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Comparison and Conclusion
In conclusion, both Katherine Ryan and Dave Chappelle’s intend to empathise with the victims of the #MeToo movement in their comedy, however Ryan’s stand-up is more successful than Chappelle’s because she directs the comedy at herself and assaulters, whilst maintaining support for the victims. Chappelle, while also making jokes about the assaulter, does not maintain respect for the victims, and often tries to victimise himself by either bringing up his own suffering when the conversation is pointed at others, or turning the conversation into racial suffering and disregarding the complaints of female victims.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘empathy’ as “The ability to understand and appreciate another person's feelings, experience”, [8] which ultimately suggests that perhaps Dave Chappelle’s offensive method of comedy stems from his inability to properly empathise with female victims of sexual assault, as he is not female. Ryan as a woman has much more awareness of the impact of #MeToo, because the movement is about women’s experiences. Ryan herself shares in an interview that she is “afraid of [men] in a way. [She] know[s] what they're capable of”, [9] a fear that inherently comes with being female, therefore Ryan’s experience moves her even further into the realm of sympathy, because she knows how it feels. Chappelle, not being part of this demographic, does not have this inherent knowledge and experience, so perhaps he does not even hold the capacity to empathise with victims, as he is male. This however should not be interpreted as a justification for Chappelle’s offensive comments, but an education in why experience is important to acknowledge when discussing issues which affect a certain demographic.
Similarly, if the audience does not have the capacity to empathise with victims of sexual assault, this may explain why some viewers find Chappelle’s comedy funny, while others do not. Kuipers suggests that different people find different jokes funny depending if they are “on the same wavelength” [10] [p.107] as the comedian. While the woman that heckled Chappelle at his show found his comedy offensive, the people that laughed at the same content clearly did not. However, this makes certain methods of comedy dangerous, as offensive jokes may upset victims and make them feel as if influential people do in fact believe that they are trying to destroy assaulter's careers. Plus, when Chapelle silences the heckler from talking about how women suffer, this could present silencing as a funny act, and not as a feature of misogyny.
Chappelle may be under the impression that he shows empathy to victims through his comedy, however victims interpret him as un-empathetic. And, as he seems uninterested in listening to hecklers and protesters, it is likely that he will never make a comedy about #MeToo that remains inoffensive, like Katherine Ryan does.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘empathy’ as “The ability to understand and appreciate another person's feelings, experience”, [8] which ultimately suggests that perhaps Dave Chappelle’s offensive method of comedy stems from his inability to properly empathise with female victims of sexual assault, as he is not female. Ryan as a woman has much more awareness of the impact of #MeToo, because the movement is about women’s experiences. Ryan herself shares in an interview that she is “afraid of [men] in a way. [She] know[s] what they're capable of”, [9] a fear that inherently comes with being female, therefore Ryan’s experience moves her even further into the realm of sympathy, because she knows how it feels. Chappelle, not being part of this demographic, does not have this inherent knowledge and experience, so perhaps he does not even hold the capacity to empathise with victims, as he is male. This however should not be interpreted as a justification for Chappelle’s offensive comments, but an education in why experience is important to acknowledge when discussing issues which affect a certain demographic.
Similarly, if the audience does not have the capacity to empathise with victims of sexual assault, this may explain why some viewers find Chappelle’s comedy funny, while others do not. Kuipers suggests that different people find different jokes funny depending if they are “on the same wavelength” [10] [p.107] as the comedian. While the woman that heckled Chappelle at his show found his comedy offensive, the people that laughed at the same content clearly did not. However, this makes certain methods of comedy dangerous, as offensive jokes may upset victims and make them feel as if influential people do in fact believe that they are trying to destroy assaulter's careers. Plus, when Chapelle silences the heckler from talking about how women suffer, this could present silencing as a funny act, and not as a feature of misogyny.
Chappelle may be under the impression that he shows empathy to victims through his comedy, however victims interpret him as un-empathetic. And, as he seems uninterested in listening to hecklers and protesters, it is likely that he will never make a comedy about #MeToo that remains inoffensive, like Katherine Ryan does.