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PSB- Dave Chappelle on Comedy in the #MeToo Moment [6]
In this text, Jeffrey Brown from PBS News Hour interviews Dave Chappelle about his comedic approach and how #MeToo has affected it. He talks about how he finds “solace in the arts”, [3:28] how “your heroes... become villain[s]” [7:42] and how he deals with it. This interview allows Chappelle to talk freely about his comedy without the performance facet, however the impression he gives here does not differ from the impression he gives onstage.
A common technique in comedy is the anecdote, which Katherine Ryan also uses in her #MeToo performance. It helps comedians make their audience understand a point of view, while also making them laugh. Chappelle uses several anecdotes in this interview, similar to how he uses the heckler anecdote in his stand-up: it allows the interviewer to see what he is thinking about an event or topic. However, he also takes advantage of the anecdote to transform himself into a victim, when the focus should be on the victims of sexual assault, as per the questions posed to him. This interview takes place after Bill Cosby was convicted of sexual assault, which does cause Chappelle to stop defending him in a ‘himpathetic’ way. Instead, he appears to be increasingly himpathetic to himself, in the same way that he turns the conversation from sexual assault in ‘The Age of Spin’, Chappelle victimises himself by saying how much he has suffered from Cosby’s actions. This shows that even with over a year in between his stand-up show and this interview, he has not changed his viewpoint on the situation: he still believes that his suffering is comparable with Cosby’s victims. Therefore, this suggests that even after receiving even more backlash about his offensive comedy, he still does not fully empathise with the real victims.
A common technique in comedy is the anecdote, which Katherine Ryan also uses in her #MeToo performance. It helps comedians make their audience understand a point of view, while also making them laugh. Chappelle uses several anecdotes in this interview, similar to how he uses the heckler anecdote in his stand-up: it allows the interviewer to see what he is thinking about an event or topic. However, he also takes advantage of the anecdote to transform himself into a victim, when the focus should be on the victims of sexual assault, as per the questions posed to him. This interview takes place after Bill Cosby was convicted of sexual assault, which does cause Chappelle to stop defending him in a ‘himpathetic’ way. Instead, he appears to be increasingly himpathetic to himself, in the same way that he turns the conversation from sexual assault in ‘The Age of Spin’, Chappelle victimises himself by saying how much he has suffered from Cosby’s actions. This shows that even with over a year in between his stand-up show and this interview, he has not changed his viewpoint on the situation: he still believes that his suffering is comparable with Cosby’s victims. Therefore, this suggests that even after receiving even more backlash about his offensive comedy, he still does not fully empathise with the real victims.