Social Issues In Dave Chappele's Killin Them Softly

Dave Chappele is an iconic American stand up comedian, and actor from the DC area. Chappele was only 14 years old when he began doing stand up comedy at open mics, at an early age it was obvious with his lighthearted manner and fearless jokes that he had a knack for making people laugh. Chappelle graduated from the Duke Ellington School of Arts in 1991, Afterwards Chappele moved to New York city in hopes of taking his stand up comedy to the next level. Chappelle performed at Harlem Apollo Theater, and was booed off stage he was devastated to hit rock bottom once again in his life, but Chappele remained undeterred and continued to improve his craft. His sensational talent and undaunted approach helped him rise up to become one of the most revered

In this film Chappeple discusses a variety of pressing social issues including drug abuse, police brutality and racism. The rhetor in this particular stand up was no other than Dave Chappele. The audience were the viewers of the stand up film and everybody else who saw the film after its release. The overarching purpose of this stand up was to shed light on social issues millions of Americans are faced with on a regular basis but in a charming way that could make anybody laugh. The context of this television film was the current racial atmosphere in the United States following the notorious crack epidemic, and the election of former president Bill

Climax is when a series of events and clauses build up to a point of unbearable dramatic tension leading to a pivotal turning point. Chappele and his friend Chip, which he mentioned was a “white guy”, were smoking marijuana in New York city, and the two happened to be lost. Unexpectedly a police car pulls up behind their car. The two were shocked by this. However, Chip made the ill-advised decision to get out of the car and, “ Ask them for directions ”. Chapple was dumbfounded by what he said and insisted that he stayed in the car. Chip approaches the police officer and before even asking for directions admits to being intoxicated. Chips asks the officer where Third Street is. The officer responded by saying, “ Hey Take it easy… You’re on Thirds Street ”. The officer then tells Chip to leave, and that was the end of the story. The sequence of events instilled suspense and fear just for an anticlimactic ending none of the audience members were anticipating. Chapple was stunned as a result of this encounter because, “ A Black man would never dream of talking to the police". The notion of interacting with law enforcement under the influence is preposterous for good reasons but because of racial inequality certain people have the privilege of getting away with things that other people would be punished for. Chappele is intentionally illustrating what's called a