Comedy: Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, Podcasts • Page 154

also this is a good write up

https://theringer.com/dave-chappelles-tragicomedy-55bb781aa943#.bxlz7hglt

 

this is fair. he says much worse stuff in the special

 

He repeatedly says "tranny" and an entire joke is about a gay superhero that changes clothes? Many people have turned taboo topics into funny premises for a joke, he was not only oddly out of touch/insensitive but also not funny.

 

That gay superhero joke was easily one of the funniest things I've heard in a while. I never thought of Chappelle to be "edgy" with his stand up, but that joke was beyond edgy.

Only Jeselnik and Tosh would be able to get away with something of equal offensiveness.

 

I feel a bit weird about these specials. He's supposed to be one of the greatest of all time but these specials are average at best. There's nothing that really stands out (besides all the ignorant stuff he said) and I will probably never watch them again.

 

I think Jeselnik is the only one who can really get away with it, because the brunt of the joke is usually himself, I have no patience for bigotry disguised as comedy

 

Do you really think there is malice behind Chappelle's jokes?

 

I haven't watched yet but he's made awful jokes about trans people in the past and I think that's a tough subject to do comedically

 

I mean, it's a joke. I, along with everyone else here, do not know Dave in his real life. Same goes for Tosh and Jesselnik, we don't know their intentions and when they say "it's only a joke, of course I don't feel that way," we should believe them.


That's how I feel about it, I'm willing to separate the person from their material. Unless they're doing hurtful things in real life, I couldn't care less.

 

Immediately question your sense of humor, then. It wasn't "edgy", which is my point. He made up a weak setup for a half baked bit. The delivery was stilted and the punchline had no real payoff. The joke about black men wearing heels to not get shot by police was "edgy" and had substance, it was a well thought out premise while pushing boundaries

 

Comedy does always have a root of honesty though, even if it isn't blatant honesty like "I believe A so I will say B".

 

Yea, I have a dark sense of humor for sure, nothing is really off limits with me...as long as it's all fiction and there is no truth behind it. Jesselnik has some dark stuff, like killing kids, but it's funny to me.

 

What was the joke? Gay men change clothes? "I knew he was gay, some people you can just tell". It's a hack premise for a bit that'd be more at home in like, 2002

 

Jeselnik is very smart about the way he tells jokes like that. I wish I could remember what interview he was talking about this (it may have been Maron), but he mentions how other comedians try and tell a dark joke like that after pretending to be the audience's friend throughout the show and it causes audiences to turn on the comedian in a "I thought we were on the same page!" way, and about how Jeselnik makes it clear from the start that he is not the audience's friend.

 

I guess Jeselnik's truth behind it all is that he enjoys power, he enjoys his control and wants to be able to do things the way he wants, and as a result, he constantly challenges his ability to do so.

 

Jeselnik's persona is incredibly different than Dave's, cant compare the two styles.

 

No, what I found funny was the way the superhero activated his powers. It was so absurd I couldn't help myself, and he was telling a joke, for Christ's sake.

 

Exactly

(I didn't watch the Chappelle special so I didn't wanna outright say that without actually hearing the jokes)

 

Not style, content. Jesselnik's content is FAR darker than Chappelle has ever done. The only truly dark thing I can remember Chappelle doing was back on his show, where he had quick clips of different athletes committing crimes and/or murders. Neal was a part of it, getting stabbed in the face.

For example Dave says "Kobe!" while throwing a used condom in the trash. It was that sketch.

 

It just felt very dated and ignorant. Dave is brilliant, I grew up on his comedy and would put him in my top 5 comedians. But he is not immune to criticism. He's been out of the public eye for a decade. I'm sure he's a bit out of touch, and it showed in parts of his special. Writing what he's saying off as just a joke is weak

 

I'm fine with dark humor, love Jeselnik too. Being homophobic isn't dark humor. Chapelle's bit about the woman being beat and comparing it to Mayweather was dark. And a solid setup/punchline

 

The "He rapes, but he saves", stuff, particularly when aligned with Cosby, rode an interesting and edgy line. Basing a joke on the premise that men are pretending to be trans to avoid violence when trans people are overwhelmingly and disproportionately victims of physical assault, violence, and rape is completely ignorant, even if malice wasn't intended.

 

Well, I took it as a black person would less likely be harmed by police if he was thought of as trans.

 

I don't think anyone is saying the topic is off limits, moreso that using outdated and harmful vernacular undermines any comedic premise.

 

And that's false as well.