http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtqqMchhUkw&feature=related
This is one of the classic skits from "The Chappelle Show". This skit is pretty funny coming from a comedian like Dave Chappelle, but can you imagine how reactions would change if it were somebody like Jeff Foxworthy or Dane Cook that had written this? Take note of the different stereotypes that pop up in the dialog of this video.
This is one of the classic skits from "The Chappelle Show". This skit is pretty funny coming from a comedian like Dave Chappelle, but can you imagine how reactions would change if it were somebody like Jeff Foxworthy or Dane Cook that had written this? Take note of the different stereotypes that pop up in the dialog of this video.
First of all, I love Dave Chappelle. He is very creative in his skits and does take the idea of race head on. Some of the things he touches on may go too far, but it is good to see things from his perspective.
I think the reason that this skit is received well is because Dave is black. The reason that this is funny is because the white people saying "Niggar" aren't saying it out of hate because the skit was created by a black man. If a white person may have written this it might be taken as hateful and racist.
Another thing I want to bring up is the fact that he is trying to make it look "old". Since it is set in the past I think it is also more open to these stereotypes and makes it seem more ok because of the zeitgeist in play here.
I think it would be taken into a different context if a white guy made this skit, and if Dave Chappelle wasn't in it, it wouldn't be taken in a comedic manner.
It is the same with music and rappers. Like with white rappers (like Eminem) and with other black rappers. When white rappers say something that seems reacist they get a lot of bad talk about it, and if a black rapper said the same thing it would be taken in a completely different context. Along with who is saying it, its how you say certain words, whether it is racist or not depends on how you say the word.
Even in the skit they realize all the racist contexts the word is put in, but they make it into a comical matter, but it does make you think about the ways in which words are said and who says them.