A Commentary on Comedy | Part Three

Collective has kicked off its sermon series titled, Prophets of Comedy. It delves into the idea that comedians are modern day prophets. My job is to give my take on each sermon and featured comedic video. I promise to strive to avoid offense, ask good questions, articulate and explain my responses. I also promise to link the sermon video to the picture above... but we'll see how that goes. ​​

It's the me-monster installment. And I'm ready.

Have you every met a me-monster? They're the ones that talk over you, down to you, and volumes above you. They're story is just more urgent than yours and you will just have to listen. Conversations balance well when their is equal give and take. This means both sides have to balance evenly. With a me-monster this is not the case. Domineering and with purpose they speak a majority of the time leaving others feeling shot down or unheard. You can probably think of one almost immediately, and if you can't then maybe consider doing some self reflection. 

Ben begins the sermon by saying that his Enneagram test deemed him a 3 which means he's an addictive doer. I'm a 7 which means I'm the enthusiast who's probably louder and way more scattered than you. Some notable sevens are Mozart, JFK, and Brittany Spears. Ben confesses his flaws with full self awareness and the numbers to back him. We can almost always confess to holding the role of me-monster. As an impulsive and crafty person I typically fantasize and romanticize. My stories are larger than life and larger than reality. I'm animated and excited, to the point that I overlook important components and often forget to complete certain tasks. My name is Paige and I am a me-monster. 

If you remember nothing from this sermon, remember the term ascending theology. It plays a key role in the making of a me-monster. We see it throughout the bible where the king of Babylon assumes the power of god as he now has an army and and empire to back him up. Even beyond feeling godly, he feels to be greater than God. The ultimate me-monster, power drenched and barely able to support the weight of their own head believing that they know good and evil. But they are not God. 

The story of Narcissus goes something along the lines of a man seeing his reflection in water and falling in love with it. Completely self absorbed and in awe of his beauty. My nostrils usually flare whenever I hear the story but in the society that we live in, Narcissus can't compete. Creating the best and most self-involved versions of ourselves seems possible.  But beyond our image, conversation and humility are crucial to humans. Bouncing ideas, visions, situations off of people helps give us perspective and while we seem to be able to see ourselves, we can't truly hear ourselves without human interaction. 

I think the truth is in the silence. It's easy to get ahead of ourselves and it's certainly easier to spill the beans than to resist speaking. Me-monsters live in the majority of us and self realization is the first step to overcoming social domination.  

Paige Garcia