Dave Chappelle's stand-up comedy can be raunchy, grotesque, and sometimes chillingly serious

Dave Chappelle’s stand-up comedy can be raunchy, grotesque, and sometimes chillingly serious, but for the most part consistently funny throughout. His newest routine being "For What It's Worth". In this stand-up it seems that there are no objective boundaries for the subject of his jokes, so long as the extremity of the subject raised is outweighed by the comedy the joke provides. This not only allows Chappelle to use offensive ideas in his routine, but to subtly express concerns relating to inconsistencies and inadequacies among the American media, justice system, and government.

It is quite observable in "For what It's Worth" that as an African-American man living in the United States, Dave Chappelle has reservations about some particular things existing in his culture. The first concern he raises neatly intertwined in a joke is that of a negative bias American police hold about African-American men. This bias pertains to the subject of the police being very erroneous in their practice of detaining offenders
when the suspect is black. Chappelle jokingly states that before he goes out at night he checks his police scanner to take precaution of the injustice, only to hear "Calling all cars, calling all cars, be on the look-out for a black male between 4'7'', and 6'8''." This punchline allows Chappelle to casually raise a serious concern about law enforcement in the United States. The concern relates to the unjust detainment of African-American men who might happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and fit the unspecific character profile, which the police utilize.

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Chapelle then switches the subject to that of the war in Iraq. He speaks about how Bush's organization was proud to have taken dictator Saddam Hussein's face of the Iraq currency, and emphasizes how that is an important accomplishment. He goes on, "But then I thought, if you can do that for Iraq, what about our money man? Our money looks like baseball cards with slave owners on them." His praise quickly turns to criticism pointing out that George Washington still remains on American currency in spite of the fact that he was a slave owner. He then simulates a scene with George Washington writing America's Declaration Of Independence. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, all men are created equal...(Aside)...go get me a sandwich n%#*er or I'll kill ya...(Return)..liberty, justice for all. This comical reinactment of George Washington reveals an inconsistency in the American Government's motivations. They boast of stripping Hussein off the money because as Chappelle says having him on it was a "subtle, psychological nuance of oppression." Through this comical reenactment, Chappelle is able to reveal the hypocrisy of the American Government.

After pointing out an inconsistency in the government, Chappelle follows with one in the legal system. He brings up the topic of fifteen year-olds and how they are held responsible for their actions. In one case, celebrity R. Kelly was arrested for urinating on a 15 year-old girl with consent. He then swaps scenario's to the case of a black fifteen year-old boy who was sentenced to life in prison for killing a neighbour while practicing a wrestling move. Dave makes a stand on the subject in a comical way by saying "If you're going to sentence a fifteen-year-old boy to life in jail, then you should be able to pee on him." This joke is able to express a grave concern for such inconsistence in the legal system. Chappelle feels that if a fifteen year-old cannot be held responsible for the decision of whether or not they want to be peed on, then how can they be treated as an adult and be held responsible for an action that would be them life in prison.

Throughout Chappelle's stand-up routine, an array of subjects arises. Although some of the topics are purely for the comedy, others show serious concern yet are still raised in the form of a joke. Because Chappelle is able to raise these concerns as a joke, it is much more intriguing and effective. This also allows him to touch base with an audience who otherwise may never be exposed to the subjects, which he talks about. It is very meaningful to see Chappelle use his celebrity status in a positive way.