#753. Bragging about being clueless about pop culture.
I am going to predict something today that will probably change your life.
I’m not going to make the same claim as the first line of the Stuff Christians Like
But I will tell you something that is going to happen in about two weeks. I will predict the future a little bit. In a few weeks, I am going to write a post about a really popular television show that is tearing Christianity asunder and undoubtedly some people will post this comment:
“I’ve never even heard of that show.”
And some folks will mean exactly that, they are completely unaware of that show, but others will mean something entirely different. What they mean is, “I’ve never even heard of that show, you sweaty heathen. You’re probably going to have to sleep on a fold out couch in hell and have a TV that only shows reruns of Fran Drescher’s the Nanny or the inexplicably still on the air, “Road Rules Challenge.”
They probably didn’t add that last part, but chances are you have run into a fellow Christian who maintains at least a small amount of pride in being completely clueless when it comes to pop culture. But if not, here are a few clues on how to spot someone who is bragging about their lack of pop culture savvy.
1. The Fictional Friend
Like the pretend girlfriend in “The Breakfast Club,” who always lives “in the Niagara Falls area,” people who brag about being detached from pop culture always have friends they know who enjoy that thing you’re talking about. “Oh, Lady Gaga? My neighbor likes her.” Or, “Dancing with the Stars? My cousin Brandall watches that show. Bit of a ruffian, that one.” This approach allows you to indirectly judge someone. You don’t judge the person you’re talking to but instead ricochet the judgment off this fictional person like a superball. “Oh you like that show? I know another guy who does too, and he’s horrible.”
2. Seen, not heard.
Smart people say “I’ve never seen Lost,” instead of “I’ve never heard of Lost.” Everyone on the planet at this point has heard of Lost. It’s ubiquitous so if you claim to have never heard of it, we’ll know you’re being fake holy. But we might believe you’ve never seen an episode. Big difference. (Pastors even preach on it. Regularly.)
3. Violence doesn’t count.
I wrote about this in the book, but every Christian knows we get a free pass on violent movies. Gladiator? The Matrix? Braveheart? Not only can we watch those, we can turn them into sermon series.
4. In the world, but not of the world.
This is perhaps the squishiest sentiment in all of Christianity. If it was specific, if it said, “You shall be in the world, enjoying Nova and PBS and Antiques Roadshow but not of the world, watching Always Sunny in Philadelphia and the Family Guy,” we’d have no argument. We could all keep the list of items on the fridge. Done and done. But that list doesn’t exist that specifically. Which is unfortunate because then we get in distracting arguments about TV shows. On the positive side, I feel like I am one Old Testament reference away from convincing my wife that I need an iPad to be in the world.
5. Listen carefully for the Christian disclaimer.
As I mentioned in another post, one of the things we’ll do to justify watching/listening to something a little whack is to throw out a string of Christian disclaimers. “The language was pretty bad and you have to fast forward a few scenes and at minute 18 you have to leave the room for a while, but otherwise, it’s a really interesting movie. Really reveals the hurt of our culture.”
It’s hard to understand where relevance and irrelevance should play together. That’s not an easy thing. Hopefully, you’ve never encountered someone who wants to throw the G card on you because you did a breakdance move like Jonesy in Reno 911, but if it happens, at least you won’t be surprised because you’ll be able to recognize it.
Has anyone ever done this to you? Have you done it?
Where do you draw the line with pop culture?
