The Closer We Get

I've never been much of a fan of edgy humor. Wait -- that's not entirely true. When I was a kid, it did appeal to me. Isn't that kind of how it goes when you're younger? You don't fully appreciate being shielded and protected from the more harsh realities of the world, so when you're flipping through the channels, land on HBO, and hear people like George Carlin, Eddie Murphy and Andrew Dice Clay sound angry, using profanity and talking about sex, it feels like that good-sort-of-dangerous that, the kind your mind reacts to when faced with a forbidden fruit.

Speaking of Eddie Murphy, it was his 1983 stand-up special, Delirious, and his 1987 follow-up, Raw, that caught my attention during the late '80s. They were both funny in their own way, and both specials were definitely homophobic. And there was the internal dichotomy for yours truly: On the one hand, it was titillating watching what amounted to adult verbal content when I wasn't supposed to. On the other hand, I felt like I was supposed to laugh at stuff that was directly bashing a sexual orientation that was slowly coming to fruition within me. I didn't even know what to call it at that age, but when Murphy was on stage mocking gay people, I felt seen, and not in a good way.

Nearly forty years later, it feels as though we've come a long way and, conversely, hardly any distance at all. I am speaking, at least directly, about the most recent Dave Chappelle Netflix special, The Closer, which came out (no pun intended) last month, and has been the subject of much controversy. In particular, Chappelle's (continued) issues with transgender persons has been at the core of the outrage. Folks in the LGBT community and their allies have aired grievances about the content, and some employees of Netflix staged a walkout over it. This is nothing new. Decades ago, the aforementioned Eddie Murphy specials were received with protests from the gay community, and Murphy has since apologized and expressed regret, more than once.

Dave Chappelle? Not so much.

Look, I watched Chappelle's Show nearly twenty years ago like most of us of a certain age did. I -- for better or worse -- turned a blind eye to some of the misogynistic elements of the humor because I felt like the comedian was tackling racial issues in a fresh and funny way. He seemed to be truly gifted. Even some of the more purely silly stuff, such as the Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories segments, could be considered instant classics. The 2000 stand-up special, Killin' Them Softly is perhaps Chappelle at his comedic zenith. Then, in the mid-2000s, he withdrew from the limelight, emerging a decade or so later and seeming more... bitter? angry? tense? However you want to view it, Chappelle was different, and I've not enjoyed his 'comedy' nearly as much since, though your mileage may vary.

Earlier I mentioned how I'm not a fan of edgy humor, and Dave Chappelle has been an example of that. Ashley & I saw him perform locally back in 2006 (or thereabouts), to a nearly sold-out crowd, many of them college-age, and it was disappointing. Profanity-laden jokes about sex dominated the concert. That is something that pre-teen Matt would have lapped-up in all its daring glory, but older me thought of it as, well, kind of lame. And now, Chappelle appears to be trying to come off as some sort of bad ass, taking verbal shots at the transgender community during his sets and, honestly, I find it off-putting at best, and dangerous at worst.

It's not just the material, itself, but that Chappelle appears to revel in what he's saying. He comes across as a bit of a prick about it. There's an air of, 'I'm a big time celebrity with a large following, and I can say what I damn well want, and f**k you if you don't like it.' I mean, that's his right, and people are free to lap it up, but I'm giving it a hard pass. It's a shame, too. I want to support him, in an abstract sense. In theory, I want African-American and minority comedians to be successful. I loved his 2003-04 show. But, ironically, it feels as though the comic has -- in an attempt to push the boundary of what it means to critical and relevant -- lost his edge.

Of course, Dave Chappelle has his supporters. In the weeks since the controversy surrounding his latest Netflix special has swelled, folks have publicly come out (again, no pun intended) with words of encouragement for him, ranging from Caitlyn Jenner, to Jay-Z, to Damon Wayans, and Jon Stewart. Sure, ok. Humor is subjective, and everyone has a right to support or rebuke whomever or whatever they want. The aforementioned celebrities aren't evil people for defending Chappelle, but I find their stance to be disappointing.  

I'm a gay man, part of the LGBTQ spectrum. Also under that terminological umbrella is the transgender community. They are my brothers and sisters, and they have my support. What kind of ally would I be if I were to sit back and laugh at someone's 'jokes' who cavalierly derides them as part of their (highly-paying) job? Transgender people are already under threat: the violence and murder committed against them is well-documented. I'm sorry, but there just doesn't seem to be anything funny or hilarious about ridiculing them -- or anyone in the LGBTQ community -- in a comedy concert. It wasn't amusing when Eddie Murphy did it nearly 40 years ago, and certainly hasn't become any more entertaining now.

We are currently in the midst of Trans Awareness Week, and this Saturday will be the 23rd annual Transgender Day of Remembrance (an event kick-started by the murder of a transgender person in the late-nineties, and which memorializes trans community members who have been killed each year because of transphobia). I encourage you to check and see if your local community is holding any events for this occasion and, if so, consider attending. If nothing about this sounds remotely humorous to you, that's because it's not. And it bears keeping in mind the thought of why someone would think it good judgment to include it as subject matter in their comedy set. And, no, being edgy isn't a good excuse.