Dave Chappelle's Block Party- Keepin' Black Music Alive

September 18th, 2005- imagine a backside block in Brooklyn, New York, where over 5,000 people of differing ethnicities gather together to see various artists and musicians “keep black music alive.” Kids in maroon and gold uniforms stride in towards the stage; they are supercharged, overflowing with the babble and commotion of rudely alive inspirational music spewing out of their instruments. And leading this whole ensemble is the one, and only, Dave Chappelle. The Central State University’s Drum Line Marching Band is leading into a legacy of historical performances set up by the unfazed, newfound Chappelle. Where Kanye West’s performance leads up to the reunited Fugees, this is “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party.”

Yet, a year prior to this sensational show Dave painted a picture of someone struggling to come to terms with his position and power as well as with the people around him. Not knowing if his satiric take on race, sex and pop culture was getting too profane, or offensive.

Back in 2004, Dave Chappelle was holding the reins on “The Chappelle’s Show,” a sketch comedy program that received huge ratings. But on April 28th, 2005, he walked away from his program and vanished into speculation. Going on his third season for Comedy Central, the show worth a $50 million deal, was put on hold. Not even his publicist, agent, or writing partner knew where he had gone. Christopher John Farley of TIME Magazine asked, “ Why did you take a break?” Dave responded, “My personal feeling is I didn't like the direction of the show. I was trying to explain it to people, and no one was feeling me. There's a lot of resistance to my opinions, so I decided, Let me remove myself from this situation. You hear so many voices jockeying for position in your mind that you want to make sure that you hear your own voice. So I figured, let me just cut myself off from everybody, take a minute and pull a Flintstone—stop a speeding car by using my bare feet as the brakes.”

By fleeing to Durban, South Africa, Chappelle may have found some peace of mind, but he threatened a career for which he has long yearned. Yet, that same year, he held an old school block party in Brooklyn, inviting some of the most intelligent, and classiest hip-hop acts to perform. Having his newfound total and creative freedom, he invited Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, The Roots, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Kanye West, Dead Prez, and the reunited Fugees, for a knock out performance. So “Dave Chappelle’s Block Party” is a chronicling of the party and events prior to it.

Three days before the blowout, Dave went to his old hometown of Dayton, Ohio to give out free “golden” tickets, accommodation, and travel to people in his ’hood. Yet some of them still refused this amazing opportunity, claming that, “ rap music composes a lot of foul music which is not proper for children or adults.” But I find this to be a generalization that is completely untrue. Sure, many “gangster rappers” may dive into vulgarity and glorification of violence more than necessary, but this isn’t all rap and hip-hop musicians. Michael Eric Dyson states, “For many black and white Americans, hip hop culture crudely symbolizes the problems of urban black youth.” And within the context of mainstream media and pop culture, hip-hop/ rap carries a message of anger, vulgarity, sexism, misogyny, sexual promiscuity, domestic abuse, parental disrespect, rejection of authority, glorification of violence, as well as drug use, rape and murder. Yet, it is not a racial divide, because as Dyson states this is thought among blacks and white Americans. Although, In Block Party, the performers are presented as average people, not all “blinged” and “iced out,” covered in diamonds and designer gear. They are only there to appeal to the audience by what they possess, their outstanding skill in music, art, and performance.

In one of the interviews, The Roots describes how, before any of them had record deals, they and many of the other artists used to run in the same circles in Brooklyn and jam together at hip hop clubs. It shows on stage. These are seasoned performers and they like each other. They’re not trying to outsell each other, they are just joking around with Dave, as he pretends to sing, prank, and go off with his hilarious antics on stage.

After seeing Dave Chappelle like this, on stage killing this performance, it makes me wonder why did he went on his hasty hiatus? Was it all due to the pressure of execs and contracts? Or was he losing faith in his jokes? Chappelle say’s in TIME Magazine, "If you don't have the right people around you, and you're moving at a million miles an hour, you can lose yourself." So it sounds to me like he was surrounded by “yes-men” saying, 'you're a genius!’ 'You're great!’ 'You’re killing it!' But among those close colleagues, I’m sure Chappelle's growing distrust set off no small amount of anxiety.

The Chappelle’s Show works because it talks about what America finds difficult to talk about: race. In our current day racial divisions are becoming more and more complex, harder to understand, and increasingly more challenging to discuss. That's where Chappelle comes in. He takes all those stereotypes about race and puts them in our face. He makes us deal with it. Laugh at it. But not ignore it.

The buzz in Block Party comes from the music, which has a loose, burning joy that’s rare to behold in a live rap performance, and also from Chappelle’s wicked prankster glee, which spreads throughout the movie. This movie is a testament to the power of unity and celebration of black music. The CSU drum line keeps up the moral of the party as the exhilarating performances provide a snapshot into a certain historical musical moment. Like one chapter leading into another. But just as we won’t be hearing the last of the Fugees for they will live on forever as the pinnacle of mid-1990’s hip-hop; same goes for Dave Chappelle’s comedy who proclaims, “You haven’t seen the last of me!”

Released on March 3rd 2006, Dave Chappelle’s Block Party was produced by Michel Gondry, written by Dave Chappelle, and produced by Bob Yari and Roge Productions.

Internet Movie Data Base
Movie Review
Movie Critic
Time Magazine
Rotten Tomatoes

Wrapped in Warmth!

You want to keep warm when your feeling chilled, but you don’t want to raise your heating bill (cash register bell cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching) Blankets are ok, but they can slip and slide. And when you reach for something your hands are trapped inside. Sound familiar? NOW there’s the SNUGGIE- the blanket that has sleeves!

Ahh yes.. It’s like a fleece robe that you wear like a hospital gown. What I love about the Snuggie is it’s not brilliant in the innovation of the product, but the way they sell it. Throughout the commercials they emphasize how “restricting” and “trapped” normal blankets make you feel, and how the Snuggie’s sleeves allow you to hold cordless phones that look like there from the late 80s, bowls of popcorn, books, laptops, and even babies or dogs! The pinnacle of ridiculousness is when they suggest you can wear it out to a ball game surrounded by people dressed in normal clothes like coats. And the three of them are sitting in the middle of it all, wearing these preposterous Snuggies, looking, seriously, like they are in some sort of very frightening fleece cult. It’s no wonder the people around them are trying desperately to ignore the dangerous Snuggie Family and just watch the game.

They claim that similar products sell for up to sixty dollars. Similar products, eh? Well I did a little research and discovered the SLANKET. Virtually the same product but didn’t get as hyped up. And they actually sell for about forty dollars, and come in many more colors other than burgundy, sage green, and royal blue. But the most perplexing part of the Slanket is that their website makes it totally seem like they are trying to appeal to college students. They have various photos of twenty-something year olds posing using their sleeves to the best of their abilities, watching the big game, ordering a pizza, and wearing weird wigs.

First originating in 1998, the creator was actually in college at the time. “While watching Late Night with Conan O'Brien I decided I needed to tear a hole in my sleeping bag so I could keep my upper body warm as I channel surfed during the commercial breaks. During Christmas vacation I commissioned the first Slanket to be made by my mother...and it was born.” So why haven’t we heard of the Slanket? I appreciate that every infomercial must have the ”similar products“ line in it. But in this case, well, — similar products? Really? There have been previous unsuccessful attempts to sell the blanket with sleeves? And these failed entrepreneurs decided that sixty dollars was about the right price point?

Snuggie’s are offered for the amazing price of $14.95 and not only that but they offer a bonus prize … a ”compact, press-and-open book-light,“ a fifteen-dollar value absolutely free! This makes me wonder how they decide which cheap contraption gets to be the main item and which one has to be the lousy bonus prize. Like, couldn’t this have been a whole commercial about the ”press-and-open book-light,“ and as a bonus you get the blanket with sleeves? I’m sure they have market analysts who study it.

So even though Snuggies try to appeal to men, women, and children who they assume all find it frustrating to be trapped beneath blankets, perhaps widening their intended audience made them more well known than their competitors. Or maybe it’s their humorous infomercial that’s most definitely intended to be funny that everyone knows this product from. All I know is that they are available at Walgreen’s by the checkout and there is a 1000 person pub-crawl planned for downtown Chicago on March 21st. So I may be buying one of these in the near future so I can participate along with my fellow drunken friends and their reading lights—for a blanket-covered, bar-hopping adventure!

Snuggie Pub Crawl
https://www.getsnuggie.com/flare/next?tag=os|sm|go|tm
http://www.theslanket.com/

Living Out Loud

When things get worse… they can only get better.

Yet, this isn’t the case with the 1998 film, Living Out Loud. At a glance, this seems to be exactly the sort of wry comedy that mature audiences are looking for, complete with just the kind of starring role that any actress would kill for. Here the newly divorced, forty-something Judith Moore, (Holly Hunter) begins a perplexing relationship with the door guy of her condominium complex, Pat Francato (Danny Devito). Pat has a troubled life himself: Gambling debts and the tragic death of his daughter took away all his spirit. But upon their encounter they want different things from one another, but in the end both yearn for love and support, support and love. Both in search of what a meaningful relationship is.

Throughout the movie Judith is trying to get in touch with her true self. She proclaims to her newly divorced well-off surgeon husband that, “I left me long before you did.” As he abruptly dispenses from her life Judith is left to pick up the pieces. She struggles with living a luxury life in the upper class of Upper East Side of New York, and is now an utterly alone woman, working an undesired profession as a nurse. A choice she made in an effort to be with a man that is no longer around. Throughout the film she always refers back to how she wants children, and how children make a family, and would ensure a happy life for her. But that’s something her and her ex couldn’t agree upon.

The deeper you get into this movie the more convoluted, and baffling the blurred lines between reality and fantasy become. The disjointed scenes and odd transitions seem to overshadow the narrative shortcomings make me believe that this movie is more of a character study than plot driven. The movie mostly surrounds the character Judith and Pat, yet only fully develop around Judith around as she is enveloped in her own life endeavors.

And during ALL THIS intricate undertaking character Judith feels bombarded with information that she now feels responsible for paying attention to; thus spiraling her into her own silent struggle that leads the audience in-between elaborate fantasy scenes back to her tortured reality.

Although this shared struggle becomes a pulling together and partnership when the character Pat Francato comes in contact with Judith for the first time. Judith meets him in the right mood and a fragile friendship starts to grow. She discovers that he has recently lost his daughter and from this shared feeling of loss, a relationship blossoms. But it seems Pat is looking for love, whereas Judith is looking for guidance and a sort of “father figure.”

She finds a different sort of guidance from a Jazz singer Liz, played by Queen Latifah, who sings on the Upper West side club “Jaspers.” But this guidance reverts her back to a more child-like state, taking her out to party, dance, meet men, and have various encounters with sex and drugs. Through this she “literally” embraces her teenage self and seems to come to terms with what her life is becoming. She moves out of her luxury residence and encourages Pat to pursue his dreams and open up and Italian imports store. She goes on to pursue her dream of going back to medical school and getting a career in pediatrics. But upon this, she discovers… maybe she does love Pat. But at this point it’s too late. He’s moved on, and so has she.

Some main ideas of the story do come full circle… but many are left hanging. And for me as a viewer, this leaves me hanging. I realize that reality isn’t just black and white, there’s some gray area, and not everything becomes fully resolved, but some ideas in this movie just seem too undeveloped and a waste of time for the viewer and the character. The shaky foundations of the characters leave nothing to for them to build upon and seem to flit off into ridiculous tangents. For instance, Judith’s encounter with ecstasy, her mention of terrorists, and some of her odd fantasy/ flashback scenes that leave me wondering what really just happened. This not only made the movie seem to drag but also left me cringing out of ridiculousness of these unnecessary tangents. If you’ve got 100 min to kill and are looking for a convoluted romantic comedy from the late 90’s that will leave you not fully satisfied, Living Out Loud is JUST for you.

Living Out Loud was written and directed by Richard LaGravenese.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120722/
http://www.amazon.com/Living-Out-Loud-Holly-Hunter/dp/0780625358