July-August 1997

Does it have to be Filthy to be Funny?

by Joe Costantino

If you were to make a list of Christians' most endearing qualities, having a great sense of humor would not top the list. Christians are often accused of being drab and humorless, on a search-and-destroy mission to eliminate mirth from the face of the earth.

When you get down to it, perhaps Americans fear the severe disapproval of their Puritan ancestors, who frowned on any attempt at Christian humor.

Meanness and vulgarity, racial, national, sexual and social prejudice have all found their way into comedy. But it doesn't have to be that way, and, in fact, it hasn't always been that way. There was a time when more humor was family friendly. What happened?

With Lenny Bruce leading the way in the early 1960s, comedians who injected profanity and sex into their routines seemed to become heroes by breaking old taboos. For 30 years or more, comedians have been harvesting the cheap laughs available by tossing in sex or foul language-in an unexpected spot.

You don't have to go back far into history to find funny comedy material that was clean as a whistle. Fromsilent movies to the old national radio networks, comedians like Fred Allen, Red Skelton, Jack Benny and George Burns made audiences howl without inducing guilt. For its first 15 or 20 years, television benefited from the talents of the gifted writers, producers and performers who cut their teeth in radio. Their talents gave us the likes of I Love Lucy, Ozzie and Harriet, Leave It to Beaver, The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres.

As the 1970s approached, the country was changing and these skillful people were retiring and being replaced by seemingly lesser talents playing to an audience that rewarded "going over the line." There is no denying that Laugh-In was funny, but it reflected-and advanced-the loosening morality of the sexual revolution.

In the meantime, the world of stand-up comedy followed Lenny Bruce's lead. Vulgarity, "blue" material became standard fare. There have been exceptions, but stand-up comedy has not been suitable for Christians for many years.

But now there are signs it may be changing. The growing market power of conservative Americans has spawned a new wave of clean comedy. Although there has been a steady, if not large stream of family comedy entering television and movies, family oriented fare is something new to the world of stand-up comedy.

Clean comedians can be found performing at churches, schools and business functions, where vulgarity and "blue" material is inappropriate. But is this a phenomenon that reaches outside the Christian subculture?

"Yes, definitely," says Adam Christing, founder of Clean Comedians, a booking agency in Southern California.

As it turns out, Christians aren't the only ones who object to filthy comedy. A broad range of Americans feel there are many social settings where filthy comedy is not acceptable, even among adults.

Business functions are one such venue. Companies know their employees and clients come from a wide range of backgrounds, and they don't want to unnecessarily offend any of them. Unnecessary is a key word here, because, as Christing says, "It doesn't have to be filthy to be funny."

If people see a funny performer and enjoy the performance, they are not likely to complain, "Oh, it was OK, but he didn't curse enough" or "She didn't talk about sex enough."

Unfortunately, when some people hear about clean comedy, they get images of corny, down-home, cracker-barrel humor, old-fashioned humor from the '50s, or humor that is "spiritually correct," but not really funny.

Clean comedians have to work just as hard, and perhaps harder, to make sure they are not only clean, but funny.

There's an endearing but dysfunctional phenomenon that operates sometimes in church settings, where many, but not all, clean comedians get their start. Christians are generally a kind and merciful lot and want to help others succeed. So when the local church talent show comes around, the budding comedian is not faced with a tough audience. The church members want to laugh. In many cases they know the performer.

Sometimes the unfortunate result is that substandard comedy is rewarded and reinforced. There is no natural quality control. The same phenomenon can be seen in other Christian endeavors. Mercy should never become an excuse for a failure to strive for excellence.

So, are clean comedians really funny? The success of Clean Comedians would seem to say so. The business has grown from a one-man show operating from Adam Christing's spare bedroom to an office with so many employees that it is about to begin cloning itself by selling Clean Comedians franchises all over the country.

Several of the featured comedians, like the comedy-juggling team The Passing Zone, have appeared on The Tonight Show. These are not small-time, neighborhood performers.

Never G.R.O.S.S.

But what exactly is "clean"? Christing uses this acronym: Clean comedians are not G.R.O.S.S. That is, they do not rely on Gender-bashing, Racist remarks, Obscenity, Sexual innuendo or Swearing.

Not all clean comedians are Christians. But, of course, not all Christians are comedians, so this is only fair. But the comedians who are Christians feel a special obligation to their audience and those who hire them for the event.

On some occasions, churches hire Christian comedians as an outreach function for the local community. And sometimes, they are asked to share their faith at the end of their routine! And they do so, enthusiastically. There's a stereotype-basher!

Can Christian comedians help reform the image of the church from grim, humorless killjoys to that of a community of joyful, loving and fun-loving people who are enjoying their God-given lives to the full?

As a matter of proper humility, we Christians must learn to take ourselves less seriously if we want everyone else to take us more seriously.

It is true, the stereotypes often associated with our faith are unfair and exaggerated, but at times they may be built on a grain of truth. We should be humble enough to look at ourselves critically and make sure we exhibit the joy God gives us with healthy smiles and laughter. 

Like, for Example... Here are some of the numerous examples of humor cited in the book Comedy Comes Clean:   "I have no respect for gangs today. None. They just drive by and shoot people. At least in the old days, like in West Side Story, the gangs used to dance with each other first." -- Robert G. Lee   "When I put on my acid-washed jeans, I started having flashbacks." -- Nick Arnette   "I have just returned from Boston. It is the only thing to do if you find yourself there." -- Fred Allen "When a man makes a woman his wife, it's the highest compliment he can pay her, and it's usually the last." -- Helen Rowland   "You go to the ballet and you see girls dancing on their tiptoes. Why don't they just get taller girls?" -- Greg Ray   "The coffee business is getting so ridiculous. There's a new coffee company that delivers overnight. It's called Federal Espresso." -- Bill Jones   "As for evolution, I have a hard time believing that billions of years ago two protozoa bumped into each other under a volcanic cesspool and evolved into Cindy Crawford." -- Robert G. Lee   "Recently I performed at an animal rights barbecue." -- Adam Christing   "It often happens that I wake at night and begin to think about a serious problem and decide I must tell the Pope about it. Then I wake up completely and remember that I am the Pope." -- Pope John XXIII   "I fear that one day I'll meet God, He'll sneeze, and I won't know what to say." -- Ronnie Shakes

Merry Christians Many Christians would deny the charge that they have no sense of humor, or that they have a humorless heritage. The Fellowship of Merry Christians has made it its business to dispell that myth. Its publication, The Joyful Noiseletter, provides a monthly dose of humor to pastors and churches all over the country. Hailing humor as "A powerful bridge-building, peacemaking, healing and evangelistic tool," the Fellowship "believes it is possible to be reverent and moral and still have fun." The Noiseletter includes cartoons by people like Bil Keane, creator of The Family Circus, and Johnny Hart, creator of B.C. The cartoons are provided for reprint in church bulletins. Cal Samra, a former newspaper reporter, and his wife, Rose, founded the Fellowship of Merry Christians in 1986. The original intent was to bring more joy and clean humor into churches. In researching the subject, they found a rich treasury of humor through the centuries in many different traditions. St. Francis of Assisi, St. Philip Neri, known as the clown priest of Rome, and St. Symeon in the Orthodox tradition were all known for their humor and willingness to be counted "fools" for Christ. St. Teresa of Avila is quoted as saying, "Lord, save us from solemn, sullen, serious saints." Martin Luther, Henry Ward Beecher and Charles Spurgeon were all known for their sharp wit. Christian author G.K. Chesterton, one of C.S. Lewis' greatest influences, said, "Never forget that the devil fell by force of gravity and angels can fly because they take themselves lightly." Samra says that many clergymen have discovered humor as a powerful evangelistic tool. David Briggs, a religion editor with The Associated Press, called the Noiseletter part of "a new generation of clergy, theologians and comics whose mission is to recapture what they envision as the joyful world of the early Christians, in which the resurrection was a living memory... a movement to a more celebrative faith focusing on joy and fueled by humor."

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