Dave Chappelle and Racial Satire

In our class discussion about the work of Paul Robeson, we talked about how white and black audiences may have different levels of understanding when it comes to the depiction of race in the media. For example, Robeson expressed discomfort in being tied to the song "Old Man River" because of its emphasis on black stereotypes. On one hand, "Old Man River" appears to package a comfortable image of black masculinity for white audiences -- the lyrics depict blacks as working class drunks. On the other hand, the song remains one of Robeson's most memorable and often repeated performances. His motion to change the lyrics of "Old Man River" to reflect hard work and struggle shows an awareness that black celebrities must carefully balance their image in relation to racial stereotypes in America.

Dave Chappelle serves as contemporary example of how black performers can play against such stereotypes. His work on The Chappelle Show often featured comedic satires on race and culture. For example, the skit below shows how he believes different races react to different musical instruments:

As soon as Chappelle plays drums, the blacks in the barber shop sway their hips and start rapping. As Chappelle plays an electric piano, the latinos break out into dance. The critique in this skit is that the scenario is absolutely ridiculous and exaggerated. By seeing such an extremely comic example of these stereotypes, the audience is left privy to understand that the stereotypes are most likely untrue.

Despite making well-received and critically acclaimed satire, Chappelle left the show because he was afraid of perpetuating stereotypes instead of deconstructing them. Comedy is often complicated because it can be read at so many levels. Chappelle was afraid that some of his fans did not read his skits as satire, but as fact. As such, denied his contract for Comedy Central, turning down $50 million in the process.

Chappelle was quoted in a 2005 Time Magazine article with the following:

"The third season hit a big speed bump in November 2004. He was taping a sketch about magic pixies that embody stereotypes about the races. The black pixie--played by Chappelle--wears blackface and tries to convince blacks to act in stereotypical ways. Chappelle thought the sketch was funny, the kind of thing his friends would laugh at. But at the taping, one spectator, a white man, laughed particularly loud and long. His laughter struck Chappelle as wrong, and he wondered if the new season of his show had gone from sending up stereotypes to merely reinforcing them. "When he laughed, it made me uncomfortable," says Chappelle. "As a matter of fact, that was the last thing I shot before I told myself I gotta take f_____— time out after this. Because my head almost exploded."

It seemed that Chappelle was worried that white audiences were actually laughing at him and not with him. Part of the sketch in question can be found below.