No Light Without a Shadow...Week 24

HA HA HA ...Dave Chappelle, Kathy Griffin and the Hoo Doo House is Open

This past summer I spent some time in Iowa and one evening started watching Dave Chappelle’s “The Closer” on Netflix. My youngest son was camped out in the other room with his cousin so I had to keep it low because it’s wildly inappropriate, but I couldn’t stop watching. When “The Closer” came to an end, I had only one thought: I’d just watched the work of a comedic genius.

I have plenty of comedians and comedic actors I think are fantastic, but I haven’t seen anybody who compares to Chappelle when it comes to how he crafts his show. He tells stories more than jokes and he spares nobody — including himself. But he’s also come under massive fire from the LGBTQ+ community because of some of his material. His special addressed that, plus his friendship with trans woman/software engineer/comic Daphne Dorman, who — very sadly — died by suicide. You might remember that “The Closer” was the impetus for a Netflix employee walkout in support of LGBTQ+.

I’m a supporter of LGBTQ+ — I do not frequent Hobby Lobby, eat Chick-Fil-A or drive a Tesla! — and I whole heartedly believe there should be more and better representation. But I didn’t see Chappelle’s routine as mean spirited. In the act, Chappelle said he was going to address the charges and then never talk about LGBTQ+ again. Haha.

Recently he came out with another Netflix special — “The Dreamer.” Of course, he starts the show with an LGBTQ+ comment. Again, not particularly mean spirited. But still! Then a couple of weeks ago Chris Murphy in Vanity Fair reviews Chappelle’s show and concludes he’s in a comedic. Murphy cites all the references he makes to LGBTQ+ and how boring they are. Just a couple of additional thoughts:

• Don’t you think it’s intentional? He’s making fun of not shutting up. And, of course, you can’t shut up a comedian. If they shut up, they are toast. It’s sort of like caving to a bully. Their job is to make fun of all of us — and he does that in a masterful way. (On the subject of comedians who have been silenced, why do we not see a VF story about Kathy Griffin? That would be less boring.)

• Possible silver lining: If Chappelle uses this material and he — the great comedian— is considered boring, I doubt anybody else will try. LGBTQ+ humor is dead. Thank you, Dave Chappelle.

• The act also includes a bit about disabled people and Murphy has no criticism of that!!??

• There’s an undeniable spiritual lift to Chappelle’s acts. I think the reviewer completely missed it or maybe didn’t care, though. I appreciated the part where the comedian talks about how hard he believed in his dream and how you’re either living your dream or you’re a part of someone else’s.

• Lastly, Chappelle was criticized for being a “lazy comedian” — which means he views himself successful even if nobody but three or four people in the house are howling. Last week we were talking about themes and I heard from several people who have some pretty fantastic themes going for 2024 (thank you for sharing!). On this subject, though, maybe we’re all under the impression that Dave Chappelle’s life theme is to make us laugh and maybe we’re simply wrong. Maybe his theme is freedom — to say whatever he wants.

Now enough with me defending an uber-successful comedian who talks a lot about smoking reefer and drinking, makes fun of his wife and the white women in his town, and admits to going to strip bars by himself, which his wife says is creepy. I said last week that my theme was light. I guess there’s no light without a shadow, though.

Lon and I went hiking in Fryman Canyon last week. Thought you'd like to see.

Diary of A…

My youngest son and I last year went on a binge of all eight years of The Office. When we were on the East Coast in August we even pit stopped for gas in Scranton because that was the fictional setting for the show. We were a bit obsessed, especially with Dwight Shrute (aka Rainn Wilson). Check out this interview with Wilson, which adds to my theory that some of the best comedians have a spiritual side them.

By the way, right after I watched that video Rachel asked me if I ever tuned into Diary of a CEO. It’s kind of bro, but it’s good. This one by Gabor Mate is well worth the watch. It’s super NOT funny, but you should still watch.

So tell me who your fave comedians are and what you think of Dave Chappelle. I’ve always liked Wanda Sykes and the up-and-comer Hannah Pilkes is good too. Who else is making you laugh? For the record, I side with Chappelle’s wife as far as the strip club goes!

Remember too that the hoo doo house is open…that means My Friend Mary and I are open for business giving specious advice to solve your life problem. We have a few good ones coming up. If you have any question you’d like to submit anonymously, go here.