I Rewatched CHAPPELLE'S SHOW to See if it Holds Up

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And it does.

šŸ‘ļøŽ︎ 6 šŸ‘¤ļøŽ︎ u/PlumwithanO šŸ“…ļøŽ︎ Apr 30 2021 šŸ—«︎ replies
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This video is sponsored by SkillShare. I remember when I was in high school, one day a friend of mine was like, ā€œYo, you gotta check out this mew stand up special; Dave Chappelle: Killinā€™ Them Softly, itā€™s hilarious!ā€ And I was like ā€œWho the hell is Dave Chappelle?ā€ So anyway I eventually checked out the special, and I was like, ā€œOh, thatā€™s Pinball from Con Air!ā€ Thereā€™s also Half-Baked, where a lot of other people first became aware of Dave Chappelle, but I didnā€™t see that until later. Nah, for me, that was Pinball. Anyway I watched the special, and it was like the funniest thing I had ever seen. And even though my teenage brain was not nearly as sophisticated as I thought it was at the time, I could still tell even back then that there was something special about Dave Chappelle. Iā€™ve always loved stand-up comedy since I was a kid, so Iā€™d seen a bunch of it by then, especially from black comedians. Me and my friends watched ComicView on BET like every night. Anyway, a common, and some might say overused, trope of black stand-up routines is, ā€œblack people do this, and white people do this!ā€ And this set up is definitely used by Dave Chappelle in Killing Them Softly, but these jokes were framed around interesting political commentary and unexpected absurdism. It was definitely something unique. I became an instant fan. So when Comedy Central announced Chappelleā€™s Show in 2003, I was immediately on board. Hi, Iā€™m T1J. [WEIRD VOICEOVER] Follow me! [T1J] This video, like all my videos would not be possible without my Members and Patrons, including homies like Nicholas Lariviere, Robin Harding, Jigglypuffer, and John O'Neill. If youā€™d like to support the channel, you can become a homie yourself, by clicking the Join button below the video, or by checking out my page on Patreon. Chappelleā€™s Show, which was created and showrun by Dave Chappelle and Neil Brennan ā€“ the two of them also wrote Half-Baked by the wayā€” would go on to become one of the most popular television shows during that time, both with audiences and critics, and is often credited with rejuvenating Comedy Central, which, at the time, was basically living and dying based on how well South Park did every week. But today, Chappelleā€™s Show is maybe more famous for how it ended than its actual content. As is probably well-known by now, Dave Chappelle abruptly quit the show after the second season, during the height of its popularity. A lot of it is still a mystery to this day, but what we can basically infer based on the vague statements Chappelle gave to the media is that he felt growing pressure from Comedy Central executives trying to control him and his show, added on to the fact that he became insecure about whether his increasingly white audience truly understood his commentary. Now Chappelle and his fans have largely been able to control the narrative on this story, so at the end of it all he basically came out looking like a hero who chose his principles over millions of dollars, and stood up to the evil corporate executives, becoming a martyr, only for his career to be revived several years later, thus validating and rewarding him for his bravery. And these days heā€™s pretty much reached the status of a comedy god. Now all thatā€™s probably true to some extent, but itā€™s also reportedly true that Chappelle was already getting hundreds of thousands of dollars per episode, plus a cut of his DVD sales. Iā€™m sure thereā€™s more to the story that Iā€™ll never know, but itā€™s not like the man wasnā€™t going to be able to eat. Heā€™s a rich dude who had a squabble with richer dudes. By all means, people should demand fair compensation for the value that they bring to their employers. But itā€™s always kinda seemed weird to me that Chappelle has framed himself as some kind of moral hero for changing his mind about a contract he willingly signed. But, I donā€™t want to get too deep into that for this video. Instead Iā€™d like to take a look at the two and a half seasons of Chappelleā€™s Show, which I actually hadnā€™t seen in a while prior to making this video, and see if we can identify what all this buzz was about. When I think of Chappelleā€™s Show, I remember it being hilarious for sure, but I also remember a lot of off-color comedy that was definitely controversial at the time, so it may be even more cringe by todayā€™s standards. [BOY] Hey everyone, look what I found! It's--it's a dagger! [T1J] And listen, if you know anything about me, you know that Iā€™m not here to police anybody's art, Iā€™ve said many times on this channel that people should be able to make shit however they want to make it. If I donā€™t like it, I just donā€™t watch it. And Iā€™m also not one of these people with hyper strict rules about what is and isnā€™t allowed to be joked about. I think we should feel free to criticize things if itā€™s deserved, but at the same time, everything should be analyzed within its context. So letā€™s do that! The first interesting thing you notice about Chappelleā€™s Show is its format. It resembles something in between old school variety shows and standup comedy. Chappelle stands before a live audience, often doing a little bit of standup before introducing each pre-recorded sketch, which is then played for the audience. According to Neil Brennan, they always used the genuine audience reactions on the show and never a canned laugh track. But beyond that, interestingly, the first episode of Chappelleā€™s Show starts off like a fairly typical sketch comedy show. Thereā€™s a parody of a popular Mitsubishi commercial from the time, followed by a pretty funny sketch about rude workers at a copy place. Then thereā€™s the home stenographer, so you can win arguments with your significant other. Besides having a few more dirty words than other shows, these sketches arenā€™t really that innovative or anything. But the last sketch of the first episode has become one of the most memorable and well-received sketches of the entire series. Iā€™m of course talking about Clayton Bigsby, the blind white supremacist who doesnā€™t know heā€™s actually black. Because heā€™s blind. Now thatā€™s a pretty wild premise obviously, but most of the laughs from this sketch arenā€™t really from the premise, but from Chappelleā€™s exaggerated performance. [MAN] You better get out of her before something bad happens! [laughs] [BIGSBY] That's right! That's right! Tell that [bleep]! Beat it, sorry [bleep]! [T1J] And people fuckinā€™ love this sketch, particularly white people. A lot of people say that this is one of the best sketches from the entire show, but like, I mean, itā€™s fine. I canā€™t help but think that so many white peopleā€™s obsession with this sketch helps to prove Chappelleā€™s suspicion that a lot of them didnā€™t really get what he was trying to do on the show. The sketch, like much of Chappelleā€™s work highlights the inherent absurdity of racism by having anti-black vitriol come out of the mouth of a black person. And argues that racism is a learned behavior, and not actually a result of rational observation. The funniest part to me is how the character Bigsby is supposed to be this well-revered author and speaker, but all of his talking points are superficial, goofy things Of course, alongside this commentary is Dave Chappelleā€™s well-known brand of silly, absurd, often juvenile humor. A dudeā€™s head literally explodes. If you like crude, vulgar humor, and never want to think, you could definitely still enjoy Chappelleā€™s Show just for that, because thereā€™s a ton of it. And I donā€™t mean to be cynical, but I think thatā€™s exactly how a lot of fans interacted with this sketch, and the show in general. I guess the issue is that, divorced from the commentary, Clayton Bigsby is pretty problematic. And maybe that kind of thing was part of why Chappelle began to feel uneasy about what he was making. At any rate, I donā€™t think this is anywhere near one of the best Chappelle sketches, but it did let viewers know from the very first episode, that Chappelleā€™s Show was not pulling itā€™s punches. Another thing I should probably mention is that this sketch, and the show in general contains bountiful usage of the N-word. And Comedy Central decided not to bleep the word out during the shows run. And honestly I think this helped to give the show a real, raw feel that I'm not sure existed on network or basic cable tv before this. The set-up of the first episode is a format that most of the episodes in the first season would follow going forward. And I didnā€™t even realize this back then, I only noticed it while doing research for this video. But in most episodes there are usually 3 or 4 sketches that fit a more traditional comedy mold. Theyā€™re usually weird and silly in that Dave Chappelle way, but nothing too groundbreaking. and some of these are still quite funny, like the Wrap it Up Box, which allows you to ā€œplay offā€ your friends and family, just like they do at awards shows when the speeches get too long. [WOMAN] ...second of all, you know I'm vacillating here, trying to -- [ANNOUNCER] With the Wrap it Up Box, you've got that same power right in your pocket! [audience laughter] [T1J] Or imagining what video games would be like in real life. But sometimes theyā€™re a little bizarre, and I would say, in poor taste, Like the series of ā€œGreat Moments in Hook Up Historyā€ sketches which almost always involves a man getting women super drunk so that he can have sex with them. [BARTENDER] Can anybody take this drunk, horny, crazy woman home?! [T1J] Or the sketch where a giant Dave Chappelle visits Japan and beats up Godzilla, while the Japanese women comment on the size of his penis. [WOMAN] Brown snake turn into brown stick. [T1J] And then he f*cks a volcano. Thatā€™s one of the ones that you donā€™t hear about that much, I wonder why. These sketches seem to exist to kind of warm the audience up for the ā€˜mainā€™ sketch of the episode, which is usually longer and more substantive. These longer sketches are generally the ones that people remembered and quoted over and over again for a good ten years after the show ended. Like for example the sketch about black people getting their reparations for slavery. Or the main sketch of the second episode, the first appearance of Tyrone Biggums the crackhead, who would become a frequently recurring character on the show. By the second episode, it becomes clear what Chappelle and Brennan's M.O. is. Most of the sketches in this entire series have essentially one joke, and Chappelle and his co-stars take that joke and hope their performances, along with some surreal absurdism sprinkled here and there; can keep you laughing long enough that you donā€™t mind. For Clayton Bigsby, the joke is, 'hey, itā€™s a black white supremacist!' Thatā€™s the whole sketch really. Thereā€™s no plot, itā€™s Chappelle and Brennan having fun with that single premise. For this Tyrone Biggums sketch, the joke is that an actual crack addict comes to teach schoolchildren about drugs, and ends up making the kids want to actually try them. Of course, just because the sketches are one-joke premises doesnā€™t preclude them from having social commentary. The ineffectiveness and overall dubiousness of anti-drug programs for children--like D.A.R.E.--has been well-documented for decades. and Chappelle is clearly giving a subtle nod to that. And when I say the sketches have one joke, I donā€™t necessarily mean that that's a bad thing. In many ways thatā€™s part of what makes the show unique. Because of the very simple and loose premises, a lot of the comedy on the show is improvised, allowing Dave Chappelle to be himself without following some tight script. Before Chappelleā€™s Show, Chappelle starred in a short lived, and not-good sitcom called Buddies. And I donā€™t mind saying it wasnā€™t good, Dave Chappelle agrees, and I quote, ā€œIt was a bad show. It was bad.ā€ Now Dave Chappelle didnā€™t create Buddies, but still the comedy on the show was completely different than Daveā€™s early standup. He wasnā€™t really permitted to use his talent in a way that he knew worked. Sometimes stand-up comedians get tapped for television shows, and they work because they successfully capture the essence of the proven formula already created by the performers on stage. Or at least a family friendly version of it. Great examples of this are the Bernie Mac Show and Tim Allen in Home Improvement. Buddies didnā€™t achieve this at all, but Chappelleā€™s Show definitely did. So when thereā€™s a sketch about rapper named Fisticuff who canā€™t hear out of his left ear because he got shot, and he keeps telling the recording engineer to turn up the left side of his headphones because he canā€™t hear, But him saying that actually becomes the hit record in and of itself, which is a reference to the fact that rappers tell their engineers to turn their headphones up in the studio, and often leave the recording of them saying it in the final production, or even record it intentionally as part of the track. And the whole sketch is literally Fisticuff complaining that he canā€™t hear. Itā€™s not funny because of some series of tightly written punchlines. Itā€™s funny because Dave Chappelle is funny. [FISTICUFF] I'm serious, I can't hear out my left headphone! Turn that sh*t up! [T1J] It's so stupid but it's hilarious. Probably my favorite sketch in the first season is the Player Haterā€™s Ball sketch and I feel like this is a sketch that only Dave Chappelle and Neil Brennan could or would make. Like most other sketches, itā€™s completely based on one joke. The sketch is a parody of the 1998 HBO Documentary Pimps Up, Hoā€™s Down and particularly its depiction of the Players Ball, a real life event that still occurs to this day, which is basically a huge glamorous annual party for pimps. Like real pimps. And there is a lot to say about that, but thatā€™s not what this video is about. Anyway, the joke is ā€œthereā€™s a Playerā€™s Ball, what if there was a Player Haters Ball?ā€ Thatā€™s the whole joke, itā€™s not really explored any further than that. But again, this sketch is carried by the hilarious and seemingly improvised performances of Chappelle, Donnell Rawlins, Charlie Murphy and guest star Ice-T, who is incidentally a real life former pimp. Now itā€™s not perfect, some of the lines from the Player Haters are kind of cringey, like jokes making fun of Koreans, or jokes implying that Rosie Oā€™Donnell looks like a man, but it could be explained by the fact that these characters are awful people. I donā€™t really think that comes across though, even though they are ā€œthe most diabolical haters this side of the Mississippiā€ they still come off as funny and likeable, and in fact in the second season they return in a pretty much heroic capacity. Another memorable sketch from the first season is the Mad Real World sketch. Again, this is mostly Chappelle and his cohorts playing around with a single premise, A reality show like The Real World, except instead of a bunch of wacky white people and like one person of color. itā€™s a bunch of unhinged black people and one white person. And more than probably any other, this sketch is rough. These black characters are hard to watch. They make a cuckold out of their white roommate, they stab his dad for no reason, and its implied that they sexually assault him in his sleep as well. These characters are true villains, but itā€™s all played for laughs. The argument could be made that depictions like this do harm to the image of black Americans. But just like Clayton Bigsby, itā€™s a lot worse when you look at this outside of context. Reality TV has become basically moral superiority porn, where we watch the most extreme, awful versions of people and get to feel superior by comparison. This is not a new observation obviously, but keep in mind Chappelleā€™s Show aired in the early 2000s, just a few years after this trend began to start going full steam. One of the draws of reality tv is the dramatic, uncomfortable situations the people find themselves in. And let me tell you this sketch is uncomfortable. At least for me. Add that to the fact that a lot of times, the one black character on these shows is made out to be particularly unfriendly or unintelligent ā€“ Mad Real World is Dave Chappelleā€™s attempt to flip the script on that trope. By the way, a bit of weird trivia: The first person to ever be kicked off the show The Real World is a black dude named David Edwards who apparently is a friend of Dave Chappelle. According to IMDB, Dave Chappelle helped him get on The Real World. He has a part in Half Baked, heā€™s the ā€œBoo this Manā€ guy! Anyway, I just thought that was interesting. Despite all of this though, I wonder if there has to be a line where getting a laugh or making your point is worth the upsetting imagery you have to create in order to get there. Some people create art and media thatā€™s intentionally shocking, and thatā€™s not my jam but maybe thereā€™s a place for that. But I donā€™t even think thatā€™s whatā€™s happening here. I think Chappelle just thinks (or maybe thought) a sketch about hood dudes cucking and sexually abusing a white dude would be funny. And thatā€™s probably not okay. Like I said, thereā€™s 12 episodes in the first season, and I canā€™t cover every single sketch, I mean, I guess I could but I refuse. But as Iā€™ve only covered the first season, you can expect an additional video talking about the 2nd season soon. The second season, in my opinion, has most of the funniest sketches of the entire series. But I was actually a bit surprised at how much I still liked the first season. Itā€™s very silly and there are a ton of poop and masturbation jokes, which are not generally my thing these days, Iā€™m not 18 anymore. But I kind of expected a bunch of outdated sexism and homophobia, which Chappelle still gets accused of to this day. And maybe thereā€™s a little bit of that, but really itā€™s not that bad. In fact I think I appreciate it more now that I have a clearer understanding of the commentary that Chappelle was trying to make. In most cases, itā€™s pretty clear that Chappelle is making fun of bigotry and other social problems by exaggerating them to the nth degree. Like the ā€œItā€™s A Wonderful Chestā€ sketch for example, obvious reference to ā€œItā€™s a Wonderful Lifeā€, where a woman considers reducing her large breasts, but gets visited by a magical janitor who shows her that if she were do so, no one would be nice to her or take her seriously anymore. This seems pretty distasteful, but by the time you get to the point where itā€™s implied that the entire world ends because she got rid of her boobs, you kind of start to see the intentional hyperbole. [JANITOR] You know masturbating to you and those giant cans of yours was all he had to live for! [T1J] Satire is difficult to do, especially in this day and age where twitter mobs are determined to misrepresent everything they see and hear. But in my opinion, satire is still one of the most powerful ways to make social statements through creative works. But when you make stuff for an audience you have to think about how the theyā€™re going to perceive and interpret it. And I think itā€™s just as easy to interpret Chappelleā€™s Show as sophomoric jokes that objectify women and reinforce negative stereotypes about black people. And Iā€™m not saying thatā€™s wrong, but I do think thatā€™s not what Chappelle was going for. Whether he succeeded at what he was going for is up to each one of us to individually decide. DAS JUS ME DOE. What do you think. Big shoutouts to the sponsor of this video, Skillshare. 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Channel: T1J
Views: 28,933
Rating: 4.9470105 out of 5
Keywords: the1janitor, t1j, hako, progressive youtubers, chappelle's show
Id: YqNVoepvWMs
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 21min 55sec (1315 seconds)
Published: Fri Apr 23 2021
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