigrating the two groups. That's fine. I think, however, that by using it in unique ways -- such as the borrowed "nigga" to mean a black compatriot-- it cheapens the use of "nigger". A racist calling you a "nigger" is drastically less offense if you call your friends "niggas" regularly. It forces the bigot/racist/sexist to come up with new ways of insulting you, rather than riling you with the same barbs repeatedly. Similarly, if you say "bitch please" regularly to your friends, an agitator attempting to rile you by saying "bitch please" has a nominal effect. These are poor examples, and I realize it's an unpopular belief (Oprah strongly disagrees with me), but I think this differentiation is the dividing line between people who support satire as a valid literary technique for political change, and those who don't. (And consequently, those who support Chappelle, Eminem, and other provacteurs as artists AND bastions of social change.)

Not to derail, or anything..

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Charlatan

Jinn, that wasn't a derail at all. That indeed is the crux of this difference of opinion on the content of Chappelle.

As sometime people can't see the forest for the trees, some people can't see the satire for the humour. I like to think of satirists as court jesters... they have the ability to say what needs to be said, but they do it in jest. There is always the risk that the Sovreign will not be amused and order an execution.

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pan6467

Well here's the "truth"............ Interesting how "white people" own everything, yet with $50 MILLION more than I will ever see in this lifetime, Dave feels he couldn't express himself the way he wanted to. Hell, for that money he could produce his own DVD's afterward and say whatever he wanted to and see how well they sell.

Personally, once he plays the race card...... he's nothing but a racist fuck in my eyes, and I don't care if his career goes anywhere or not. It's not "personal vision", it's racist, hate filled propaganda he's spewing and there is not 1 excuse for it.

$50 MILLION and he wants to use the race card.... what a fucking racist asshole.

For $50 MILLION, I'm sure even a "black man" in "white owned" America can find a place to

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I just love people who use the excuse "I use/do this because I LOVE the feeling/joy/happiness it brings me" and expect you to be ok with that as you watch them destroy their life blindly following. My response is, "I like to put forks in an eletrical socket, just LOVE that feeling, can't ever get enough of it, so will you let me put this copper fork in that electric socket?"

opus123

Chapelle on Oprah.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...020302967.html

I bought season one and season two of the Dave Chapelle show. Superbly funny comedy and spoofs of popular culture and inner city life. We will probably never know for sure the many reasons why he went to Africa, but I am amazed at the courage to return. He probably had an identity crisis. I think I might also if I did spoofs a lot and had to act funny all the time. Too much pressure for most people's shoulders.

Jonathan

opus123

>>>Similarly, if you say "bitch please" regularly to your friends, an agitator attempting to rile you by saying "bitch please" has a nominal effect. These are poor examples, and I realize it's an unpopular belief (Oprah strongly disagrees with me)>>>

A lot it is tone of voice. I have said "bitch" to people in many different ways. It is always the emotional push behind the words. Citing lyrics and transcripts of a show is not enough. One must see the show and hear the tone. Comedy especially is hard to figure out sometimes.

Jonathan

opus123

>>>Do you think that the 12 year olds that have already watch his show and are already corrupted in one way or another>>>

I wanted to add that the Chapelle show is rated TV-14, and again, all parents are at fault for letting a 12 year old watch the show without either watching it with them, or explaining what the show is. That said, 9pm might be too early for a show like Chapelle's but Dave Chapelle did not choose to put on at that time. Comedy Central would have to be taken to task for that issue. 10PM would be better. I also should point out that I live in a big city, so many people from the country might not "get" Dave's comedy show. I don't think people are "corrupted" by Chapelle's show. Every show influences people's idea of what humor is. I think most politicians are humors without intending to be. Every show I watch influences me in some way, but in the end, I make up my own mind about changing the channel if I don't like something. (^:

Jonathan

MacGuyver

I refuse to believe a theorist who cannot spell check his own website, nor choose to have the grammatical wherewithal to capitalize his/her letters at the beginning of each sentence.

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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
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Deeds, not words, shall speak [for] me.
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