From "Dave Chappelle’s Sticks & Stones Fights for the Rights of the Already-Powerful/In his new Netflix special, Chappelle rushes to the defense of the people who need it most: celebrities" by Inkoo Kang (in Slate).
"Clapter" is not a typo. In the text at Slate, the word is linked to "The Rise of 'Clapter' Comedy" (at Vulture). That's from January 2018, and you'll see Chapelle's name comes up:
[T]his portmanteau [of clapping and laughter]—evidently coined by Seth Meyers over a decade ago— to bemoan an identifiable strain of message-driven comedy that inadvertently prioritizes political pandering above comedic merit....
Monologue segments have turned into a series of repetitive jokes, middling impressions, and verbatim tweet recitals, but they nonetheless continue to elicit enthusiastic reactions from crowds, who can relate broadly to the overarching sentiment of “Holy shit, our president is bad.”
It’s telling, then, that one of the highest-profile examples of this phenomenon took place during Dave Chappelle’s SNL monologue the weekend immediately following Trump’s election. “America has done it; we’ve actually elected an internet troll as our president,” Chappelle said, parroting a well-wrought observation that had been made thousands of times leading up to the election. Even accounting for his comedy chops, it was a tepid and unoriginal joke that had every reason to fall flat. The crowd nonetheless laughed heartily, evidently looking for anything to latch their very palpable Trump resentment onto....
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I watched last night with my wife.
He makes fun of gays, trannies, white people, black people, Jussie Smollett, Chinese people (when he's mocking trannies and saying what if he felt like he was Chinese), gun owners, etc.
I laughed pretty consistently throughout. The only part that made me uncomfortable was when he basically said it's ok to be a pedophile if you're Michael Jackson.
Otherwise the show was a laugh riot.
The tone of the act is set in the first minute with his impressions bit.
His ridicule of Jesse Smollet is pretty good.
No opinion about Chappelle since I've haven't heard his comedy and what can be funny or not depends entirely on being there in the moment.
I only wanted to note that before there was "clapter," there was "claptrap," which means pretty much the same thing.
he's an equal opportunity satirist, some cross of mort sahl and eddie murphy,
The opioid "crisis" is an interesting concoction, to my mind. First, it appears that the data on death from prescription opioids is conflated with deaths from street heroin. It is not clear to me why this is in the national interest, but more likely in the interest of 1) minority advocacy groups who know that whites don't care about negroes on heroin; 2) someone who has a woody for the pharma companies. I note with interest the recent judgement against Johnson & Johnson. I also noted that going after pain meds is a priority of the American Physical Therapist's organization, who clearly benefit if everyone gets physical therapy. The truth seems to be that 90% of people who get an opioid prescription are non-addictive types and would lay off of it when the scrip ran out. The 10% or so who are susceptible will have a problem no matter what, and the hardcore among those will not be deterred by the illegality of their desired high.
Wake me when this is over.......Zzzzz
Gad, when did "overarching" become si popular. Worse than the old journalist standbys "exacerbated" and "quintessential."
Is it a yoga pose?
Clapter is a fine word. Use it myself.
So.
Done shitposting on my phone. Seriously.
OK. He is back, and he will not have to be Joan Rivered. Do I see a hint of tolerance peaking back out into comedy ?
Something akin to clapter occurs in live (pop) music venues where people begin to clap when they recognize the song that is going to be played, or when a jazz performer includes a "quote" from another song in the midst of an improvisation. It's a way of signaling to fellow audience members, "I'm really hip to what's going on."
Slate and Vulture want to say Chappelle is too unoriginal and anti-Trump? Guys, in a world where Chelsea Handler and Amy Schumer exists, that literally does not pass the laugh test. Lolgf.
I always thought Chappelle was funny. Yes, he was liberal, of course, but he wasn't obnoxious or woke about it. He was an equally opportunity offender. Then, he kinda faded away for 10 or so years. I will check this out.
he comes from a well connected, if not affluent family, so his routine has a touch of slumming if you get my drift,
inadvertently??? prioritizes political pandering above comedic merit....
Oso Negro said...
The opioid "crisis" is an interesting concoction, to my mind.
I don't really know the deal with prescription opioids vs. street opioids, but if it amounted to anything, I have to think J&J's lawyers would have made a big issue of it.
Part of the reason the pharmaceuticals can be held liable is that they initially buried information on addictive qualities of the drugs. Their behavior reminds people of the tobacco companies' early tactics.
Commenters on this blog will hardly believe it, but there are people who do clapter at Kathy Griffin shows. Amazing, no?
Clapter has ruined comedy, especially standup. Colbert gets nothing but claps and clapter from his choir these days, despite his comedic skill, and Corden follows up in the same vein, sometimes with even the same jokes. The other late night hosts do much the same.
I used to be a huge comedy fan, but now I don't bother with it.
But, but Vice assures me that I Can Definitely Skip Dave Chappelle's New Netflix Special 'Sticks & Stones'
Apparently, Chapelle "chooses to blatantly ignore the historic criticism against his style of comedy and new loud-and-clear criticism from the trans community. His approach comes off like a defiant rejection of change at any cost. As he keeps going down this path, drawing attention to the worst aspects of his important career, the biggest cost will be tarnishing his own legacy."
He didn't just "ignore...criticism...from the trans community." He blatantly ignored it. Blasphemy. He is "tarnishing his own legacy." And of course Taylor Hosking would know more about Chapelle's legacy than himself. Nobody's going to remember how funny Chapelle was. They'll only remember how he refused to prostrate himself before the alter of transmania. Tarnished.
Commenters on this blog will hardly believe it, but there are people who do clapter at Kathy Griffin shows. Amazing, no?
Ha. Griffin's early standup wasn't too bad, especially considering it was a second career for her. And the first few seasons of her Bravo show My Life on the D-List were a pretty funny look at the life of a D-list celebrity. But Griffin's politics have always been pretty naively leftist, and of course in the Donald Trump era, she simply went off a cliff.
Everybody knows you don't go to a comedy show to laugh or enjoy yourself. You go to be lectured about your insufficient wokeness.
Well, if I'm going to be lectured to by my betters I'd at least like to laugh a little.
@Tim Maguire - The pharmaceutical companies have been effectively demonized. Consequently, people who haven't a clue as to what is required to bring a new molecular entity to market can blame them for making and selling, what is in this case, an effective product. Gosh, opioids can be habit-forming? Who could have possibly known, if J&J did not tell them.
Well, if I'm going to be lectured to by my betters I'd at least like to laugh a little.
And who better to answer difficult social problems than....a nightclub comic.
I remember Norm Macdonald (my favorite standup) being interviewed in Vulture: "If you can tell me one funny, socially relevant joke I’d give you a million dollars. Comedians, when they get really good, and nowadays they don’t even have to get good, reach a point where they feel they should be philosophers. I’ve heard it said even that the modern-day philosophers are comedians. I read modern-day philosophers! I’m sure they’re insulted when they’re compared to people who work in smoky nightclubs and hit on waitresses for a living."
Seth Meyers, from what I've seen of him, gets as much clapter as laughter, although I haven't seen him as much as the other late night talkers.
I was distracted by that shortly after the election part. Ah, how shocked and mopey all the smug Hillary lefties were, before derangement syndrome went epidemic. I’m going to look for a good election night montage. Now there’s some clapter for you.
When Norm had his show on Youtube, one of my favorite moments happened when he had Roseanne on and they were reading jokes. Roseanne read a joke (I'm paraphrasing) "You're not gonna believe it, but Bill Maher's got the solution to all of life's problems!"
Re: the Oklahoma opioid verdict, here is the Judge Balkman's full ruling if anyone wishes to read it.
Years ago Comedy Central had a show that was basically comedians talking current events and politics, and I believe it was hosted by Colin Quinn. It wasn't even mildly "woke" because back then there was almost no such thing. Even so, it was pretty much unwatchable. Comedians are at their best when they relate to the audience about fairly mundane everyday things, particularly the unexamined dynamics of personal relationships. That's their expertise: finding what's funny about a regular person's day-to-day life.
They aren't deep thinkers or policy experts.
The rest feels like the comedian shoring up his reputation as an audacious truth-teller. But you can’t help wondering: If the jokes were so funny on their own, would Chappelle have to spend so much time justifying his right to tell them?
Shorter Slate: Chappelle made fun of people we like and that's not funny.
I'll check it out. Thought I never found Chappelle consistently funny - real hit or miss.
Inadvertent? Nonsense.
I was at a comedy club about 15 years ago and the comic's routine started with several minutes of just saying “George Bush”. The clapter was loud. I thought him unfunny, so I just sat there unsmiling, like Althouse at a satire festival.
@bleh - It was called "Tough Crowd". Fantastic show. It had the late great Patrice O'Neal and Greg Giraldo, two of the funniest comics who both died way before their times. I often think about the comedy those two would be turning out in these times.
Kathy G was funny at one point, when she pretended to a show-biz underdog, snarking at the Big shots. But then she let the mask slip, and outed herself as a Left-wing hag who hates anyone who didn't vote for Hillary. If you want smug elite comedy, 100 others do it better. The Trump tweet and her whining and apology/non-apology just showed she was bitter and borderline mentally ill.
Too bad. Letterman was the same way, the "wacky subversive" turned out to be a bitter old Liberal elitist.
Of course, there's Creepy Ol' Dave and his "interns". Nobody wants to imagine Letterman having sex.
The Late night talk show hosts and Comedy Central have gone full bore Leftist. that's not a business decision. The owners would rather bash conservatives 24/7 and lose a few shekels. They can afford it. So much for "Free Enterprise".
If Chappelle can do that, I could probably work up ten minutes on Incestry.com
@Nonapod, yep that's the one, thanks. I really liked Giraldo and O'Neal as comedians, and some of the others who were regulars, but I distinctly remember being bored by all the political discussions. It had a real "man on the street" quality to it, which is fine and preferable to the modern woke equivalent, which is obnoxious know-it-allness and sanctimony.
The early 2000s had some great standup comedians at their peak, now that I think of it. Dave Attell, Jim Gaffigan, Greg Giraldo, Patrice O'Neal, to name a few. And of course Dave Chappelle.
There are places where calling a black man a raconteur can get your ass kicked.
The early 2000s had some great standup comedians at their peak, now that I think of it. Dave Attell, Jim Gaffigan, Greg Giraldo, Patrice O'Neal, to name a few. And of course Dave Chappelle.
Was never a big fan of Gaffigan, but I agree with the rest, particularly Dave Attell. One of my favorite comedy shows in the early 2000s was Insomniac with Dave Attell.
Search "Dave Chappelle + Punching Down" and you get several pages.
VICE: "The jokes were mean and lazy. They were something I never thought I'd see: Dave Chappelle punching down."
The concept of "punching down" is repulsive on several levels. Patronizing to those you consider "down." Arrogant that you can decide who is up and down. Anti-truth, shielding certain facts while promoting others. Censorious. And definitely anti-comedy.
Looks like I have to watch this, if for no other reason than it seems to have offended the correct demographic- something hard to do in comedy these days.
Clapter has ruined comedy, especially standup.
It's mainly limited to big names and to TV. For regular standup, if you can't make them laugh you die.
The comedian sells his self-centered worldview, hard: ...[Louis] C.K. didn’t do anything wrong, because exposing himself to female colleagues isn’t a crime worthy of reporting to the police.
Crime?
Correct me if I'm wrong but it was not in public, LCK asked permission, and didn't restrain.
Workplace "power imbalance" may have weight in civil court, but it's not criminal.
Who is Inkoo Kang and why the hell should anyone care what she/he/xe thinks of Dave Chappelle?
Mike
He didn't just "ignore...criticism...from the trans community." He blatantly ignored it.
All of the best comedians in history altered their acts to please critics, right?
Related: I just read poll findings that show older folks value free speech more than younger. That is a complete inverse of how it used to be. This will of course affect pop culture and the arts.
Fantastic show. It had the late great Patrice O'Neal and Greg Giraldo, two of the funniest comics who both died way before their times.
I'm not a big fan of insult humor, but someone once posted a YouTube video of Giraldo's best lines from Comedy Central Roasts. (Since deleted.)
On Kathy Griffin: "Good to see you, Tranny Bonaduce."
On Farrah Fawcett: "You caused more seed to be spilled than Muhammad Ali trying to fill a bird feeder."
Giraldo was the only reason to watch "Tough Crowd". It really was otherwise unwatchable. Its main selling point was its political incorrectitude, but that turned out mostly to be things like Ralphie May calling calling people gay for driving a rag top.
Speaking of Ralphie May, they say only the good die young, but I've noticed that it's also the fat.
Colin Quinn's show was "Tough Crowd" and Quinn, on that show, was explicitly conservative (e.g., expressing support for Bush, frequently). And he was hilarious, as were several other more or less conservative (or, at the least, non-PC) regulars on Tough Crowd, e.g. Dave Atell, Nick di Paolo, and Greg Giraldo. Liberal comics who appeared on the show did so at their peril, and were regularly demolished by the conservative clique. The show was canceled, naturally, after a brief but memorable run. After that I would go to Quinn's one-man shows, and he was outstanding. But it seems to me that in recent years he has, sadly, veered leftwards.
I found it hilarious that Letterman came back on Nexflix interviewing people because he was an awful interviewer. Here are his guests for Season 2:
Kanye West - Black Singer
Ellen DeGeneres - Gay talk show host
Tiffany Haddish - Black Comedian
Lewis Hamilton - Black British race car driver
Melinda Gates - Billionaire's Wife.
I Love the Mrs. Gates thing. You can never suck up to too many Billionaires.
Quinn is at his best when he works his Irish American shtick, especially when he's ragging on the Boston Irish. As a member of the Chicago Irish tribe (and, btw, Chicago has more Irish Americans than either Boston or New York) I very much appreciated his slamming of the Boston micks, who act like they own the Irish American franchise. Also love the episode on Tough Crowd where he and his guest played a game of pick-up basketball, on set, to settle a bet as to who were better at the game: Irish or blacks.
Also deserving mention, very funny un-PC/quasi-conservative comic on "Tough Crowd": Jim Norton.
There's nothing duller than an Irish-American Drunk. Or more parochial.
I absolutely loved David Letterman. He was by far the most innovative late night show host to come around and did really reinvent the format. Basically deconstructed the conventions of a late night talk show host, though he was phoning it in the last two decades. Most peculiarly, Letterman (like Conan) was a huge Johnny Carson fan, and I never understood his appeal. Though perhaps that's just a generational thing.
I'm surprised that this Chapelle bit is still on YouTube.
The Niggar Family"
“Tough Crowd” was a pretty awful show. Colin Quinn was a trainwreck of a host. I don’t know why but I managed to catch every episode. If something funny ever came out of it, it was usually from a guest, not the host. Cut to many years later when I caught Quinn doing standup comedy live, and it was really surprisingly funny. That seems to be the format where he shines. As for “Tough Crowd” it did expose me to a lot of great standup comedians who were working at the time. Many went on to be huge. So there’s that.
What I remember most about “Tough Crowd” was Colin Quinn bombing and then trying to make an incoherent joke about it, and thus bombing again. It was an incredible thing to witness night after night, which may have been part of the appeal for me. Good to know he’s actually funny if you put him infront of a nughtclub audience.
James Clapter is indeed terrible. He ought to be in prison.
"though he was phoning it in the last two decades. “
yep, and yep to your first comment about him
"There are places where calling a black man a raconteur can get your ass kicked." - Rabel.
That was funny! It certainly would have in the neighborhood(s) where I grew up.
I thought Chappelle’s job was to make people laugh, not serve as a soldier in the army of the woke.
"Also love the episode on Tough Crowd where he and his guest played a game of pick-up basketball, on set, to settle a bet as to who were better at the game: Irish or blacks." - Roughcoat
Who was the guest? Steve Urkel?
Translation: he is funny and courageous, cancel him.
Where is the fact checking for each of his jokes? Or we do go to Snopes for that?
Not everyone can be stay on message all the time, maybe he needs a teleprompter and a better speechwriter.
Farmer
Letterman! My respect for you just dropped two notches.
There's nothing duller than an Irish-American Drunk. Or more parochial.
Brilliant insight. And necessary.
@Ken B:
Farmer
Letterman! My respect for you just dropped two notches.
I'll live. You don't have to agree with someone's politics to enjoy them as an entertainer. Plus I agreed that Letterman has not done a good job for two decades. I'm also a big fan of Howard Stern but find the current iteration of Hampton Howie's show unlistenable.
Farmer was in diapers when Letterman was innovative.
Farmer
You're a Robin Williams fan too I suppose? Jerry Lewis?
Farmer was in diapers when Letterman was innovative.
I wasn't even alive when Get Smart was on the air, and yet when I was a kid, it was my favorite TV show. And I have the 3rd grade composition book to prove it!
I didn't know who this guy was, but after reading AA's lead-in, I think I'll continue to ignore him.
@Ken B:
You're a Robin Williams fan too I suppose? Jerry Lewis?
Was never a big fan of Robin Williams' standup. A little too manic and coked up for my tastes. But I did like his acting and loved Mork & Mindy. Jerry Lee Lewis, no. But I did like early Diceman, which was nothing more than Dice's impersonation of the Buddy Love character from The Nutty Professor.
p.s. My favorite standup comic is Norm Macdonald.
Saw Chappelle in Seattle, geez, 15-20 years ago. Wasn't particularly funny as he simply mailed it in.
Lewis Black opened. He killed it.
I was alive and a kid when Get Smart was on the air, and it was a favourite. Missed it by that much. Vee don’t pffft here! Larabie. Cone of silence.
Robin Williams, Jerry Lewis, David Letterman are all variations of the same comic, “aren’t I funny?” is the essence of their act.
I got the clapter from a toilet seat in Frisco, but I wasn't the only one.
@Ken B:
I was alive and a kid when Get Smart was on the air, and it was a favourite. Missed it by that much. Vee don’t pffft here! Larabie. Cone of silence.
Would you believe...?
Robin Williams, Jerry Lewis, David Letterman are all variations of the same comic, “aren’t I funny?” is the essence of their act.
You could probably throw Chevy Chase on that list as well, but I loved his 80s output, especially Fletch. As my mother is fond of saying, "opinions are like assholes. Everybody's got one, and everyone thinks everyone else's stinks."
Letterman was great until he moved over to CBS. He never got over not getting Carson's slot. He became unwatchable after W Bush's election.
"p.s. My favorite standup comic is Norm Macdonald."
Norm is my favorite comedian, by far, but not based on his actual standup. I base that on (1) his performances as a guest on late night shows, and yes those appearances count as "performances"; (2) Weekend Update, of course; and (3) his recent output, esp. his podcast. Norm's shtick involves a lot of droning on like some crazy old goat, and generally it works better for him to be sitting down.
I wasn't even alive when Get Smart was on the air, and yet when I was a kid, it was my favorite TV show. And I have the 3rd grade composition book to prove it!
That's kind of funny, since the humor on that show revolved around spy tropes from Bond movies and earlier shows like The Man From U.N.C.L.E and I Spy.
My favorite solo comedian was Richard Pryor. Obviously Monty Python is the greatest comedy act ever.
Kinison was funny. He'd cause riots and heart attacks now. Wish he were here!
I call this, the Garrison Keillor syndrome (well, i called it that back when people liked him)
When Prairie Home Companion started; Garrison would do his monologue, and it was kinda funny (sometimes, at least). When he said something good, people would respond (clap, laugh, etc).
Once he became an idol, people started responding to EVERYTHING he said, because It MUST HAVE Been Good, Garrison Said it!. When that happens (clapping to ANYTHING, whether it's good or not); a performer can no longer tell WHAT'S Good: Everything gets the same response.
At that point, the performer can no longer produce; he just coasts on inertia.
I feel, that negative responses are As (if Not MORE) important to a performer than Positive responses; for without them, the performer is LOST. Performers NEED Guidance .
For a corollary, think about 'Participation Trophies'
I remember the likes of maher stewart, randy credico, (later turned out to be a WikiLeaks conduit) ray romano, et al, how some ended idiot and others woke court jesters,
@Bob Loblaw:
That's kind of funny, since the humor on that show revolved around spy tropes from Bond movies and earlier shows like The Man From U.N.C.L.E and I Spy.
Yeah, I had a bit of spy obsession when I was a kid. I was a huge fan of the Bond franchise and owned all the Tyco Toys' spy gear. I did not see either of the shows you mentioned until later, but I was simultaneously a fan of the cartoon Inspector Gadget, voiced by Don Adams and also about a bumbling detective.
"The opioid crisis makes him understand how white people felt during the crack epidemic, because 'I don’t care, either.’"
That’s funny. I am guessing by the tenor of this article that the show is not sufficiently anti-Trump.
"Most peculiarly, Letterman (like Conan) was a huge Johnny Carson fan, and I never understood his appeal."
Good deconstructionists know they need somebody to build things which they can then subvert. Great deconstructionists recognize that subversion is a poor derivative of creation.
Mike
"After that I would go to Quinn's one-man shows, and he was outstanding. But it seems to me that in recent years he has, sadly, veered leftwards."
He's pretty much a centrist in Red State, Blue State.
Watching it. It’s pretty funny. He starts the show with an “impression” of somebody like Simple Jack who is going through people’s past to find anything at all whatsoever to destroy them.
LOL again. “Kevin is four tweets short of being perfect.”
“I’m sure there are a lot of gay men here tonight.... with their wives."
“Clearly Kevin was joking...”
Never take on the Twitter mob or they are going to give you a bad review.
Watch it. It might go downhill, but it’s pretty good so far.
Anyone who hasn't seen Dave Chapelle ought to start with his "BasketbaLL with Prince" on YouTube. Eddie Murphy's brother Charlie was the one who came up with the premise, and it's brilliant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff8LEx9Mw54
(Charlie died young, of Leukemia, just a few months ago.)
Then there's the sketch where he's a blind black guy who thinks he's white, and is a Klan member.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7oXFmuUHLQ
That special was extremely funny. Jesse Smollet stuff was hilarious.
Wife and I watched this today. It's terrific.
No clapter, except when he says he supports a woman's right to choose....but wait, there's a twist.
Just watch it. It's great. (But it's vulgar as heck.)
Liberal comics fighting PC culture. Winning
Well, I thoroughly enjoyed that.
I dunno, it was funny.
I only realized how good Carson was when he left. He was miles ahead of everyone else in just talking to his guests and playing straight man to the funny ones.
I love Chapelle's signature jumpsuit. It's like a weird Elvis thing.
The special is very funny. Really builds up steam when he gets to Kevin Hart and a heartwarming long subtle joke with a terrific punchline to end end it. Great ending.
Thanks Anne!
I just watched it, first comedy I have watched in years.
Funny, thought provoking, and very vulgar.
Scott Adams in his vlog today instructs his viewers to watch it
Top comedian at top of his game
Griffin worked with Adams as "Alice" on his Dilber show
He did not say this about Griffin
I hope you mean that Adams suggests his viewers watch it, not “instructs.” I have never watched one of his vlogs. Is it some kind of cult?
@AAT
Yes.
He is about half very insightful, and half uninformed dopey dope. Or maybe just foolish. Example (and, ironically, this same thing appears in Chappelle's comedy): Men should leave the abortion issue to women. See? Foolish, like men can't have intelligent opinions about abortion.
Overall, he's interesting to listen to.
The absolute balls of the Left to complain about clapter after elevating Stewart, Colbert, and Kimmel to the pinnacle of both comedy and Media generally! I'm almost impressed. That degree of unselfawareness is not something I would have thought metaphysically possible, honestly.
Breaking news: political pandering pretending to be comedy is bad starting....now!
Ridiculous.
And you don't DARE to be the first to stop clapting.
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