COMEDY IN RELIGION
How does comedy manifest itself in a religious context?
Pop Culture
Looking towards pop culture is a very effective way of testing social and cultural climates. The popularity of different forms of entertainment such as music, movies and television shows can serve as an important indicators for what is popular and what is generating conversation. This is especially true for comedy, which is an industry that is constantly shifting and changing, especially in what its audience sees as popular and funny at the time. Comedy is an essential part of social discourse, and has become an important part of our overlying culture. It is the way we process things, and on a large scale"it is the purest public comic communication, performing essentially the same social and cultural roles in practically every known society, past and present"(Mintz, 71). Historically, the purpose of comedy hasn't changed much. It has always been a form of cultural meditation, a way for people to absorb and digest topics that would otherwise be difficult to swallow. And the size of a divisive topic doesn't really matter, whether it is big or small it is the comedian's job to deliver some kind of commentary on it.
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There are numerous comedians who brand themselves as having clean and family friendly comedy. Family friendly and Christian don't necessarily mean the same things. Though one may have want the type of comedian they watch to be the kind that doesn't swear or comment on polarizing topics, that does not necessarily mean that they are a Christian. However, it is important to understand the cultural context of clean comedy. It tends to be associated with those who are religious, because of the moral obligations that usually go along with that association.
Let's jump into some examples of clean stand-up routines from Christian comedians.
John Crist's stand up centers heavily on the stereotypes surrounding Christian and religious upbringings, he also plays on the experiences of parents and of the average Christian in their journey through life. He also includes what seem to be personal experiences about his upbringing and life as a Christian. This adds a quality of relatability to his humor, he is aware that his audience is of a certain faith and uses that knowledge to write jokes that are catered to that audience.
Tim Hawkins is an important part of the family oriented stand-up scene. He is considered a staple of Christian comedy, though his material isn't as obviously related to religion. The angle he takes in his comedy is simply one that is clean. He references less to biblical stories and situations, instead he comments on different situations involving his wife. A similar rule applies here in terms of knowing his audience, he knows what types of jokes will land so those are the kinds of jokes he tells.
Audience and affirmation are incredibly important pieces to stand-up comedy. In this case, it is extremely important that the audience is familiar with the culture that goes along with being Christian. Especially in John Crist's set, the jokes would make little sense if one wasn't aware of important stories that happen in the Bible as well as the particular experience of growing up in a religious household.
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Though the content is different in the set by Tim Hawkins, the same philosophy applies.
The jokes he makes are about his wife and the different things she does that annoy
him. When writing his set, he had to consider the kind of humor he was expected to
deliver and what kinds of jokes he could write to fit into that mold. He would not
deliberately create a set that would make his audience feel offended.
It is also important to discuss the opposite side of the stand-up comedy spectrum. Some of the most popular comedians of all time, including those that are currently popular, have been non-Christian comedians and are generally considered those on the boundaries of society.
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Bo Burnham is a musical comedian, who uses songs as an integral part of his routine. He has commented before on his religious past, and a fairly large part of his act is commenting on his experiences, which have been mostly negative. This song in particular pokes fun at Christianity and is supposed to be written from the perspective of God. It plays on the expectations one might have for what God would sound and act like, and does the opposite of what most people would expect.
Robin Williams is of a course a very well known comedian, he was famous for his exaggerated characters and overall on-stage charisma. In this bit, he makes fun of the well-known stories in the Christian bible and parodies them by adding his own perspective into the stories and exaggerating the characters. It is combination of critiquing the biblical stories accompanied with commentary on current political topics. The humor here comes from putting these stories into the context of modern times, and the understanding that the audience has of both current and past events.
Again, the common thread here is audience. In these cases more than the religious ones, the comedians have a certain license to do and say things that are little more vulgar and controversial. But they are only allowed this leniency because they know
that their audience is looking for a set that does more to push and prod at beliefs and
stereotypes. The expectation from these comics is a set that will be raunchy, while at
the same time intelligent and witty.
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Knowledge of culture again comes into play here, without already knowing the
stereotypes and stories associated with Christian culture it would be difficult to get
the jokes that are being made. In both the religious sets and the ones that are making
fun of religion, the audience's familiarity with already established ideas about what
Christian culture is like, are essential.