Friday, May 20, 2005

Holy Crap, Is It Comedy?

I found this passage on Looking Closer's blog. I'd cite the original reference but it's one of those conservative arguing sites. Oh, what the heck... here. The points he makes are both valid and thought-provoking (at least for me):

The riots caused by Newsweek's story claiming American interrogators were flushing the Koran caused many Americans to be amazed by the extreme reaction in the Islamic world. Ken Woodward, the long-time religion writer of Newsweek, tried to explain to Christians just how offensive Koran-flushing is to Muslims: "Recitation of the Koran is for Muslims much like what receiving the Eucharist is for Catholics -- a very intimate ingestion of the divine itself."

There's a certain irony here. If you wanted to see the Eucharist in the toilet, you needed only to watch the NBC sitcom "Committed" in February, when NBC played for laughs the idea that two main characters thought they accidentally dropped a communion wafer in a bar toilet.

Hollywood makes lame jokes and harsh satires of Christianity all the time, figuratively and literally tossing Jesus, the Bible and church figures into the toilet. Those alleged American interrogators are pikers compared to Tinseltown. They could learn at the feet of the masters of mockery.
I say it's thought-provoking because I am such an uber-slut. I did not see that sitcom, but I can guarantee my reaction: Was that funny enough to warrant a nervous laugh? Again, not Catholic, but I have strong feelings about the representative body of Christ. How much should I have of the representative animation of Christ?

Last Sunday I sat down to watch the two McFarlane comedies. Fairly original in that they combine dark, non-sequetorial comedy with the boldness of cartoons. Oh, wait, I'm sorry. Tex Avery, Chuck Jones and Ren & Stimpy did that first. But that doesn't preclude American Dad and Family Guy from being funny. Oftentimes it is. Oftentimes it's just crude. It's usually at its best when it's both.

Early in the first half hour, God made an appearance. As a type of aging cad, picking up young, impressionable ladies with lame self-references and lamer magic tricks. Later on, one of those displays kills a would-be date before setting off a fire that burns down the bar that he and "Jesus Christ" flee from in their yuppie car.

I don't know how that strikes you sitting there. But I'm a man of purported deep convictions. I'm a man in love with my Creator and trying to recover a meaning of what that means. And I sat there like a fat, insolent, stupid man trying to figure if that joke was funny. Funny enough to get a passing. I must have given it a passing rating because I sat and watched the entire episode and the tasteless one after that. No more. Dag, how could I put up with such crap in my Holy Father's face?

Don't know your convictions, but mine are made up. Muslims, after all, have them. They reverence their God, their holy scriptures. Why can't I? I'm smart enough to figure the difference between when someone's laughing at me and my stupidity and when they're laughing - satanically - at the Lover of my soul, at the crucified and risen Lord of all.

See what we've done?


3 comments:

  1. The first blatantly pornogaphic film I saw was in a hotel room when I was around 9. In retrospect, I know that it was merely a skin-flick, and not hardcore pornography, but boobies and buttocks was enough for me. My parents aren't to blame. They were airheads. We were house-hunting, and they were late returning for an appointment. I suppose it was bound to happen....anyway, I watched this movie and watched it and watched it...it was about these buxom beauties who owned a spa. Everyone was always naked in a jacuzzi or in a locker room...at 9, this was a novelty, and quite enjoyable. Ironically enough, at the first hint of actual sexual contact, I indignantly switched off the tv set. Becuase I knew, no matter what, that sex was bad....but all the rest was allowed to slip through the door, and added to the snowball to come.

    That was a roundabout way to make my point, but I've also been that way with much of the media I suffer my spirit to see. It's as if I don't really care about the sex, and the language (God forgive me, I just read an in depth review and learned that CRASH had 82 F-words! I only remember ONE!). But as soon as the blasphemy shows up, I get righteous. And it's happened with Family Guy! The reason my brothers and I decided to stop downloading it was because of his jabs at Christianity....the jokes about the middle aged neighbor having sex with Meg (the teenager) were fine; the disrespect Stewie showed his mom was fine; the constant racial jokes and jabs were totaly freakin joe' but I got all huffy and righteous when he started swinging on God...

    And i don't know if I'm wrong or right about that. Double-minded if anything. THAT'S the problem with Relevant culture-whores. When does the ass go back to being just an ass, and not the mouthpiece of God? I think Howard Stern and Marylin Manson are intelligent speakers and very charismatic men, but when does all that go out the door? When is a spade a spade?

    Hmmm...If you don't mind, I'll blog this comment. Maybe I'll wait to see what ensues.
    Well? I think we might agree, but I want to know THEN, WHAT?! What now? Why do I watch UnCut? I can't even stand ANY of the music. NONE of it. I'm NEVER excited because of the song...and get THIS! Why do I disdainfully turn up my nose and change the channel when that preacher comes on after uncut?!
    Woe am us.

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  2. right with ya, man. right with ya.

    by the way, i posted a similar comment on lookingcloser WHILE i was writing this one. is was a sort of thinking out loud.

    but obviously, i've barely scratched the surface.

    also, i think there's a diff between making fun of Christianity and making fun of Christ. it's almost like the diff between a 'yo mama' joke and a joke about your mother. but then again, the church is the body and bride of Christ. maybe i should respectfully stand up for it more on those terms.

    oooh, i feel a blog coming on. in a few days. maybe.

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  3. Have you seen Saved! yet?

    That's a blog in itself, blogmeisters.

    ReplyDelete

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