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Dave Chappelle in Sticks and Stones.
Photo: Mathieu Bitton / Netflix
Dave is back. Dave Chappelle – whom you may know by the name of Half cooked man or the bitch "Rick James" or the creator of one of the best comedies on the planet – is back, and he always makes fun of the anthills with his … joke … stick? My point is, Chappelle has a new special, Sticks and Stones, and the critics were a resounding "meh". He comes across a familiar and edgy territory, but he is more provocative about it this time. He is proud of his trans jokes, discards the canceled culture and defends the status of celebrity. All in all, he is a very rich old man who shouts to today's kids out of his huge lawn.
Why does Chappelle seem so disconnected? Yes, he is rich enough not to have to confuse him with the hoi polloi, although I am sure he appreciates the dollars we give him for the concerts. He does not even have that age – he just turned 46 on August 24. His bristles on his chest probably start to turn gray.
My friend recently mentioned on Twitter her surprise at the age of Chappelle. I tweeted my theory that Chappelle would probably be dealing with an unexpected aspect of the Middle Ages: the hardening of your vision of the world, for better or for worse. This highly scientific theory is based on me – my favorite test subject. I'm not Chappelle, but I'm a comedian in my forties, and for some time I've been spending a lot of time whispering, "Now it's a mess, my daughter.
This is not a defense or approval of Chappelle. He's going to say what he means, and I'm a comic, so my metric is usually "But was it funny?" It's just … man, the 40s are such a forgotten age, you know? There are a lot of rumors about moving to 40, and once you're there, it's as if you do not exist. Nobody wants to answer your questions. they just keep telling you to "googles". The next thing you know, you're at a meeting and you say something like, "If you're not a sex, how will you know what to wear for your office job?" And everyone will think , Whoa, has that old clueless man been here all the time?
A midlife crisis is not just about buying a ridiculous car, getting into the gym, or leaving your wife. (This does not just happen to men, Hollywood, but we do not have the time.) We realize that after 30 years of Go Go To Voice (and ten years of decreasing returns) , the world stopped listening. So when you speak confidently about music, sports or dating based on what it has always been and a young person informs you of what he is now, he can turn you on your heels . A decision must be made: Am I in the mood to think and adjust, or will I get on my heels because that's what I've always known?
It was particularly shocking for me because I always (maybe stupidly) thought of myself at the forefront of progress. I am not closed minded! I am hip! Look at the pro-choice bumper stickers on my Honda Prelude! Look at my t-shirt "STR8 BUT NOT RARROW"! But all of a sudden, you hit 44 and you're told, "Actually, it's LGBTQIA," and without thinking, you find yourself rolling your eyes and muttering, "What's with all the letters?" What happened to just "gay"? "(Oddly enough, repression tends to start with the change of verbiage – oh, how do we hang on to our labels!)
Maybe that's why it's surprising to hear Chappelle today. We have a habit of seeing Dave skillfully walking through the minefields, with heart and humor. The defensive gives him the air of the fork. And maybe it's there. But I also understand where he comes from. I am here to try to be funny with a lot of young people, and sometimes I am bored by their novelty too. I transform these moments of ornament into material.
Full Disclosure: I honestly thought about officewear stuff. Not for a joke – it was a real thought. More Comprehensive Disclosure: I am currently working (or stuck, depending on the degree of filling of your half-empty glass) at a joke in which I say some of those wacky thoughts as examples of my brain spinning on me. I'm stuck because I'm trying to find this triad of laughter, connection and compassion. I want you to crack, bend your head and whisper "Yes!" Even if you have never experienced what I describe. I am often aware of how I play in different generations, and although I rarely let that stop me from telling a joke, it nevertheless influences the framing of my content. I say to Gen Z, "Hey, here's why your parents make clumsy jokes about your friends. The world is moving too fast for them and their elbow hurts for some reason. "I say to the older millennia:" Yes, you set the tone now, but you will inevitably be pushed aside and you may not be ready. And I say to Gen X: "Hey, I know it makes some currents. Air, but do not close your mind for the moment. There is more to learn. Remains fluid. The children say that I use this word correctly.
Fortunately, I am changing midlife by avoiding most people. But there will come a day when I'm going to be tired of being so careful, and I'm just going to say what I mean, feelings are cursed. And there will be people who will agree with me and laugh very hard because they too are tired of being cautious. And I'm going to start publishing albums with titles like Well, It was not like that before or Why are you constantly changing shit? I look forward to this freedom and I can only hope that my old unfiltered self is really as cool as my young self worked feverishly.
Shalewa Sharpe is a Brooklyn-based comedian. She appeared on HBO 2 Dope Queens and Comedy Central The new Negroes and recently released his second album, So, are you coming right here? She can be found on Twitter, Instagramand Venmo at @ Silkyjumbo.
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