ENSPIRE Entertainment (Dave Chapelle was meant to be in “Coming 2 America”)
ENSPIRE Contributor: Clarisa Crump
In Charlamagne the God’s new show, “Hell of a Week with Charlamagne tha God”, viewers get to see a spectrum of celebrities. From comedians to musical talents such as Ray J, and a guest appearance from ESPN’s own Stephen Smith, the show aims to bring new opinions on topics such as politics, entertainment, family values and more. This week, Charlamagne sat down with writer/director Kenya Barris to talk about the “Coming 2 America” vision that he had for the movie. As well as sat down with a group of panelists to discuss Netflix’s new hit docuseries “Dahmer”.
Coming over 3 decades later than the original film, “Coming 2 America” follows Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy), as he tries to find the next heir to the throne in his long lost son. Antics ensue as a comedic adventure through New York leads Prince Akeem to Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler). Prince Akeem leads Lavelle back to Zamunda and the plot of the movie picks up from this new situation that the prince-to-be finds himself in. Kenya Barris, who helped screenwrite the film, originally had a role written for renowned comedian “Dave Chapelle” which he thought he “would’ve killed”, but ultimately did not make it within the film. There were no hard feelings however, as Barris understood it was “just business” and the movie was successful in the end. Barris goes on to praise Murphy for, “carrying a whole film on his back”, referring to the first “Coming to America” that Murphy starred in back in ’88.
“Dahmer”, the new hit series to Netflix, follows the life of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, and the victims he came across on his years long spree. This series, however popular it may be, has sparked some controversy on all sides of the intended audiences. On one side, there are fans of the show that purely watch it for the shock value that it contains. On the other are the individuals that are deeply concerned about the show’s existence in general. The panelists for this week’s show discuss the different types of information shown in the series and the questions that it raises. For instance, the portrayal of lgbtq individuals within the show and whether or not it is an accurate representation of them as a whole. With the cops being seen taking one of Dahmer’s victims back to the apartment in the first episode, it illuminates the shame, uncomfortability, and confusion that most law enforcement faced about homosexuality back then, and how a misunderstanding about individuals quite literally brought people into harms way. The fact that most of Dahmer’s victims were people of color (poc) is also brought up by the panelists, and the ever-present argument of “white killer vs black killer” and what would have happened if Dahmer happened to be black, ensues. One panelist, however, asks a more pressing question, “Is it the network’s fault for putting out media that we like? Or is it our fault for enjoying this kind of media?” Of course the answer is purely hypothetical, but the aforementioned topics do give the people something to think about next time that they turn the show on.
With new things happening just about everyday in the entertainment world, there is no telling what the people will be talking about next. It could be a new movie, show, or even the latest bit of celebrity drama to hit the tabloids that week. With holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas just around the corner, there is no doubt that “Hell of a Week with Charlamagne tha God” will have plenty of topics to cover in the following weeks. Catch new episodes every Thursday night on Comedy Central to see who guest stars next.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=-084Vh4ybqE
