This video is sponsored by SkillShare. I remember when I was in high school, one
day a friend of mine was like, āYo, you gotta check out this mew stand
up special; Dave Chappelle: Killinā Them Softly, itās hilarious!ā And I was like āWho the hell is Dave Chappelle?ā So anyway I eventually checked out the special,
and I was like, āOh, thatās Pinball from Con Air!ā Thereās also Half-Baked, where a lot of
other people first became aware of Dave Chappelle, but I didnāt 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. Iāve always loved stand-up comedy since
I was a kid, so Iād 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, āblack 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 Chappelleās
Show in 2003, I was immediately on board. Hi, Iām 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 youād 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. Chappelleās 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, Chappelleās 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 heās pretty much reached
the status of a comedy god. Now all thatās probably true to some extent,
but itās also reportedly true that Chappelle was already getting hundreds of thousands
of dollars per episode, plus a cut of his DVD sales. Iām sure thereās more to the story that
Iāll never know, but itās not like the man wasnāt going to be able to eat. Heās 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 itās 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 donāt want to get too deep into that
for this video. Instead Iād like to take a look at the two
and a half seasons of Chappelleās Show, which I actually hadnāt 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 Chappelleās 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 todayās
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 Iām not here to police anybody's art,
Iāve said many times on this channel that people should be able to make shit however
they want to make it. If I donāt like it, I just donāt watch
it. And Iām also not one of these people with
hyper strict rules about what is and isnāt allowed to be joked about. I think we should feel free to criticize things
if itās deserved, but at the same time, everything should be analyzed within its context. So letās do that! The first interesting thing you notice about
Chappelleās 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 Chappelleās Show starts off like a fairly typical sketch comedy show. Thereās a parody of a popular Mitsubishi
commercial from the time, followed by a pretty funny sketch about rude workers at a copy
place. Then thereās the home stenographer, so you
can win arguments with your significant other. Besides having a few more dirty words than
other shows, these sketches arenāt 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. Iām of course talking about Clayton Bigsby,
the blind white supremacist who doesnāt know heās actually black. Because heās blind. Now thatās a pretty wild premise obviously,
but most of the laughs from this sketch arenāt really from the premise, but from Chappelleās
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, itās fine. I canāt help but think that so many white
peopleās obsession with this sketch helps to prove Chappelleās suspicion that a lot
of them didnāt really get what he was trying to do on the show. The sketch, like much of Chappelleās 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
Chappelleās well-known brand of silly, absurd, often juvenile humor. A dudeās head literally explodes. If you like crude, vulgar humor, and never
want to think, you could definitely still enjoy Chappelleās Show just for that, because
thereās a ton of it. And I donāt mean to be cynical, but I think
thatās 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 donāt think this is anywhere
near one of the best Chappelle sketches, but it did let viewers know from the very
first episode, that Chappelleās Show was not pulling itās 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 didnāt 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. Theyāre 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 āplay 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 theyāre a little bizarre,
and I would say, in poor taste, Like the series of āGreat 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. Thatās one of the ones that you donāt
hear about that much, I wonder why. These sketches seem to exist to kind of warm
the audience up for the āmainā 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
donāt mind. For Clayton Bigsby, the joke is, 'hey, itās
a black white supremacist!' Thatās the whole sketch really. Thereās no plot, itās 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 doesnāt 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 donāt necessarily mean that that's a bad thing. In many ways thatās 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 Chappelleās Show, Chappelle starred
in a short lived, and not-good sitcom called Buddies. And I donāt mind saying it wasnāt good,
Dave Chappelle agrees, and I quote, āIt was a bad show. It was bad.ā Now Dave Chappelle didnāt create Buddies,
but still the comedy on the show was completely different than Daveās early standup. He wasnāt 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 didnāt achieve this at all, but
Chappelleās Show definitely did. So when thereās a sketch about rapper named
Fisticuff who canāt 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 canāt 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 canāt hear. Itās not funny because of some series of
tightly written punchlines. Itās 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 Haterās 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, itās completely
based on one joke. The sketch is a parody of the 1998 HBO Documentary
Pimps Up, Hoās 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
thatās not what this video is about. Anyway, the joke is āthereās a Playerās
Ball, what if there was a Player Haters Ball?ā Thatās the whole joke, itās 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 itās 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 OāDonnell looks like a man,
but it could be explained by the fact that these characters are awful people. I donāt really think that comes across though,
even though they are āthe 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. itās 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 itās
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, itās 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 Chappelleās 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 Chappelleās 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, heās the āBoo
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 thatās
intentionally shocking, and thatās not my jam but maybe thereās a place for that. But I donāt even think thatās whatās
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 thatās probably not okay. Like I said, thereās 12 episodes in the
first season, and I canāt cover every single sketch,
I mean, I guess I could but I refuse. But as Iāve 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. Itās very silly and there are a ton of poop
and masturbation jokes, which are not generally my thing these days, Iām 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 thereās a little bit of that,
but really itās 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, itās pretty clear that Chappelle
is making fun of bigotry and other social problems by exaggerating them to the nth degree. Like the āItās A Wonderful Chestā sketch
for example, obvious reference to āItās 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 itās 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 theyāre going to perceive and interpret it. And I think itās just as easy to interpret
Chappelleās Show as sophomoric jokes that objectify women and reinforce negative stereotypes
about black people. And Iām not saying thatās wrong, but I
do think thatās 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,
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