The “Chapelle” Revelation.

Dave Chappelle's latest “Unforgiven” begins with his brilliance as a storyteller, and just as quickly with his fatal flaw which has possibly always been there, but made itself more apparent in these last years in which like Skynet on Aug 29th 1997 Chapelle seemingly became self aware, and again like Sky net, not in a good way. The first joke told (which is an announcer mispronouncing his name) presents Dave’s particular bit of genius- intuition for misdirection. Leading you somewhere and then upending you with a punchline you didn’t see coming like all those scenes in movies where a car hits an unsuspecting driver from the side. You dont feel like the punchline is going to be where its gonna be, and then it’s just all of a sudden there. There’s his observational technique, and his special brand of pop culture references. That's the brilliant part, the part that’s not so brilliant, the part that has forced me to parcel out my love, acknowledging his ability, but criticizing his blatant ignorance, is that Chapelle has become increasingly mean spirited, self centered, aware of how his audience sees him, and hypocritical, and hes dove head first into the act. Hes C-3PO amongst the ewoks. Hes no longer one of us, hes no longer catching for us, hes batting for them. The man who went on a brilliant tirade about listening to celebrities is now fully enveloped in that very mind and kind of celebrity.

Chapelle is now firmly in Jay-Z mogul/sage mode, he is very much like Ja Rule, giving his opinion on matters that lie well outside his range and unlike in the Ja Rule bit, hes chosen himself. It is he who is doing the asking not the news or the machine behind it. Chapelle like Jay and Ye before him is using his legacy, his status, and his stature amongst black people as leverage to gain traction and entrance into white spaces and opportunities that would be closed to him. In order to do this he must appeal to the plight of his base and their struggles via a stand up “New Slaves" in order to build a false connection. Once done he will take the results to white people in charge and demand his place, not ours at the table. First though, the bonafides, reminders of legacy. Every other line a reminder of his greatness, where he tells about how he was always destined for this (the chosen one is like one of the favorite gospels of the rich and famous), this by way gives him divine right as a Moses where he is the sage speaker of the black house and he tells us “we're past kneeling”, when it benefits him, but the actual truth and the hypocrisy in the ask is right there for anyone who wants to see past the past, not only in Chapelle's legacy but in the worshipped approach of centering black male leadership in grass roots struggles that folk like actual civil rights activist Ella Baker cautioned against nearly a century ago. That warning would go double for black capitalist male leadership, and guidance. Chappelle's Unforgiven strikes many familiar tunes, and reads to us from the bible of Celebritology and specifically to us black males. The chosen sermons are the aforementioned gospel of the chosen one, the gospel of capitalism, and the gospel of hypocrisy. Add to all this, that years of being told he is a genius have clearly made their way into his act. There's the “I just did that” drags from his cigarette he might as well trademark, the way he sits instead of stands alot more, the way his tone and chosen mode of delivery has changed into this affected cadence commonly taken on by those who desire to be seen as sages, derived from those who actually are ( at least Chapelle spared us the suit and tie act , though he has done that a couple times) , and then finally there is the announcement to the audience that something quite ordinary or basic is in fact brilliant. Chappelle goes on to speak about a game of three card monte he witnessed when he was young. He tells us how how watched it, noted what was going on and then angry after he lost his money announced to everyone the dealer is cheating and blows the entirety of the jig, ending up with what he calls “A profound” lesson.. “Never come between a man and his paper”. Problem is that this is not profound, it’s a very basic consequence of capitalism, and a derivative of survival of the fittest. Everyone knows it and have known it for quite some time, any profundity that might be left would come digging deeper into “why's" not stating the obvious “whats", but there is a point coming, not quite yet, but it's coming. What comes next is another likely story about HBO asking Chapelle rather cruelly “What do we need you for?” after he merely pitches what would become one of the most popular and beloved sketch comedies and television shows ever. You’ll excuse my wariness of this particular story, it doesn’t come from any loyalty to studios or other mechanisms of capitalism, and it acknowledges that these stories exist, it’s just rooted in and from my own personal belief that this story is repeated far too often by celebrities, and it’s far too convenient. It's a different version of the oft repeated male fantasy of the woman who dismissed him in high school asking him out on a date after she sees him in a Porsche. I believe it has rarely if ever happened with the social outcast, and I believe its happened only slightly more with celebs. Its merely a device employed to endear the audience to said entertainer by way of a shared fantasy many hold dear. The point of his show, (That he basically wants to “own his masters) the self centered-ness, begins to become egregiously clear as he explains his contract with the Chapelle Show and how HBO is now able to stream it without his consent and without paying him, and then comes the gospel of hypocrisy. Chappelle at around 13:25 seconds in gives an admission that the women of “Me too" were trying to say this very thing …

A man who not but a year earlier made fun of, and derided the Me Too movement, stomping all over the intricacies and nuance of gender, identity and - most revealing here - consent now seems to understand the idea of an industry, a “monster” that takes advantage of your desire to do what you’ve always wanted to do and make money, of their power over you to make that happen, and over your agency. So it’s clear as to how hypocritical this is, this is the man who suggested in “The Bird Revelation” that these women had a “Brittle Spirit". The man whom in “Sticks and Stones” suggested that trans folk and women “Shut the fuck up”, AND that there was no law or police that would and should take the particular women involved in the sexual conduct claim that “Friend” Louis C.K. masturbated in front of them seriously because no one left, and because they weren't harmed in his eyes. Oh but now he understands the idea that just because something is technically legal, it’s wrong. These women were largely unknown, they were still trying to get their foot into the industry, just like him when he signed that contract for Chapelle Show of his own volition, but like him they may have felt trapped between a rock and a hard place of their own want for a career in the thing they love so much, the thing they too felt destined to do, and being ousted on principle. Like him they decided to take a stand some years later, but unlike him they didn’t have a 60 million contract with Netflix for future product to leverage, and a large, devoted, and loyal fanbase to appeal to on their behalf, and they weren’t standing up for money, but for their ethical right to exist, and to not be masturbated in front of without consent. This is the revelation, not the inherent greed and parasitic nature of an industry built within the confines of structural exploitation and cultural hegemony, not even that Chapelle is like so many, not angry at the fact that hes found a nest of vampires as much as angry that hes not being allowed to drink blood as well - its the level of gall to base a whole not that funny show on that foundation, and ask his audience to sympathize with it, but then again, thats not much of a revelation either, and much of his actual audience at this point agrees. As for me, once a devoted and wide eyed admirer of his particular brilliance in the field, I find it quite fair to suggest that maybe it’s the 60 million dollar man, (nevernind whatever he gets from appearances and sets, and royalties from various films) who quite possibly has the brittle spirit, and that maybe just maybe, though you have a brilliance, and a mic, and a status, you should take your L and well….”Shut the fuck up”. I doubt it feels funny to him, he may miss the irony, but I wonder when will Chapelle and others like him revelation will come that top down patriarchal social movements based upon individualistic achievement dont work anymore than trickle down economics, and that none of us are free until the least of us are. At this point it’s the only revelation from Chapelle I wanna see, and his only path to forgiveness.