# Dave Chappelle is hilarious **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comedian-jokes\ **Created:** [October 21, 2021, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896 "2021-10-21T10:13:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/63 "2021-10-21T15:28:41Z")
He’s the best type of offensive which is an equal opportunity offender. He spares no one and that’s how it should be. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/64 "2021-10-21T15:32:14Z")
> [@WalterBishop](#): > > > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > > And yet you cannot, or simply have not, offer up even one example of this, which might provide _some_ reason for a skeptic to risk their time and/or money on watching this special. > > > > That seems odd. > > It’s not in the least bit odd. My claim is simply that mere words on a page can’t capture the essence of live comedy, and if your opinion of a show is based entirely on written excerpts then you’re operating with incomplete information. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a professional comedian who would argue otherwise. To me, this is self-evident. It’s like trying to judge an art exhibition using nothing but black and white photographs. > > _Your_ claim, on the other hand, seems to be that mere words _can_ capture the essence of live comedy, and, furthermore, if I disagree I should be able to prove it using… mere words. Which doesn’t really make much sense when you think about it. > > Far easier for both of us if you’d just watch the special, but whatever. You quoted my post and then offered your interpretation of my words, an interpretation that can in no way be backed up by the words in my post. Right away, that has me questioning how you have, or seem to have, interpreted Mr. Chapelle’s work. Intellectualising comedy is a real thing. Comedians analyze things to see why things are funny and when they are funny and to whom they are funny; it’s part of the profession. Since you claim to be or have been a comedian, it doesn’t seem like an unusual or difficult request for you to break down some bit and show how it isn’t transphobic but is funny. And yet you have repeatedly declined opportunities to do so. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/65 "2021-10-21T15:32:17Z")
In quite a bit of his comedy he surely does. Not that it makes a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/66 "2021-10-21T15:33:55Z")
> [@gandrews3367](#): > > Thank you Dave for carrying the torch. Richard Pryor is in the next life cheering you on. I must disagree with this claim. Pryor was the son of a prostitute, bisexual, and a drug user, and didn’t shy away from such facts when he was doing his most edgy comedy. Pryor used this to tease his audience, deriving much humor from challenging their perceptions. This is decidedly different than having the audience join the comedian in teasing other people. A fair analogy, I would think, would be Chapelle talking about how hot and sexy a woman was, only to discover that she had male genitalia, then mining comedy out of the fact that a penis didn’t phase him, and didn’t change the initial view about how hot and sexy the woman was. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/68 "2021-10-21T15:37:51Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > A fair analogy, I would think, would be Chapelle talking about how hot and sexy a woman was, only to discover that she had male genitalia, then mining comedy out of the fact that a penis didn’t phase him, and didn’t change the initial view about how hot and sexy the woman was. He did something very similar in this special in the bit about the gay community and its “bravery” for inventing the glory hole. He even commented that a mouth is a mouth and his willingness to try it. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/70 "2021-10-21T15:48:32Z")
As you presented it, it comes across neutral in tone for two main reasons. First, there’s scant information presented; the only dialogue I know of is the brief phrase ““Thank god this person is in here because now I know my family is safe!”.” Second, you added the context later by offering non-chronological qualifiers and so I highly doubt my experience of the bit is even comparable to the experience of watching it. IOW, your construction of the joke was so jumbled compared to what I’ll assume is Mr. Chapelle’s deeply thought-out delivery that any effect Mr. Chapelle might have given it with nuance or timing is completely lost to me. ETA: here’s the thing, tho: comedy isn’t magic. It is something that can be examined and intellectualized; professional comedians and comedy writers do it all the time. So even if you can’t give a perfect transcript of a bit, it should be possible to explain _why_ someone finds it funny or _why_ someone finds it offensive. Or even why it isn’t offensive. But I’m not seeing those examinations or explanations here. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/71 "2021-10-21T15:51:09Z")
Well, this is why comedy should be left to the professionals. 😉 The only remedy may be that you watch the special and make up your own mind. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/72 "2021-10-21T15:53:51Z")
Your post makes even less sense since I added the ETA. I can explain why “Who’s On First?” is great comedy routine, why it is funny, why it isn’t offensive, etc. without you ever having seen or heard the bit. I can examine and explain the juxtapostions and the word play and how it all interacts with the delivery and timing to elicit a response. No one is doing that with Chapelle’s work here, to justify how and why he uses words, timing or inflection to make his point _and that clearly his point shows that he isn’t being transphobic_. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/73 "2021-10-21T16:08:00Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > ETA: here’s the thing, tho: comedy isn’t magic. It is something that can be examined and intellectualized; professional comedians and comedy writers do it all the time. So even if you can’t give a perfect transcript of a bit, it should be possible to explain _why_ someone finds it funny or _why_ someone finds it offensive. Or even why it isn’t offensive. > > But I’m not seeing those examinations or explanations here. I don’t know if you know this, but sometimes a professional comedian or writer makes a joke that he/she thinks is funny and it completely flops. Also, what you describe is simply not true. As a challenge, try to explain to me why I should find fart jokes funny. > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I can explain why “Who’s On First?” is great comedy routine, why it is funny, why it isn’t offensive, etc. without you ever having seen or heard the bit. I can examine and explain the juxtapostions and the word play and how it all interacts with the delivery and timing to elicit a response. You could. But it wouldn’t be funny. And another frog would senselessly die of it. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/74 "2021-10-21T16:16:26Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I don’t know if you know this, but sometimes a professional comedian or writer makes a joke that he/she thinks is funny and it completely flops. Also, what you describe is simply not true. As a challenge, try to explain to me why I should find fart jokes funny. What I describe is true: comedians analyze material and refine delivery all the time; it’s simply part of being a professional comedian. I can link you books and videos galore that show comedians talking about this. No one can explain why you (or anyone else) _should_ find fart jokes funny; lots of people can explain why people _do_ find fart jokes funny. And a good comedian can tell you why someone found a particular fart joke funny. ---
**Author:** ![Ranch\_Dip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranch_dip/32/5238_2.png) [@Ranch\_Dip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranch_Dip)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/75 "2021-10-21T16:21:26Z")
It’s interesting to me, that Chappelle is quick to call for boycotts when he is the aggrieved party. Punching down is never a good look. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/76 "2021-10-21T16:22:35Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > And a good comedian can tell you why someone found a particular fart joke funny. _I_ am not a comedian. What you’re asking is beyond my ability. I hope you don’t think that disqualifies me from the ability to laugh at a joke I find funny. Furthermore, _I_ am not Chappelle’s promoter. I don’t even find him particularly hilarious and I’m unlikely to spend my time watching more of his specials, let alone trying to explain his jokes. If you actually want to know whether his current special is transphobic or not, I’m afraid I have to leave you to your own devices. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/77 "2021-10-21T16:27:48Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > _I_ am not a comedian. What you’re asking is beyond my ability. I hope you don’t think that disqualifies me from the ability to laugh at a joke I find funny. It doesn’t disqualify you from laughing, but it does make me ask “what do you find funny?” And conversely, “what offends you?” But you now claim to not be able to answer that sort of question at all (it is beyond your ability, you say), which makes this discussion difficult. ---
**Author:** ![YamatoTwinkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/cc9497/32.png) [@YamatoTwinkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YamatoTwinkie)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/78 "2021-10-21T16:34:26Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Your post makes even less sense since I added the ETA. > > I can explain why “Who’s On First?” is great comedy routine, why it is funny, why it isn’t offensive, etc. without you ever having seen or heard the bit. I can examine and explain the juxtapostions and the word play and how it all interacts with the delivery and timing to elicit a response. > > No one is doing that with Chapelle’s work here, to justify how and why he uses words, timing or inflection to make his point _and that clearly his point shows that he isn’t being transphobic_. I’ll try here. His point is the inherent ridiculousness/incoherent logic that a “bathroom bill” leads to, where someone that is obviously (by all external appearances) female, yet is forced to use the men’s restroom. Dave (playing the part of the transphobic person in the joke here), is in the men’s bathroom after a “bathroom bill” law is in full effect, sees a woman walk in and saddle up next to him at the urinal, and is initially caught off guard. Then Dave takes a good long to his side, spies male genitalia, and is immediately relieved, exclaiming “thank god that person is in here because now my family is safe!” Of course the punchline makes no sense. It’s not supposed to. Dave is pointing out the ridiculous mental leaps-in-logic that the “bathroom bill” supporter has to go through to justify their support. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/79 "2021-10-21T16:36:34Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > It doesn’t disqualify you from laughing, but it does make me ask “what do you find funny?” Why does it matter? > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > And conversely, “what offends you?” In mainstream comedy… not a lot. > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > But you now claim to not be able to answer that sort of question at all (it is beyond your ability, you say), which makes this discussion difficult. I also can’t explain to you why I like Mondrian but not Pollack. But I also don’t view that as a discussion worth having. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/80 "2021-10-21T16:41:28Z")
So the point of all your posts in this thread is “I think Chapelle is funny but I have no interest in looking at why I find him funny”? Thanks for the info, I guess? It’s kind of the point of the criticism he and Netflix are receiving, tho. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/81 "2021-10-21T16:46:03Z")
No. The point of my posts was that this particular special is not transphobic and some of it is what I consider to be funny. _You_ want to focus on whether or not it’s funny. But that’s not what the controversy has been about. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/82 "2021-10-21T16:46:17Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > It doesn’t disqualify you from laughing, but it does make me ask “what do you find funny?” > > And conversely, “what offends you?” I think these aren’t converses. They’re orthogonal. Things can be funny and non-cruel, or funny and cruel, or unfunny and non-cruel, or unfunny and cruel. Funny and non-cruel is the best, but if I have to choose just one, I’ll go for unfunny and non-cruel. If you can’t be a comedian without being cruel, I’d just as soon you find another job. Chappelle, in this instance, is being funny and cruel. It’s a living, but it’s a living on the backs of other people. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/83 "2021-10-21T16:46:23Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I don’t know if you know this, but sometimes a professional comedian or writer makes a joke that he/she thinks is funny and it completely flops. I know it very well: we’re talking about one such case right now, aren’t we? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896/84 "2021-10-21T16:47:47Z")
> [@YamatoTwinkie](#): > > > [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > > > Your post makes even less sense since I added the ETA. > > > > I can explain why “Who’s On First?” is great comedy routine, why it is funny, why it isn’t offensive, etc. without you ever having seen or heard the bit. I can examine and explain the juxtapostions and the word play and how it all interacts with the delivery and timing to elicit a response. > > > > No one is doing that with Chapelle’s work here, to justify how and why he uses words, timing or inflection to make his point _and that clearly his point shows that he isn’t being transphobic_. > > I’ll try here. > > His point is the inherent ridiculousness/incoherent logic that a “bathroom bill” leads to, where someone that is obviously (by all external appearances) female, yet is forced to use the men’s restroom. > > Dave (playing the part of the transphobic person in the joke here), is in the men’s bathroom after a “bathroom bill” law is in full effect, sees a woman walk in and saddle up next to him at the urinal, and is initially caught off guard. Then Dave takes a good long to his side, spies male genitalia, and is immediately relieved, exclaiming “thank god that person is in here because now my family is safe!” > > Of course the punchline makes no sense. It’s not supposed to. Dave is pointing out the ridiculous mental leaps-in-logic that the “bathroom bill” supporter has to go through to justify their support. Well done! And now I have a very good idea of the bit itself and some insight into what you personally thought of the bit. Critical analysis of comedy isn’t impossible after all. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dave-chappelle-is-hilarious/952896.md?page=4)