Dave Chappelle’s ‘Sticks & Stones’: does comedy have a social responsibility?

Iconic US comedian Dave Chappelle is back with a new Netflix special, Sticks & Stones, and it has lit up the internet, with clashes between those who love it and those who hate it.

Mostly, the mixed reception is centred around Chappelle’s stance on some of the major issues of our day – outrage culture, transgenderism, controversial celebrities like Michael Jackson, sexual assault – you name it, there was a gag about it. But, given the controversy, it does beg the question as to whether comedians have a responsibility to consider the subjects they use in the jokes they tell; is there a social responsibility to comedy?

The special was released without much fanfare, and most people weren’t aware of it until a particularly angry article from Vice. Titled ‘You Can Definitely Skip Dave Chappelle’s New Netflix Special’, Taylor Hosking slates Sticks & Stones because of the targets of Chappelle’s jokes, stating that it “takes the comic’s anti-wokeness schtick to a new level”.

Many reviews echoed the sentiment – Inkoo Kang for Slate compared Chappelle to “a rascally uncle who doesn’t know, or doesn’t care, how much he’s disappointing you”, and Ian Thomas Malone said that his set sounded like “a pundit on Fox News”. It debuted on Rotten Tomatoes with a 0% critic approval, before climbing to 25% a few days later.

For these critics, Chappelle’s comedy isn’t good because the jokes hit the wrong targets, regardless of whether it makes people laugh

The audience response was also unanimous, but in the opposite direction – Sticks & Stones currently holds a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with viewers singing its praises. And, if you look closely at the viewer reviews, two major recurring themes emerge. Firstly, Chappelle isn’t afraid to be offensive, and go after targets that other comedians wouldn’t. But secondly, and more importantly, audiences are finding it incredibly funny.

This divide can be explained in part by what the respective groups are expecting from the comedy. It’s reasonable to say that most people watching a comedy special expect to be amused, to see jokes that’ll make them laugh. But the critics slated the special not based on whether it was funny, but on the object of his jokes.

Hocking criticises Chappelle because “he chooses to blatantly ignore the historic criticism against his style of comedy and new loud-and-clear criticism from the trans community”, and Kang says that Chappelle doesn’t realise “his viewpoints have gotten stale”. For these critics, Chappelle’s comedy isn’t good because the jokes hit the wrong targets, regardless of whether it makes people laugh.

Some of our best comedy has come from comedians pushing boundaries and joking about taboo subjects

There’s an unwritten rule in comedy that it’s funnier to punch up – think of the jester, making fun of the king. The question now is what exactly constitutes ‘up’ – as Chappelle rallies against cancel culture (in which people go after someone who said something bad in their past, until they apologise/lose their job/both), the same critics who promulgate it attack him. The major cultural force in western society is on the left, and it shouldn’t be surprising that its censorious ways come under fire from comedians – really, the biggest shock is that it’s taken until now for someone to target it. Most comedians find it easier to kowtow to the media, rather than risk their careers by making controversial jokes.

This turn towards ‘respectful’ comedy is marked by another emergence, which is really harming the scene – a move towards ‘clapter’. Roughly speaking, a comedian doesn’t make a joke so much as a politically-loaded statement to an audience that agrees with them – the audience applauds in response. There’s no joke at all – instead, we have pandering.

Watch contemporary comedians saying that Donald Trump or Brexit is bad – frequently, that’s the end of the ‘gag’, but the audience whoops and screams its approval. But this comedy, despite its pretences of speaking truth to power, is toothless – there’s no bravery in going for an easy target.

Does comedy have a social responsibility? Perhaps, but it’s primary concern should always be making people laugh, and every subject should be on the table to enable them to do so. It’s a shame if comedians start to feel as though they should just steer clear of certain subjects for ease or to avoid a backlash. Some of our best comedy has come from comedians pushing boundaries and joking about taboo subjects – as new taboos come into play, we need comedians more than ever to joke about them.