“So long fried rice, hello fried chicken”: Dave Chappelle and Cultural Appropriation
Cameron Conner
Spenser Simrill
1 May 2015
English 1102
The term “culture” categorically divides the world’s population into groups defined by race and experiences. For instance, a person raised in the slums of New York City would be considered to have a different “culture” than that of a white middle class suburbanite. Yes, both of these people experience vastly different upbringings, but we tend to judge a culture based on the color of ones’ skin. It would be like judging the taste of an M&M based on its color, and yet, there are those (strange) people that still think the blue tastes different than the green.
In 2003, Dave Chappelle, a comedian from Washington D.C., began his own show that often focused on cultural and racial differences. Chappelle used brief but hard hitting skits to speak to his audience. These skits were often drowned in satire and situational irony. For instance, a skit called “Clayton Bigsby: The Black White Supremacist” aired on Chappelle’s Show in 2003.[1]
“For the last 15 years a man named Clayton Bigsby has been the leading voice in the white supremacist movement in America”
The skit is centered on a Frontline interview of a blind, African-American male, named Clayton Bigsby who believes he is Caucasian. But not only does he believe he’s white, he is a proud white supremacist equipped with a KKK get-up and some popular novels (Nigger Stain, Nigger Book, and Dump Truck just to name a few) that are apparently widely accepted in the American South. But as Bigsby is quick to remind the interviewer, “I’ve written 6 books, they've published 4”.
“How could this have happened?… A black white supremacist.”
“Yeah, let me tell you, putting something like that out there is scary man,” says Chappelle when asked about the skit in a 2013 interview, “That show was like, listen, if you don’t like that, you’re not gonna like [Chappelle’s Show].” Chappelle was then asked whether or not Clayton Bigsby was a good test for the show, to which he responded, “Not a test as much as a manifesto or a mission statement.”[2]
“Clayton Bigsby: The White Supremacist” aired in the very first episode of Chappelle’s Show. It was made clear from the beginning that controversial skits would be a regular occurrence on the show.
“What would you say is the overall message of your books?” the “Frontline” interviewer asks Bigsby.
“Sir, my message is simple, Niggers (pronounced ‘Naggers’ by Bigsby, and perhaps an inspiration to a popular South Park episode), Jews, Homosexuals, Mexicans, A-Rabs, and all kinds of different chinks STINK and I hate ‘em”.
“So, we figured we’d make it easier on Clayton by just telling him and all the other blind kids, that he was white.”
The blatant and flat out racism provided by Bigsby establishes a truly interesting narrative as told by Chappelle. First, he is taking a shot at racists. Bigsby can give no reason to hate other races other than “they stink” and that he hates them. An Ad Hominem attack is the most basic logical fallacy and is easy to dismiss due to its lack of foundation. Bigsby can provide no basis for his hate.
Secondly, Chappelle shows that people are all the same; creeds and races don’t matter. The hate in Bigsby stems from his cultural upbringing. Unaware of his true race, he has been raised to believe that he hates everyone who is not white, when in fact he himself is not white.
“Nature vs. Nurture” was a term coined by the late Francis Galton, the half-cousin of Charles Darwin. The term seeks to determine whether or not our psychological behaviors are a product of personal experience (nurture) or merely acquired hereditarily (nature).[3][4] Bigsby’s racism is not an innate quality that he possesses. He has grown up in a racist society and therefore has become a product of his environment. In the grand scheme of things, Chappelle is showing that racism in general is not a hereditary trait. We are all born knowing no difference between each other and therefore pass no judgment until experience has morphed our beliefs. Thus, racism is nurtured.
The second part of the skit portrays the challenges of being a black white supremacist. At a gas station, some back-woods “shifty go-betweens”, who appear to have just stepped off the set of Deliverance (cue the banjo), begin to chastise Clayton. Unaware that he is the one who is in danger, he begins antagonizing someone he can’t see because surely these bumpkins aren’t talking to him.
“That dirty monkey was beating my hood!”
“White Power!”
Eventually, Bigsby is forced to reveal his identity at his book signing. He removes his KKK hood and to the surprise of the audience… he is black. One fellow supremacist has his head explode because he can’t fathom what he has witnessed.
“Show us your face, we want to see your face!”
But perhaps the most important scene comes in the form of an exchange with some doofy white boys bumping rap with the hood down. The one behind the wheel wears a visor turned sideways while rocking some baggy clothes. As Clayton Bigsby pulls up on the side he starts yelling to tell them to turn the music down.
“WOOGIE BOOGIE NIGGER! WOOGIE BOOGIE!”
At which point, the driver of the loud vehicle turns to one of the passengers and asks,
“Did he just call us niggers? Awesome!” And then proceeds to dap up his bud.
Here, we have a black man, who has adopted a racist white culture, yelling at white guys who have adopted a popular black culture. While Bigsby believes he is offending the hooligans, he is in fact complimenting them because he has called them what they are striving to be. This is a phenomenon known as “cultural appropriation”.
“You know what’s cool about being an American? We all mixed up. I’m talking about gentically. We all got a little bit of something in us.”
In 2004, Chappelle’s Show aired a skit entitled “Racial Draft- Natural Selection of the millenia”. The draft is set up like a professional sports draft. Complete with the ESPN theme music and a familiar looking panel of commentators.
“And believe it or not the blacks have actually won the first pick.”
“Wow, that’s the first lottery a black person has won in a long time Billy”
“Yes, and they’ll probably still complain” (laughter)
(also laughing) “Man f*ck you”
The premise of the draft is to finally decide where pop culture icons, sports players, and musicians stand in terms of their race.
With the first pick, the blacks select Tiger Woods, much to the dismay of the Asian community. After cheating on his wife with more than a dozen women and then having his wife beat the shit out of him with a 9 iron (talk about “taste of your own medicine”), Tiger Woods checked into a sexual addiction rehabilitation center and eventually was divorced by his then wife. If the draft happened today instead of 2004, it’s doubtful that Tiger would be selected first overall. But hindsight is 20/20.[5][6]
“Foshizzle”
With his new-found race Tiger (played by Chappelle) stands proudly at the podium and declares “So long fried rice, hello fried chicken” as the words “Tiger Woods: Now 100% black are shown across the bottom of the screen”.
Just as the white guys in the car are happy to be called “niggers”, Tiger Woods shows the same enthusiasm to be able to say the phrase “foshizzle”.
The idea of cultural identity interweaves and juxtaposes the two skits perfectly. In one, there is a group of white kids who have mistakenly been confused for blacks. As a result, the boys are quite pleased. In the Racial Draft, Tiger Woods (half-black) is just pleased to finally be able to call a race his own. In both skits, the parties are happy to be selected to their respective races.
Chappelle provides an even deeper analysis of the psyche. We are not happy in our own skin. Tiger was not happy being part of a mixed-race, but can now happilly say “foshizzle” because he is “100% black.”
Humor provides more truth than can be seen at face-value. Comedians can say what they want, because we, as the audience, perceive them as merely joking. In all actuality, a comic can sneak in grains of truth to form a whole. Dave Chappelle for years spoke on the differences and complexities of race. You just didn't know it because he covered his meanings with jokes.
The other picks include Lenny Kravitz the the Jews, Elian Gonzales (the Cuban boy who swam to Florida, where he was safe, but was then taken back to Cuba when his father claimed custody) to the Latinos, and the whites take Collin Powell on the condition that they also take Condoleeza Rice.[7]
The last pick belongs to the Asian delegation. As the man in a traditional appearing garb steps up to the podium he begins to list the names of the members of the Wu-Tang Clan.
“The RZA, The GZA, U-God, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, The Wu-Tang Clan”
In the year 1992, the Wu-Tang Clan formed in Staten Island, New York. What would eventually become the most influential hip-hop group in history started with some young friends who never knew anything other than the streets. Members RZA (pronounced “rizza”) and Ol’ Dirty Bastard were incredibly fond of Kung-fu movies while growing up. Thus, they based the name of their rap group off of an action movie entitled Shaolin and Wutang.
Their love of kung-fu movies played a central role in their music as well. Their breakthrough (legend/classic/God-sent/orgasmic/greatest-hip-hop-album-of-all-time) album Enter the Wu-tang (36 Chambers) held a loose theme of the “Shaolin” vs the Wu-tang. The “Shaolin” aspect of the album represents the slums in which they grew up. While in the movies they enjoyed as kids had two enemies fighting agasint each other (Wu-tang and Shaolin), it became so much more to members RZA, GZA, Inspectah Deck, Raekwon, Method Man, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, U-God, Ghostface Killah, and Masta Killa.
To the Clan (bow down) it was the Streets vs. Them (Shaolin and Wu-tang). The Wu-Tang clan had taken an aspect of Chinese culture and turned it into their own struggles and their own battles.[8]
The Clan (all praise) represents Chappelle’s idea of appropriation in a more effective and realistic manner. Tiger being drafted by the blacks is humorous. The Clan uses their new culture to define themselves in a way to help them cope with the circumstances they’ve been dealt.
Whether or not you agree with the skit’s evident division between cultures, there is one thing that is undeniable. These skits are funny no matter where you come from. By steering into stereotypes, Chappelle has created a type of humor that allows us to laugh at ourselves and enjoy the product he puts out there.
References:
- Chappelle’s Show at IMDB; accessed February 5, 2015.
- “Inside the Actor’s Studio Interview.” Genius. Accessed February 5, 2015.
- English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture — Sir Francis Galton — Google Boeken. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2013–12–23
- Ridley, M. (2003) Nature via Nurture: Genes, Experience, & What Makes Us Human. Harper Collins.ISBN 0–00–200663–4
- “Tiger Woods admits “transgressions,” apologizes”. Reuters. December 2, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2012
- Rude, Jeff (March 17, 2010). “Woods’ return shows he’s ready to win”. Fox Sports. Retrieved March 23,2010.
- “Elian’s relatives at war”. BBC News. April 18, 2000
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas; Prato, Greg (2007). “Wu-Tang Clan — Biography”.AllMusic. Retrieved December 15, 2010
