There is only so far somebody can go until they piss off the wrong guy…girl…something. Recently Dave Chappelle made a splash with his new comedy special on Netflix titled, Sticks and Stones. Not everybody liked it, especially this individual at Vice. In fact this individual goes so far as to suggest you skip the special unless of course you happen to be transphobic and/or a misogynist. Lets be real, in this case and is probably what this individual thinks is most appropriate.
This is my review of Chatham Brewery Farmers Daughter Rye IPA. (H/T Iobot)
What was the problem with Chappelle’s Netflix special? Nothing, to be honest I only found three or four parts to the whole hour to make me physically laugh, although I could see the humor in the rest of it (I’m a curmudgeon). Dave went too far in the opinion of the individual writing for Vice, and while this individual is entitled to this individual’s opinion, I happen to be entitled to my own. Free speech and butt-fucking? What a country!
Chapelle’s controversial 2017 Netflix specials, like The Age of Spin: Dave Chappelle Live at the Hollywood Palladium and Equanimity and the Bird Revelation, honed his voice as a comedian wary of progressive criticism. That voice is even sharper in his latest special. At one point in his routine, he says he doesn’t believe Michael Jackson molested young children. He continues by saying that if Jackson did, the children should’ve felt lucky their first time was with the King of Pop, adding, “Do you know how good it must’ve felt to go to school the next day after that shit?” Chappelle also returned to his now-infamous obsession with making fun of trans people, saying, “[trans people] hate my fucking guts and I don’t blame them. […] I can’t stop writing jokes about these niggas.” This time, those jokes included asking the audience how funny it would be if he was actually a Chinese person stuck inside a Black man’s body, which (you guessed it) also included a racist impression of a Chinese person. He also found time to defend fellow controversial comedians Kevin Hartand Louis C.K., painting them as victims of an overzealous callout culture.
I too have written about Michael Jackson but I did not make light of it the way Dave does in his special. I found many of the jokes crude but well within what I have come to expect from Dave. This is the guy who wrote an entire sketch about a blind black man in the south who believed he was white, donned actual KKK attire, and shouted WHITE POWER on the pilot episode. This ultimately doomed his show that only lasted two seasons.
Why? Because how do you top that? I was laughing so hard, I was in tears the first time I watched it in my freshman dorm room.
The individual writing for Vice focuses on one bit. Dave refers to a movement, the Alphabet People. Here he compares the entire movement to a car being driven by “G”, because they are the most privileged and therefore best suited to drive the movement to its ultimate destination. The “L”? Nobody has a problem with them…except the “G”. The “B”? Well…”B” is the fantasy everyone wants in on, isn’t it?
Then there is the “T”. The entire movement is held up by “T”, because quite frankly they are farthest deviation from the mean. If you want to know the punchline, I suggest you find it on Netflix.
Here is what the individual writing for Vice doesn’t appear to understand.
Dave Chappelle’s entire brand is Gallows Humor. This type of humor is healthy, because it allows an outlet for people that find themselves being oppressed, imprisoned, at war, being tortured, or even just at a funeral to seek psychological refuge from what is driving their misery. Humor is derived from that which is true, and mocking it–it is healthy. Is it wrong there are people that do not accept the Alphabet People? Yes. Is it okay for somebody to identify a particular reason why a certain segment of the Alphabet People and poke fun at why? Again, yes.
This is what comedians do.
Since the individual writing for Vice also spent time on the epilogue after the special where Dave tells an audience a story about transwoman (…that is one of these for those of you confused by the terms) found delight in Dave’s bit about the Alphabet People. Here the transwoman tells Dave she wished more people would make jokes about ‘T” because it “normalizes” them. This does make sense to a degree. A good example of this may be in the character Cpl Maxwell Q. Klinger from M*A*S*H*. Did he crossdress on purpose as part of a long running gag? Yes. In spite of his hating the Army, his job, and doing everything he could to get out of the Army the other characters did make fun of him for wearing a dress but they respected him because he did his job anyway and did it well. Klinger is a beloved character for that reason, and a man in a dress is fairly normal because the character is funny. The individual writing for Vice does not believe this actually happened–even if a photo of the transwoman was placed in the credits.
Like anything else controversial, don’t take my word for it or some individual writing for Vice. Watch it and decide for yourself.
This beer is also unusual. It straddles a line between differing styles and ends up with an enjoyable product. IPA by itself offends a lot of people, but by using rye malts results in something much more balanced, and much more interesting. I like rye, I don’t like IPA but the combination is good. Chatham Brewery Farmer’s Daughter Rye IPA: 4.0/5
