This guy is hilarious!
Ok so I heard about this Christian Comedian, but for some reason I hadn’t learned he had a YouTube channel, until now. And like the “Try That in a Trad Crowd” musical parody by Laura Horn (story here), this is a particular community that understands humor. Because Christians don’t think it’s the end of the world if we happen to doubt God (the “Doubting Thomas”), or if we don’t understand something (such as Job not understanding his suffering), or if we view our religious practices differently. But in the world, this is often something you’re not allowed to do (*see leftism).
Ok, ok, I will admit it. Christianity wasn’t always this way. We had a “whole schism” about it at about 1000AC. But at least for the Protestants, we know that there are many imperfections in churches, and we reserve the right to protest… and to make comedy.
And here comes the comedy…
But, let’s explain this one to you first. Christian art can be simple, even humble efforts. The Puritans who came to America wanted it that way, but they forgot (and we’re still suffering from this today) that culture is a necessary element in human’s lives. It’s not just found in churches, and it isn’t easily modified once it’s taken root on society. So, the pale efforts Christians have made trying to regain culture here has been happening only since about the late 80’s or early 90’s, and it hasn’t even been adequate in most cases, even paltry in comparison to the mainstream film & music industries. And, it shows. This depiction of your stereotypical “Christian Music Video” is just one example of how it remains a very safe, and formulaic effort, instead of taking many risks… and it’s kind of hilarious. If you know what I’m talking about… you know what I’m talking about. Just watch.
So, what is so great about this kind of comedy is that it’s SO TRUE. Just like we know our churches aren’t perfect, we know that our music industry isn’t perfect. And yes, another layer of this discussion deals with the faith-based film industry as well. People like Angel Studios and Loor.tv are showing that we can do better. But this is going to be a bigger discussion that will be happening more.
This video puts the finger squarely on the pulse of formulaic art, as something that looks like some kind of dogmatic mind-numbed zombie behavior, at times. Other times, it seems like it’s literally someone copying the last music video they saw, beat by beat. I don’t know but it makes this so perfectly funny.
He ends the song with a question that really sounds honest, “Are we gonna be rich from this?” Yes. Yes, likely you will. This adds so much of a disturbing vibe to this comedy because it tells you exactly WHY these copy-cat music videos are made. There is no demand for an industry to do better if the industry itself rewards mediocrity. The social commentary here is quite revealing and impactful. That is art folks, not just comedy. This guy John Crist knows what he’s talking about, and I’ll be watching more from him!
Enjoy!
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