Carl Joshua Ncube weighs in on Dave Chappelle ‘disappointment’

Celebrated Zimbabwean comedian Carl Joshua Ncube has added his voice to the drama around Dave Chappelle’s Netflix special, The Closer.

This comes after another Zimbabwean comedian Samm ‘Comrade Fatso’ Monro expressed his disappointment with Chappelle over views expressed in the special.

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Comrade Fatso says he is ‘disappointed’ with Dave Chappelle. Here are some thoughts

And then Carl said this:

Let me preface my response or view of this Dave Chappelle saga by explaining stand up comedy comedy writing or comedy. Firstly the craft of stand up comedy is a difficult skill, to paint a picture of the observation of humans and humanity in a 5min 10 or 1hr performance. Unlike film, stand up has one person – pay attention – one person playing many points of views to an audience that has resigned itself to this performer. Again let me be clear, Performer! That being said.

Dave Chappelle’s recent Netflix special The Closer, is a masterful transition of stand up comedy and blurring of lines by the audience who are taken not only through a performance but the behind the scenes of what makes funny. Dave took every conceivable stereotype a comedian has at his disposal religion, gender, race, politics, history and weaves a narrative to educate his audience on the world of uncertainty we live in. Life is uncertain, economies uncertain, race relations uncertain, uncertain movements and an uncertain gender community seeking to define itself by the sum of its parts.

What Dave then does is to show you something most audiences don’t know is the humanity of comedy. You see on stage there are some great acts clean acts but terrible humans off stage. Some sound like assholes on stage but in reality are some of the greatest people I have met. To me Dave clearly shows this tragic misalignment of Humanity and Performance and to make you understand this gibberish I will simplify by saying…

A good comic or good comedy is when the writer and or performer sacrifice opinion, sides and perspective to bring out the gravity of a topic.

In Chapelle’s case he presents himself as a bitchslapping asshole with issues with any and every diverse group of humans on the planet… That’s performance. The humanity he takes us through is sharing his feelings and going back to how his performance is attacked, that sad story he tells (won’t spoil it for everyone)…this special to me showed why he is the Greatest Of All Time.

Offended, yes you can be offended, but that’s because you would have ceased watching a performance and sacrificed your night to confuse his performance as a reflection of his humanity.

I follow Dave Chappelle not as a comic but as a powerful voice off the stage building others careers, advocating for various causes. When you know the human Dave you will realise just how great a performer he is.

To balance theatre, message, controversy and his humanity I give The Closer 10/10.

Fire away in the comments.

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