The last time I discussed Dave Chappelle’s stand-up for material for Netflix with The Age of Spin and Deep In The Heart of Texas, I went into how I felt Dave was trying to walk a tightrope between shocking the audience and trying to make them think more critically. His newest special Sticks And Stones has a much stronger lean towards the former this time, and that would be fine if said shock material had actual, relevant bite beyond “it’s just a joke, bro.” Unfortunately, this time it came off to me like he wasn’t that in-tune with the current zeitgeist, really did sound like a grumpy old man who can’t understand these kids today, and that he actually doesn’t have the pulse on today’s social hypocrisies he possessed during his Chappelle’s Show years.
I can see where Dave is thinking “hey, being a provocateur with these audiences is easy!” Okay, sure, but you need to bring more to the table than that. There’s not much substance or sense of righteous anger behind his attempts to outrage here, and rather he positions himself as a “freedom of speech victim” too often.
Dave believes that today’s crowds are the hardest to make laugh, but I don’t feel that’s the case. It’s more that they’re looking for the kind of comedy that, as comics like George Carlin, Joan Rivers, Richard Pryor and Dave himself did throughout some of his past specials, points out why elements of our society are total bullshit and how people can do better- not material that encourages them to just suck it up and deal. His discussions on sexual assault, namely the Louis CK accusations and the recent Michael Jackson controversies, are certainly edgy- but they’re not exactly challenging the social institutions that encourage that kind of behavior.
His delivery of the material and his actual comedic timing are top-tier, and some of the jokes benefit from that- namely his musing on scaring off strung-out heroin junkies with a buckshot gun, and his observations on the Jussie Smollett incident. But often he’ll trip over what could be an insightful point, such as his efforts to decode the internal political issues within the LGBTQ community (of whom he affectionally dubs “the alphabet people”), with the insensitivity of his approach.
Rather than simply laughing at them, it would feel far more revolutionary were Dave to pick apart and mock those who try to belittle the existence of transgender people. But since we can’t have nice things, when he goes into the tired “what if ____ identified as a ______?” argument, his racial comparisons are like some of the offensive Asian stereotype jokes Krusty the Clown bombed with on an episode of the Simpsons. Only without the ironic subtext.
Throughout Sticks and Stones, Chappelle laments on the struggles with being a celebrity today, which is an interesting stance to take towards viewers during a time period when the public is more scrutinous on the conduct of popular figures. Regardless if he’s really Me Too-ed out, I’m still not too sure if dubbing one’s self a “victim blamer” as a badge of honor is the wisest strategy for connecting with a good portion of potential new fans, honestly. It really just comes off more callous than it does charmingly outrageous.
I don’t think the issue with many of Chappelle’s jokes here aren’t so much that they’re offensive- and some of them certainly are, I’m not disputing that- it’s more that they feel extremely dated, lacking a good deal of nuance or insight to them. People praise comedy that “punches up” at institutions or cliches because humor has a good way of dismantling how absurd and unfair they are. And perhaps he simply is just kidding, but it feels as if Dave isn’t really listening to why many people are taking these issues more seriously than he is.
And it’s not as if touchy subjects or different parts of our popular culture can’t be poked fun at, but it’s a matter of what the humor is attempting to accomplish. It’s said that the best comedy comes from sources of pain, which is true- looking at the lighter side of serious things is a crucial aspect of stand-up. But when we discuss said pain, is it designed to point out injustices or uncomfortable truths, or new ideas on how to approach these issues? That’s not what Dave’s doing throughout this routine, everything comes back to an odd detachment and disinterest on his part as to why these people are complaining about these things so vocally.
Maybe that’s where the disconnect lies here, as he’s so fixated on how these matters impact his status rather than those around him. If Chappelle could target his superb delivery style towards the people and things we’re all actually sick of, he could potentially have some, but sadly he doesn’t meet that mark here in my opinion. But what did you think? If you felt otherwise or simply want to share your feelings about the new special, hop by @Official_FAN on Twitter as always and we can have a discussion about this!