We thank gentle reader Prodigal Son of SWNID for pointing us in the direction of "Mr. Deity," a slickly produced short video series hoping to be picked up as a TV series.
"Mr. Deity" is a satiric portrayal of God as a Hollywood producer (hence the title and the title character, obviously). The short segments--at least those viewed so far by SWNID--focus on paradoxical aspects of Christian theology (the problem of evil, trinitarian relationships, the incarnation, unanswered prayer). Mr. Deity interacts with an assistant producer who points out problems in his production, a star figure (Jesus) who takes the burden for the show's success while being marginalized by the producer, and other characters in later episodes.
The producer/director/star describes himself as a former believer who isn't hostile to faith and is trying to poke sympathetic fun. We think he's described his endeavor pretty accurately.
Ours is an age preoccupied with issues of faith, as all are, but also immersed in the entertainment medium, consumed by professional relationships, and suffused with sarcasm (we proudly acknowledge our contribution to this last item). "Mr. Deity" is an apt compendium of these features of our cultural landscape.
"Mr. Deity" is not the thing that so many Christians think they need: a brilliant presentation of Christian theology via the entertainment medium. It is, however, something that presents what should be understood by people who care about communicating the gospel to this culture. These videos pose the problems we face in communicating the faith, not the solution.
(Gentle readers with problems accessing "Mr. Deity" on the show's site can find the videos on YouTube beginning here.)
6 comments:
Yikes! Now everytime I open my Bible I think I am going to hear that Jazz intro in my head.
I laughed until I cried and then had to explain to my wife what was so funny... she doesn't get me...
Double Yikes! I just noticed that you can download the song as the ringtone... that way I can just have it "accidently" go off at church everytime I open my Bible.
On that note, I will stop taking up your webspace this evening. Good night.
To Matt:
Please tell your wife it's okay. I often don't get this kind of humor either.
Mrs. SWNID
To Mrs. Swnid:
I wathced two of these videos and there is no humor to get.
"We thank gentle reader Prodigal Son of SWNID for pointing us in the direction of "Mr. Deity," a slickly produced short video series hoping to be picked up as a TV series."
If the inane Geico cavemen can get their own sitcom, I'm sure there is a network execc who would jump at the chance to put this on their schedule.
Wow! No humor to get, indeed! So I guess MattC and I are laughing at ... Well, I don't know then.
Don't I feel foolish for thinking this was funny.
Humor is subjective, so you needn't feel foolish. It may be that I picked the worst entries of the series(so far) to view. I may give it a second chance when time permits.
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