Starving in America, God and some other goodies

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Starving in America, God and some other goodies

 

I normally don't like anti-American and anti-religious humor because it always smacks of telling others what to do as a subtext. Maybe it's because I grew up around racists, but I don't like the feeling of bigotry in much of that stuff.

 

But here is a comedian who does it well without the subtext (in my perception), even though he openly says, "Don't do that!" several times.

 

A monologue by Louis C.K. on "Saturday Night Live" last night:

 

 

I think the secret about why this was not a turnoff for me was an underlying feeling of goodwill.

 

Some comedians give the impression of snark or wallowing in vulgarity. Louis C.K. gives me the feeling of, "We're all in this together and I understand crazy shit happens, but why doesn't that big issue over there make any sense?"

 

I resonate with that approach much more than the look down your nose and humiliate posture (like Bill Maher, for example).

 

And the dude is funny as hell.

 

 

Michael

[moralist]

Starving in America, God and some other goodies

I normally don't like anti-American and anti-religious humor because it always smacks of telling others what to do as a subtext. Maybe it's because I grew up around racists, but I don't like the feeling of bigotry in much of that stuff.

But here is a comedian who does it well without the subtext (in my perception), even though he openly says, "Don't do that!" several times.

A monologue by Louis C.K. on "Saturday Night Live" last night:

I think the secret about why this was not a turnoff for me was an underlying feeling of goodwill.

Some comedians give the impression of snark or wallowing in vulgarity. Louis C.K. gives me the feeling of, "We're all in this together and I understand crazy shit happens, but why doesn't that big issue over there make any sense?"

I resonate with that approach much more than the look down your nose and humiliate posture (like Bill Maher, for example).

And the dude is funny as hell.

Michael

That guy is great. Kind of George Carlin-esque, and I love his kind of humor. I think the best humor is religious humor, and you're right about his goodwilled nature. He's not the least bit offensive.

Greg

[George H. Smith]

I think the following is Louis CK's most wickedly funny bit ever. Don't watch this if you are offended by raucous, no-holds-barred satires on the Catholic Church. This is sexually explicit stuff.

Ghs

[George H. Smith]

That guy is great. Kind of George Carlin-esque, and I love his kind of humor. I think the best humor is religious humor, and you're right about his goodwilled nature. He's not the least bit offensive.

Greg

Uh, well, see the video I just posted. I suppose some people might consider it offensive. 8-)

Ghs

[moralist]

That guy is great. Kind of George Carlin-esque, and I love his kind of humor. I think the best humor is religious humor, and you're right about his goodwilled nature. He's not the least bit offensive.

Greg

Uh, well, see the video I just posted. I suppose some people might consider it offensive. 8-)

Ghs

Thanks for posting the video, George...

The Catholic church has earned that kind of satire. While I'm not offended, I didn't find it as funny as the stand up routine, except at the very end with the exchange over the question of whether they poke all the little boys, and also when the priest laughs and says there's no God. That part was hilarious!

Greg

[Jules Troy]

Sooo Greg are you a good catholic boy? Lmao.

[moralist]

Sooo Greg are you a good catholic boy? Lmao.

No. I'm a Christian. However, the Catholic church has been my client for decades.

Greg

[Selene]

Sooo Greg are you a good catholic boy? Lmao.

No. I'm a Christian. However, the Catholic church has been my client for decades.

Greg

Does it make you a born again businessman?

[moralist]

Sooo Greg are you a good catholic boy? Lmao.

No. I'm a Christian. However, the Catholic church has been my client for decades.

Greg

Does it make you a born again businessman?

Money is the product of virtue...

...and not the other way around.

More virtue. More money.

Greg

[Kyle Jacob Biodrowski]

I don't find Louis C.K. funny, in general. He has his moments, though. He's mildly entertaining. I must be setting my standards too high since a lot of people find him funny.

Guy's got a terrible case of white guilt. Or maybe not. It's difficult to tell what a comedian actually believes.

[Jules Troy]

I kinda miss George Carlin.

[moralist]

I don't find Louis C.K. funny, in general. He has his moments, though. He's mildly entertaining. I must be setting my standards too high since a lot of people find him funny.

Guy's got a terrible case of white guilt. Or maybe not. It's difficult to tell what a comedian actually believes.

You're onto something there, Jacob...

Comedy can often be a response to inner pain.

Greg

[moralist]

I kinda miss George Carlin.

So do I.

He enriched so many people's lives with his insights on human behavior.

Greg

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

Kyle,

 

I have been studying humor and I learned that distance is a requirement for humor. If you are too close to an issue, you will get pissed or smug/arrogant with satire, depending on what side you are on. If you are too distant, the humor falls flat.

 

(In inhouse humor like ethnic comedians, the distance is provided by the audience already knowing the comedians are not seriously attacking the community, and are usually members of the ethnicity themselves.)

 

For a religious person who sees the Louis C. K. videos as a lampoon of some people and not the religion itself, that provides the correct amount of distance for it to be funny to that person. This even holds when the religious beliefs and myths themselves are lampooned, that is, if the audience member sees it as a lampoon of what other people believe.

 

This is different than, say, Penn Jillette who talked about jacking off on the Bible with gestures, etc. That is humor to humiliate and comes from a different root. I can't think of many Christians who would find that funny. (Few others, too. I love Penn, but he misfired on that one. No pun intended. )

 

Notice that intellectual understanding generally brings an issue too close for humor. That is why a joke is no longer funny once you explain it. You are so close to the elements you fully understand what they are and how they relate to each other. What could ever be funny about that? The distance is gone and even the "Aha!" moment is gone.

 

Here is a video I found on one of the recent schism threads on Facebook (the Harriman affair). It is from Cracked. It is part of a series called "Stuff That Must Have Happened."

 

The setup is right after an imagined sexual encounter between Ayn Rand and L Ron Hubbard in 1938. 

 

 

(I know, I know... )

 

They get competitive about who can make the best prank. Rand says, with Hubbard admiring her for being so evil, that she will take the worst, most misguided selfish people and make them even worse--say, rich white college kids and make them think they are just too nice--get the the most wealthy, powerful and privileged people on earth and get them to talk like they are the poor persecuted minority. Hubbard's prank is he is going to convince actors they have superpowers.

 

 

Now if you see this from close up, like from within the Objectivist/libertarian subcommunity and are sick and tired of people misrepresenting Rand and attacking her, this will not be funny and might make you mad. You won't even find the Hubbard stuff funny.

 

But, if you step back (stepping back here also means there is no way a video like this could ever threaten your thinking about Rand) and look at this from the frame of poking fun at some of the arrogant douchebag behavior we see in the subcommunity, especially during schism time, it is hilarious. (Also, knowing this is Cracked, an equal opportunity lampooner, and not the NYT, should be distance enough.) 

 

How Ayn Rand and L. Ron Hubbard Came Up With Their Big Ideas -- powered by Cracked.com

 

Ayn Rand was no fan of attempting a good-natured distance like I suggest. She preferred to seethe with hatred, categorize all humor like that as a vicious attack and be done with it.

 

That hatred also made her sick.

 

But it's not only possible to have a good chuckle at such satire (laughing at the douchebags, not at Rand) and move on without having it affect your values one iota, it's also healthy.

 

As an aside, I highly recommend the podcasts on Cracked (click on "Get Full Episode List"), especially the stuff on storytelling, movies, propaganda and cultural analysis in general. The young guys doing these podcasts are a new breed of kickass analysts. This has nothing to do with the Cracked of old. This is good stuff, especially for writing.

 

Michael