Ideological Criticism of "The Dave Chappelle Show"

Ideological Criticism of "The Dave Chappelle Show"

Why is it so important that the black comedian make fun of the European or white race? It seems like the main or sometimes only focus of black comedians jokes are to put down or make the white race the butt of each joke. My thesis is mainly focused on the ethnicity approach of Dave Chappelle's comedic tactics that seem to point directly at white society more than half of the time.

Many blacks could care less that African American comics talk bad about white people; they feel that many whites or the white community deserve it. This may be easy for some people to look pass but not me. I feel that the discourse (socially-based belief structures; Butler 7-8) of the black comedian is to make fun of the life style of whites in society. Dave Chappelle is a prime example of this type of comedic technique.

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Dave Chappelle in 2007.

Dave Chappelle in 2007.

I want to first discuss the post-structuralism (How the structure of TV/text has an effect on audience; Allen 26) of the Dave Chappelle show and its contrast to the audience in many different ways. I would also like to turn attention to the manifest content (In a content analysis of a television text, the characters and their actions; Butler 336) and how the characters are used to signify a certain meaning when making jokes about whites. Finally I want to show how historical world (The reality that is processed, selected, ordered, and interpreted by nonfiction television programs; Butler 61) of this show effects the discourse of white society and how non-whites look at white Americans because of the show. These are my main points and I will find evidence to support the analysis of the Dave Chappelle show and its actions contrasted to the...