Pax Christi!
Better than a letter!
Seriously, enough people love this sort of thing that NBC doesn’t care if you or I write or not, or watch or not.
But, would they ever mock Islam?
God bless.
I just watched the skit, and I thought it was hilarious. You totally missed the point–this “critic” named Jebediah hates EVERYTHING and he says so in the style of an 18th Century American man. He’s obnoxious and mean-spirited. We are NOT meant to admire him, we are meant to see in him others who are the same way–can’t find something good even in the most beloved stories, including Its’ a Wonderful Life, Charlie Browns’s Christmas, Frostry, and of course, the original Christmas story that started the entire holiday–the story of Jesus’ birth. We are NOT supposed to want to be like this character.
That’s important. When comedy presents a character or a situation that is “bad,” and makes the badness seem “good,” that’s when we need to sit up and say, “That’s not funny.” I saw this happening all the time on shows like Everybody Loves Raymond, where the wife was always criticizing Raymond, and yet, she was the “smart” one that we were all supposed to like. I think this kind of “humor” is terrible, because it distorts goodness.
But on SNL, it was blatantly obvious that Jebediah was a mean-spirited, obnoxious prig, and we were NOT supposed to believe ANYTHING that he said. In fact, it was obvious that Jebediah had it ALL WRONG.
And THAT’S important, because the message that this skit was getting across is that the stories, including the Christmas story, ARE good and wondrous. We are supposed to think that Jebediah is totally wrong about these stories and that his critiques have no basis in reality.
When it came time for him to critique the Christmas story, Seth Meyers (the anchor) actually told him he should probably not say anything about this story. In other words, Seth voiced what all of us were thinking. But Jebediah stubbornly and pridefully forged ahead anyway, not caring two figs for the feelings of his listeners.
As for the questions about whether SNL mocks Muslims–to begin with, SNL never “mocks” any religion. They satirize, which is quite different than mocking.
And when it comes to Islam, YES, SNL satirizes Muslims’ all the time! SNL has had many hilarious “Muslim” skits on. The week that Osama bin Laden was killed featured a side-splitting skit with Tina Fey as the Little Mermaid, and all the other actors portraying characters from the Little Mermaid, and as they were singing under the sea, the wrapped body of Osama bin Laden fell on top of one of the characters. It was disgusting and irreverent to Muslims and to the dead, but I laughed my head off, and I still laugh when I think about it. I laugh because of what our people suffered in the attacks on 9/11.
There have been lots of skits about Muslims, and lots of Muslim “characters” in these skits.
And yes, yes, YES, there have been so many skits about Jews!!! Didn’t you see Jacob, the Bar Mitzvah boy, on this very same show in the Weekend Update? That character has been on several times, and it’s hilarious! Not especially flattering to Jews.
There have been so many “Jewish” characters and skits on over the years that I can’t even to list them.
SNL really hasn’t missed anyone.
And think about it this way–they are one of the very few shows on television that actually BRINGS JESUS BACK INTO CHRISTMAS!!! Most shows completely expunge Jesus from their Christmas celebrations, and make no mention whatsoever of Jesus, even in the decorations. In other shows, Christmas is all about gifts, or Santa, or winter weather, or “love and brotherhood, especially between gays and straights.”
But every year without fail, SNL will feature several skits in which Jesus is front and center. They won’t let us forget about him!
And every year without fail, SNL’s Christmas episode features magnificent music, and always, they perform a traditional Christmas carol, not a “happy santy claus day” song. It’s amazing–this silly little show does more to put Jesus “out there” than any other show!
Frankly, I think St. Joseph, in his humility, would laugh heartily over the “two donkeys” (not the word used in the skit) joke in the skit! I feel the same way about myself–if I were riding a donkey, I would be quick to realize that there are actually TWO donkeys, and I’m one of them because of my foolishness and waywardness!
Have you ever been to a “roast” and heard a delightful, good man or woman totally ripped apart by the comedians? One of the parishes in our city “roasts” a parishioner each year (it’s a fundraiser). If you go to this roast and take it seriously, you will stand up and shout out, “STOP MAKING FUN OF DEAR OLD MR. So and So!!!” And everyone would look at you and think, “He doesn’t get it. This is a roast. It shows Mr. So and So that we love him.”
Everybody knows that a roast is not to be taken seriously! Same for SNL–it’s comedy! If you don’t think it’s funny, well, OK. I don’t think certain shows are funny, and you might bust a gut over them. We’re all wired differently when it comes to what’s funny.
Like I said, I think that St. Joseph is probably still laughing at the donkey joke.
**Finally, here’s my wholehearted suggestion. PLEASE, please do not “write” to anyone and criticize this show. What will probably happen is that Loren Michaels would decide that ALL references to Jesus Christ will disappear from the show, and we will never, ever hear His Name mentioned again on SNL. I don’t want that to happen. Television is already devoid of Jesus–let’s not take Him out of the one show that still welcomes Him on His own birthday! **
