The Yellow Ochre Newsletter
A weekly curation of encouragement and practical wisdom to turn your art from a hobby into a purposeful blessing for your community and culture.
Four Types of Humor
I grew up on 90s slapstick comedy. “How could any genre compete with such comedic glory?,” one might think. From Happy Gilmore to Lloyd Christmas, these stories hold a special place in my memory. But something happened.
I did not know what laughter meant as a new Christian.
A chasm existed between the utter seriousness of my newfound belief in Jesus (which has its roots in thousands of years of tradition) and joy. My newborn-again infancy only proved to exasperate my ongoing struggle with depression. Glimpses of what I can only call true delight moved me onward. Still, the battle to flea from sin was real. It still is, of course.
“How can one sit on Calvary’s hill and continue to laugh at degrading things?” I wondered. “If that sermon isn’t causing either sorrow for my sin OR fixes of joy, then something is wrong!”
What are we to make of the role of play and humor as Christians?
Leave it up to mister C.S. Lewis to help us out!
Lewis’ Four Categories of Humor
Reading Lewis’ Screwtape Letters struck me recently. In chapter 11, Lewis depicts Screwtape, the senior demon, classifying laughter into four types—Joy, Fun, Joke Proper, and Flippancy—for Wormwood, a younger demon intern. Let’s look at how he unpacks these four.
Joy
Screwtape says he does not know the real cause of joy. It is expressed in “much of that detestable art which the humans call Music.” He encourages Wormwood to do all he can to discourage his patient—a Christian—from it. He says joy “is of itself disgusting and a direct insult to the realism, dignity, and austerity of Hell.”
Fun
Fun, says Screwtape, relates to joy. It is “a sort of emotional froth arising from the play instinct.” He recognizes it is sometimes useful to distract humans from the “Enemy’ (God). Fun “promotes charity, courage, contentment, and many other evils.”
Lewis makes the case through Screwtape that joy and fun are mostly kingdom characteristics for believers.
The Joke Proper
This category on jokes and humor was, for me, the most surprising. “Humour,” says Screwtape, “is invaluable as a means of destroying shame.” Screwtape calls second-rate tempters those who primarily go after “indecent or bawdy humour.” Here, I believe Lewis is referring to the tactic of vulgar humor.
“Bawdy humour will not help” young Wormwood is he targets those who use find no lust in it. I believe Lewis is saying that if a joke is funny, it is just funny (even if it is vulgar). If one laughs and that is the end of it, Screwtape indicates this is wasted hours of tempting-work for demons.
However, if the laughter is intermingled with lust, then there are problems. Wormwood ought to find out which type of person is engaging with such humor. The same vulgar joke, Lewis seems to indicate, can intersect with two types of people. Applying this to 90s SNL humor, it seems to really depend on the individual themself then. What jokes can they handle?
Lewis spends a greater deal talking about this but I’ll move on.
Flippancy
Screwtape says when virtues are made comical, therein lies “success” for Wormwood.
“Among flippant people the Joke is always assumed to have been made. No one actually makes it; but every serious subject is discussed in a manner which implies that they have already found a ridiculous side to it.”
Flippancy is so destructive because it is in the cultural air of a group of people. Flippant jokes are “a thousand miles away from joy: it deadens, instead of sharpening, the intellect; and it excites no affection between those who practise it.”
For the Lewis scholar out there, my apologies if I veer from his original intent in outlining these four roles of laughter. I engage this more as a launching pad rather than a landing one.
To my excitement, I just came across an entire book on Lewis’ view of laughter based on these four. Reach out to me if you’d like to read it along with me: Surprised by Laughter: The Comic World of C.S. Lewis (Terry Lindvall)
Mental Health Observations From Ted Lasso
Watching Ted Lasso, I noticed three types of people we need in life:
The Community. The community is the context we serve as an outlet to make sense of and apply our story. The community, throughout the three seasons, shapes and provides clarity and vision for Ted in the narrative arc. Even though we work through our junk, there are always people who need the gifts we possess.
The Coach Beards. Coach Beard’s are those trusted people we do life alongside. Frequently, these are close friends—people around whom we feel completely ourselves.
The Therapists. We should make sense of our stories with others who can connect the dots, whether they be guides, therapists, or shepherds. These individuals don't necessarily have to be literal therapists. While therapist-types might not be our close friends, they offer a different kind of care.
Tying each of these together is a mission. Ted didn’t interface with these three passively. A mission (for Ted, it was coaching), keeps the car of life’s purpose in motion.
ChatGPT: If 1984 Were Writen for Today
I found myself reading Orwell’s “1984” just before the pandemic hit in 2020. When it struck, imagination had quite the experience!
Out of curiosity, I gave ChatGPT this prompt: “Write a table of contents with ten titles and brief descriptions for George Orwell's 1984 if Orwell had written it today.”
Here is what it came up with:
Title: "2024: A Modern Orwellian Dystopia"
Introduction: The Surveillance State Redux
A brief overview of the omnipresent surveillance culture in a society dominated by advanced technology and government control.
The New Newspeak: Digital Discourse and Manipulation
Explore the manipulation of language in the digital age, where social media, memes, and algorithms shape public opinion and control the narrative.
Big Data Brother: The All-Seeing Algorithms
Delve into the role of artificial intelligence, algorithms, and data collection in monitoring and controlling citizens' thoughts, behaviors, and personal lives.
Social Credit Scores: The Currency of Obedience
Examine the concept of a social credit system, where citizens are ranked based on their conformity to societal norms, impacting their access to privileges and opportunities.
The Ministry of Truth Online: Rewriting History in Real-Time
Explore how online platforms are used to reshape historical narratives, control information, and manipulate public memory to suit the ruling ideology.
Doublethink in the Digital Age: Navigating Contradictory Realities
Investigate the psychological impact of living in a world where contradictory information coexists, requiring citizens to accept conflicting truths without question.
Thought Crimes 2.0: Policing Ideas in Cyberspace
Discuss the suppression of dissenting opinions, the consequences of challenging the status quo online, and the chilling effect on freedom of thought.
Proles and the Panopticon: The Illusion of Freedom
Analyze the role of the "proles" in a society dominated by digital surveillance, exploring whether true freedom exists for the majority or if it's merely an illusion.
Technology as a Tool of Oppression: The Dark Side of Progress
Investigate how technological advancements, intended to enhance human life, have become instruments of control and oppression in the hands of those in power.
Resistance in the Digital Underground: Can the Spirit of 1984 Survive?
Conclude with a discussion of contemporary resistance movements, exploring how individuals navigate the digital landscape to preserve autonomy, critical thinking, and the human spirit against overwhelming surveillance and control.
Stawberries vs. Pecans
Strawberry patches only take about one year to produce fruit.
Pecan trees are different. They take 20 or more years to yield mature pecans.
How might we view parenting with this metaphor? Are you viewing this task like raising strawberries or pecans? When are you expecting a parental return on investment?
If All the Bibles Went Away
If all the Bible’s went away, who in your life (not the internet!) would you follow around to remember what Jesus was like?
Perhaps we can all spend 2024 attached to someone like that and being someone like that.
How to Create Mic-Drop Culture
One way to get a “mic drop” culture is from “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” slogans.
One Reason You Might Not See Artists In Churches
One reason the church might not feel welcoming to many artists is this…
There appears to be a sacred Spotify playlist.
And only the leaders have access to it's curation.