Comedy is about taking on the rich and powerful, not siding with them. The first great American comedy movie star was a tramp, not a banker. To the extent it’s funny watching a person slip on a banana peel, it’s funny to have it be a fat, pompous tycoon as opposed to, say, a homeless person. A lot of comedy is about bringing the powerful and inflated down to “our” level so it’s done from a lower POV. You couldn’t make a Marx Brothers movie and have Margaret Dumont be the funny one.
Eugene @ A Life in Juxtaposition:
Which I guess is my very long winded way of saying that mocking a preacher or a church for being ridiculous or stupid can be incredibly healing. Like I said, it may not make sense to you if you’ve never had to deal with any spiritual abuse but if you had, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Crossing that line without any eggshell walking empowers you. Being able to mock them strips away all their power over you. It’s not just helpful, I think it’s kind of necessary. It’s all a bluff but you will never truly know it until you call it. Once you see them as they really are they won’t have a hold on you ever again.
Mary:
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
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