Roughly a month ago, I remember hearing some drama about Dave Chappelle, whom people often refer to as one of the greatest comedians of all time, and his latest Netflix special, The Closer.
Apparently, the show triggered a particularly sensitive community.
So my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to watch his special.
Now up until that point, I never watched any of Dave Chappelle’s stand-up shows before, so I watched it with my mind as open as possible.
But what did I think of it? Well, two things:
1. Good for him for not giving in to the critics and apologizing.
2. I love the way he tells his stories.
I’ve watched many other stand-up shows from other comedians, whether I found myself, attended live, or were sent from friends. Most, if not all the comedians, kept the topics light-hearted. And then you walk away thinking, “That was a pretty funny show!”
But Dave Chappelle goes beyond that. He went into topics that most people would be afraid of going into. He wasn’t afraid to make people in the audience feel uncomfortable.
And when you walk away from his special, not only will you think it was funny (Depending on who you are), but he’ll also make you think and challenge your own beliefs.
In my opinion, he did that very well.
Another comedian, Patrice O’Neal, who unfortunately hasn’t been with us for a while now, once said this (Paraphrased):
Half the room should be dying laughing, and the other half should be mortified.
Not many comedians can do that to the audience, but I believe Dave Chappelle has that ability after watching more of his sets.
Personally, I try to incorporate this into my emails from time to time, and the times I did, I would often get higher engagement.
Try it for yourself while using my email copywriting methods.
Here’s where to go to learn more about it.