Leslie Bibb, the actress from Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and Iron Man and Iron Man 2, is set to star in a proposed pilot called Good Christian Witches (okay, no, you have to switch the “w” with a “b”.) Lots of scuttlebutt is starting over the name, of course. And the theme is greatly disturbing some folks…and well even, you guessed it, Christians. (Full article here)
Here’s the article excerpt that stands out the most to me: “ABC’s core viewership is Christian, so the goal of the show won’t be to attack Christianity. Just like the book [of the same name], this is a show by Christians, for (mostly) Christians, to enjoy a little prime-time self-deprecation,” Los Angeles-based entertainment expert, Jenn Hoffman said.
UM. What? Really? Isn’t this played out yet? What other religious group gets picked on more? What group creates and absorbs more deprecation than Christianity? Matthew Paul Turner, of Jesus Needs New PR, the Christian Nightmares guy, Jon Acuff–God bless him–have all made their fame and/or fortune from this sort of thing–for years now. Plus there are plenty more.
Help me think of others… OH! Stuff Fundies Like is another..hum… what else? I visit all these sites regularly, and really enjoy them.
Is this Hilarious Self-deprecation Tack [HSDT] something we need more of from Hollywood, prime time television, or anybody else? Will people never tire of HSDT? It could just be me, but I’m having some self-deprecation fatigue. We’ve self-deprecated the hell out of ourselves already. It’s a rather cheap commodity now. Maybe it’s time to let off the throttle a little, and find a greater calling, a bit? You know like old fashion devoted hearts and lives? … helping the Kingdom of God break into our world through the outpouring of goodness and love? I’m not saying stamp it out; just mix it up some.
Non Christians will always make fun of Christianity. We need not ever worry we will lack in this department. I think, we can point out issues using humor and loving kindness to improve ourselves. It seem, though, that nothing can be cherished thoroughly, culturally speaking. Anything and everything is up for a tar and feathering…ad nausea , and unchecked, it creates a terminal dysfunction of cynicism.
So-Yes! We truly are imperfect people. YES. Message received.
AND hey, please remember! I don’t mind ironic, or pseudo-ironic tales of Christianity run amuck for entertainment or thoughtful repose. I rather enjoy it. I laugh at sacred cows. Hahaha!
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? I even laugh at the people laughing at sacred cows, who subtly become sacrosanct and bovine in nature themselves. There, I said it. Now, prove my point and call me a “Jesus Juker”. Do. it.
I transcend the Jesus Juke, dude. I don’t think Christians, or any group should take themselves all that seriously. And I can’t understand getting sidetracked for silly things. Literally silly things, (like you see above). I love that stuff.
But, now could be time we get frank…
Doesn’t this seem like this sort of HSDT speciality is hoisted onto Christians and spared from other groups? Would there ever be a show called “Good Muslim Witches”? or “Bad Ass Buddha Good Girls”? No way. That would be nasty, and in very poor taste, and no one would stand for it…unless it was the Jewish people…
Right. But, this probably supports my point, rather than takes away from it.
Have we self-deprecated the devil out of ourselves? Do we need to get our equilibrium back some?
Tell me what you think:
Jesus, would want you to…Maybe one of the two Jesus’ you see below.
(thanks for reading)
I have no idea this show was in existence, but I’m glad that you brought it to my attention. Really good post. And you’re right, I’m tired of Christians getting knocked around. I like Stuff Christians Like and Jesus Needs New PR, but this ABC thing is OUT OF CONTROL.
It’s only in a proposal phase, I believe.
If you’ll allow me to nitpick just a teeny bit (since that is, evidently, what I do) a few of the sites you listed as examples are not self-deprecating because the people writing them are no longer members of the groups they are poking fun at.
I was an Independent Baptist Fundamentalist for something like 20 years but I’m not one any longer. So I’m now writing an “insider’s view from the outside” so to speak.
I’m pretty sure the Christian Nightmares guy is not a Christian and JesusNeedsNewPR spends the bulk of its time mocking the fundamentalist and evangelical “right” of which Matthew Paul Turner is no longer a self-professed member. Of those examples listed perhaps only John Acuff remains truly “self-deprecating.”
I don’t know. When I was a new Christian, I would become INCENSED whenever anyone would bash Christianity. It took me many years to figure out that God is a big God and can take care of Himself. (Can other gods say the same?) And after years of seeing what gets perpetrated in Jesus’ name… now I would just rather err on the side of exposing too much, so it can be reformed.
But that does take moving beyond self-deprecation to repentence.
On a lighter note, when I took a class on writing comedy in film school, we learned that “Comedy is truth and pain” (John Vorhaus, “The Comic Toolbox” ). I decided a more accurate definition is “Comedy is truth and LIES and pain.” :P
Um, the first smiley is supposed to be an end parentheses. The second one is deliberate, but why do we need to keep being told something is a smiley? Just sayin’… wait, no I’m not.
I have lots of thoughts floating around right now (period, but also in response to this post). It seems there are two separate issues emerging here: 1)Christians being publicly self-deprecating and 2)Christians being mocked by non-Christians either for their faith or their hypocrisy.
At this point, the question I have deals with #1. Basically, I wonder if public self-deprecation has emerged because we have become bad at corporate confession and repentance. It seems to me the former is but a parody of the latter (and a bad one at that).
Apparently, it’s easier to say “I’m messed up” than to say “I messed up and I’m sorry.”
Thanks, Darrell. Maybe that was only semi-nitpicking because it provided us with helpful info, and I’m glad you mention that. I for one, have not indicated that you are a nitpicker. Maybe you are a nose picker, though, and for this I forgive you. If you are not, you’ll just have to forgive me.
As a kind of “recovering fundie” myself, I find a lot of humor in your site, and a lot of truth therein. It’s both horrifying and entertaining! But, my curiosity leads me to wonder who the message is for with, as you call it, the “insider on the outside” angel. Logically speaking, if one makes fun of a group from the outside only, those “insiders” will surely find it off-putting b/c they aren’t “there” yet. Probably it’s tearing down the bridge to them, not building toward them, to help them. What is the lasting benefit for recovering fundies? Do they increase in patience and forbearance to those “other” people, or do they just do the same fundie thing, but now in reverse. I do salute your attempt at boosting morale, though. Cheers.
Wow, Gene. Insightful. I’ll chew on that. Thank you.
V3- (I went in to edit it for you.
If you leave a space b/f parenthesis it won’t do that..it’s a wordpress “glitch”… )
I think you may have a more accurate definition. Like it or not, we partake in fraudulence, though it it’s toughest to root out when it’s unconscious. I think comedy is a tool (from God) to help us bare our imperfections a little better. Like…um… tweezers…maybe…Sometimes we pinch ourselves with that tool.
the target audience on SFL is two-fold. 1) people who are still in some stage of recovering from leaving fundamentalism and 2) people who are still fundamentalists but are starting to wake up to the problems therein.
Yes, the hardcore folks will just write me off as being a “liberal” and those who have never been anywhere near fundamentalism will just not get it at all. But such is life. I write to those who are actually listening — and I’ve been surprised at how big that group actually is.
Reminds me of that bumper sticker that says, “Christians aren’t perfect; they’re just forgiven.” I always wince a little when I see one of those. Sure, Christians are not perfect, in the sense of being sinless, but, as a true Christian, I am a whole lot more than “just” forgiven. The mighty work of redemption wrought on Calvary’s Cross by the King of Glory should never be minimized as “just” anything. And me going to the trouble of telling anyone, “I’m not perfect,” is not self-deprecation. It’s disguised pride because it assumes that anyone might even for a fraction of a second mistake me for perfect and need to be corrected.
funny. On that note- What an ill-advised bumper sticker for me! No one would assume I’m perfect… Quite the opposite!
Lisa, I appreciate the dialogue with Darrell here, as I think that helps me see the mission of each site a bit more clearly. If I could try saying this in my own way (as in, making sure I understand your point here), we should be careful that we aren’t always running to make parodies of ourselves or to lament that we suck.
For example, with the Bell-Taylor-Piper kerfuffle, I found a lot of really positive stuff–as in, tons of Christians saw what these popular figures were up to and could see it all for what it was without getting too riled up. Rather than lamenting that some wanted to “burn” one side or the other, we could also celebrate the fact that so many didn’t. Perhaps fire-hose Jesus helped them out!
Good things to ponder. Good questions to ask.
I remember like 7 years ago it was super cool in my church to watch all the old school videos and say “oh man we are so lame.” and at the time it was somewhat revolutionary, as previously we were under an oppressive regime that it was taboo to question, as that was grounds for questioning your own salvation.
However that was SEVEN years ago, and I think we’ve thoroughly poked holes in ourselves so that we can see all the weaknesses and now it’s time to begin rebuilding. We earned the deprecation, and now we’ve earned moving on.