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CLOSER

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STREAMING

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Could it be that Chappelle has lost his once sharp wit and instead fallen on
clumsily rehashing old, offensive and largely thoughtless jokes?

22

 

supported, as it seems that no one who made valid criticisms of
Chappelle overlooked the rank non-intersectional view he holds
of the trans community. Belle’s criticism of Chappelle using his
late friend Daphne as a shield was also well considered as even
| saw his use of Daphne Dorman as some sort of totem of his
trans acceptance. Worse than the ‘trans-friend-who-died card’
is the fact that the use of Dorman as a totem did not stop him
from misgendering her to cap off his joke and close his special.
Yet for all the validity
of these criticisms, | can’t
bring myself to not enjoy
fs Chappelle's special. My
| respect for the criticisms
| given coupled with my
eo o2™s understanding—limited by my
cis-gendered identity—of the
trans movement cannot help
me from appreciating the work
that Chappelle has done. Even
some of the other critiques he
made ring true to me despite
the fallacies employed. Part
of this centres on the fact that
much of what Chappelle does
revolves around juxtaposition.
One of the portions
that gained the most
traction and discussion
early on was his relating the
rapper DaBaby’s previous
altercation, resulting in the
shooting death of another.
In the special, Chappelle
states clearly “DaBaby shot
and killed a n***a in Wal-
Mart in North Carolina.
Nothing bad happened
to his career.” Though
he leaves out the crucial
context that DaBaby was
not the aggressor and that
all charges were dropped,
the underlying proposition is
worth considering: are black
lives valued differently than
LGBTQ lives? | stress that
the circumstance Chappelle
uses is not in fact congruent,
but it is something worth
debating given that much
of the black cultural image
sold for consumption revolves around glorifying the killing of
black men.
One of the things Chappelle seemed particularly upset
with was the accusation that he punches down on groups
ill-equipped or disproportionately hindered in their ability
to respond. Chappelle seems to take quite seriously the

accusation that he is a bully, and on this note, he finds a
supporter in me. His jokes (if charted across his long career)

are delivered with equal aplomb to all targets. For this reason,

| am torn between laughing hysterically at his commentary and
shaking my head shamefully at my enjoyment. | laugh because
it is clear to me what the joke is and how it should be received;
the shock value and the absurdity are easily grasped by me. But
at the same time, | am aware of why different sections of the
population view the jokes as meanspirited or even hateful.

Maybe | am impacted by the fact that | see equal derision as
part and parcel of normalizing a class, meaning, when Chappelle
begins to narrate the difference between cis-gendered vaginas
and transgendered vaginas, the shock only adds to the hilarity |
feel. Chappelle drawing the comparison between animal-sourced
meat versus Beyond Meat or Impossible Meat, against lady parts
is to me an apropos comparison. It is not lost on me that many
transgender people and their allies will think the comparison is
transphobic, but | still think the line about “Beet juice not blood”
is both apt and funny.

If nothing else, the comparison is important in distinguishing
the cisgendered experience and the transgendered experience.
Though it certainly isn’t the most profound juxtaposition, the fact
of the matter is that a girl's first period is considered by some to
be an important event. Without using that belief to denigrate,
one important aspect of the trans woman's experience is being
viewed and accepted as a woman without certain functions or
even the presence of that piece of anatomy. The joke is meant
only to highlight that there is a difference and that there can be a
humorous view of that difference. Speaking about that difference
should be no different than speaking about the differences
between the black and white experiences. Maybe I’m blinded by
my own biases, but | see the “Impossible pussy” line as part of
the efforts to normalize these human experiences.

However, the criticism that | most considered was the
argument that even if Dave Chappelle is not himself transphobic,
the jokes he makes inadvertently normalize transohobia and
lend cover to more nefarious characters. | consider this argument
the most given that bad-faith actors have already begun to use
Chappelle’s mainstream acceptance to forward their anti-trans
agenda. When people like Steven Crowder prop up Chappelle's
work as a useful shield for their own transphobic beliefs, the
fact that he and Chappelle are far more at odds than aligned is
buried. What is seen, however, is that the legitimacy that could
be seen in Chappelle's work is somehow paralleled in Crowder’s
rants. People who hold these transphobic views crave the
subtertuge of legitimacy they get from defending and connecting
to Chappelle's jokes and that subterfuge is truly dangerous to the
goal of widespread trans acceptance.

lam under no illusion that this or any other work will
convince Chappelle's detractors of the goodwill and
inoffensiveness of the man. Just as the many criticisms | read
and watched could not convince me of his malice, so too
will this be unconvincing. But it is worth acknowledging the
legitimate issues that people have with Chappelle. Still, | do
hope that Chappelle’s humour can one day return to uniting
most people as opposed to hurting an important minority.

Sr a | "ll

 

Promotional images for ‘The Closer' via Netflix