Two weeks ago the HBO show “Curb Your Enthusiasm” generated some controversy when the star of the program, “Seinfeld” co-creator Larry David who plays himself on the show, accidentally urinated on a painting of Jesus. Catholic groups, as well as a Muslim group, protested the show, saying it crossed the line in mocking religion, as David’s urine was located in a place that caused a character on the show to believe Jesus was crying.
Instead of protesting, an act that has drawn the attention of a number of news media outlets, thus generating attention to the show, those groups should have stayed quiet to keep the spotlight off the show. It’s a mistake too many protesters have made to the detriment of their causes.
I saw the show when it first aired, and my personal opinion of it was that it was one of the show’s weaker episodes, an opinion I communicated to a co-worker who also watches it.
While I understood the show was essentially mocking people who believe Jesus or other religious figures can take the form of such random things as a Cheetoh or a piece of toast, the humor the show was trying to convey got lost in a tirade of other jokes it was spewing at the same time. “Curb” often does this, and most of the time the majority of the jokes work, with the end result being a show that is sometimes funnier than David’s other masterpiece, “Seinfeld.”
Once in a while, though, “Curb” overreaches and the end product is like that clunker of a “Seinfeld” episode when Jerry, George and Kramer went to Los Angeles and Kramer is mistaken for a serial killer in his pursuit of an acting career. I filed the “Curb” episode with David urinating on the Jesus painting into the clunker file, right next to this “Seinfeld” episode, thinking it’s one I’ll never need to watch again.
But then Deal Hudson, author and publisher of InsideCatholic.com, came out and questioned why the episode could publicly show that level of disrespect for Christian symbols, demanding an apology from the show’s producers.
And then Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, also criticized the episode, saying David intentionally mocks Catholics because he is Jewish.
Anyone that has ever watched the show knows David is an equal-opportunity mocker, as “Curb” grabs every opportunity to mock not just religion, including Judaism, but also every gender, race, sexuality, profession, belief and anything that can be targeted for mocking. This season’s mockery even included a way for him to find a way to dump a woman he was dating who got cancer.
HBO acknowledges this fact, issuing a statement in response to the controversy: “Anyone who follows ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ knows that the show is full of parody and satire. Larry David makes fun of everyone, most especially himself. The humor is always playful and certainly never malicious.”
When it’s on again, I plan on re-watching this controversial episode, as I know I’ll find it funnier than my first viewing just because of the controversy it generated. And I’m sure many others who never watched the show before might make it a point to watch the episode, just to see what all the controversy is about. Some of those people might discover the humor in the show and watch other episodes.
I highly doubt the protests against the show are going to cause regular viewers to suddenly stop watching it, which leads me to point out again that protests don’t work. It only helps the subject matter that is being protested.
How many people re-watched Janet Jackson’s “Nipplegate” performance from the Super Bowl after protests made it the top news story? Certainly millions more than would have had people simply said it was a boring performance.
How many people would have bothered to watch “Roseanne” when another woman kissed her? The show was on its final legs at that point, and though it was still popular, it achieved a huge ratings surge with people tuning in to see something others were protesting.
John Lennon once said in an interview that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus.” In context, he was saying that Christianity was on a downtrend, as exemplified by the plausible fact a rock band seemed more popular than an entire religion. It was a statement that went unnoticed for four months, but when a teen magazine reprinted part of the quote, out of context, people went on the protest.
Beatles’ records were banned, burned and broken, and some radio stations refused to play the group’s music. Did the protests work? The fact that the group, which broke up nearly 40 years ago, was the biggest selling band of this decade demonstrates it didn’t.
I know I’m giving sound advice to would-be protesters of anything: don’t bother because it won’t work to your favor. I also know it’s advice that will go unheeded.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Poor sap without pillow can blame my wife
Somewhere, some poor sap is sleeping without a pillow, and it’s probably because my wife, Jenny, has it.
Not in a literal sense, as I can assure people all of the pillows on our bed were purchased by us and not taken from someone else’s bed. But – I counted them this morning while making the bed – we have nine full-sized pillows and two mini-pillows, a number well above the amount people are probably allotted by the pillow fairy, which means some poor sap must be without a pillow.
After the bed is made, and the pillows are propped up, more than half of our bed is covered in pillows. Our two cats, BigE and Priscilla, who like to sleep on the bed during the day, practically have to fight each other to claim rights to the small portion not covered by pillows.
Given Priscilla’s enormous size – she’s a big cat, although Jenny claims she is just big boned – BigE is left to find someplace else to nap, a place that’s not nearly as comfortable as our bed and a place that’s probably like the hard, pillowless place that the poor sap without a pillow has to sleep because my wife has too many pillows.
Jenny claims the pillows help her stay comfortable at night. She puts her head on at least three of them, and then surrounds her back and chest with four more, creating a barricade of pillows that leaves me six inches of bed space to sleep on. As someone who goes to bed several hours after Jenny, I often toss some of the pillows onto the floor to give me a few more inches of space to fit my big frame.
I refuse to put my head on more than one pillow because I have found the more parallel my head is with the mattress the more comfortable I am when I sleep. I can’t sleep without a pillow, though, as being directly parallel to the mattress creates an awkward feeling.
It’s an awkward feeling I hope that the poor sap without a pillow doesn’t mind. But I’m sure there is probably somebody out there that actually likes sleeping without one, much like Jenny likes sleeping with nine (plus two mini ones) of them.
She has told me she wouldn’t mind more pillows for the bed, a thought that scares me because physically there is little room for any more. Does it mean she’s trying to slowly weed me out of our bed and onto the couch? Does it mean she’s becoming a diva who wants to sleep on a bed of pillows, much like an ancient goddess would sleep on a bed of clouds?
Or does it just mean she likes the comfort pillows can provide?
I’ll vote for the latter, as I’m fairly confident she still likes having me around and isn’t ready to toss me away just yet, and her actions outside of sleeping are normally un-diva like.
And though I like to tease her about her love for pillows and the fact she doesn’t give me much of the bed to sleep on, I really don’t mind. When I returned home during my college years, I was relegated to staying in a small room without a real bed – just a twin-sized mattress on the floor – so I adjusted a long time ago to sleeping in places many others might find uncomfortable.
Sleeping in a bed of pillows with a lovely wife is almost like paradise. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed in hopes that the poor sap without a pillow isn’t sleeping in a nightmare-like place wishing he or she just had one pillow.
In all fairness, I’m giving Jenny some space to respond to my allegations/comments. This is what she had to say:
“There is nothing wrong with having lots of pillows, and I am not a diva. I use the pillows strategically. I typically have two under my head to reach the appropriate consistency for comfort. One goes upright against the headboard so I don’t bang my head, and to block the light from the alarm clock. I then use one to support my back.
“Another pillow is used to hug – that is a comfort thing. I’m too old to sleep with my cabbage patch doll that I’ve had since childhood.
“Another is used between my knees – a tip from the chiropractor – to help with back pain. That is seven.
“Others are used for a defense against the cats – I can throw them at the furry alarm clocks without harming them to make them stop running around at 3 a.m., or use it to push Priscilla to another spot on the bed, as she insists on sleeping right where my legs go, and when I try to move the 24-pounder in the middle of her “cat nap” she bites me and hisses. The pillow is protection.
“And finally, they can be used to muffle the sound of my husband, Darth Vader, sleeping next to me.”
If I were Darth Vader, though, I would use a simple mind trick to convince her she doesn’t need all those pillows.
Not in a literal sense, as I can assure people all of the pillows on our bed were purchased by us and not taken from someone else’s bed. But – I counted them this morning while making the bed – we have nine full-sized pillows and two mini-pillows, a number well above the amount people are probably allotted by the pillow fairy, which means some poor sap must be without a pillow.
After the bed is made, and the pillows are propped up, more than half of our bed is covered in pillows. Our two cats, BigE and Priscilla, who like to sleep on the bed during the day, practically have to fight each other to claim rights to the small portion not covered by pillows.
Given Priscilla’s enormous size – she’s a big cat, although Jenny claims she is just big boned – BigE is left to find someplace else to nap, a place that’s not nearly as comfortable as our bed and a place that’s probably like the hard, pillowless place that the poor sap without a pillow has to sleep because my wife has too many pillows.
Jenny claims the pillows help her stay comfortable at night. She puts her head on at least three of them, and then surrounds her back and chest with four more, creating a barricade of pillows that leaves me six inches of bed space to sleep on. As someone who goes to bed several hours after Jenny, I often toss some of the pillows onto the floor to give me a few more inches of space to fit my big frame.
I refuse to put my head on more than one pillow because I have found the more parallel my head is with the mattress the more comfortable I am when I sleep. I can’t sleep without a pillow, though, as being directly parallel to the mattress creates an awkward feeling.
It’s an awkward feeling I hope that the poor sap without a pillow doesn’t mind. But I’m sure there is probably somebody out there that actually likes sleeping without one, much like Jenny likes sleeping with nine (plus two mini ones) of them.
She has told me she wouldn’t mind more pillows for the bed, a thought that scares me because physically there is little room for any more. Does it mean she’s trying to slowly weed me out of our bed and onto the couch? Does it mean she’s becoming a diva who wants to sleep on a bed of pillows, much like an ancient goddess would sleep on a bed of clouds?
Or does it just mean she likes the comfort pillows can provide?
I’ll vote for the latter, as I’m fairly confident she still likes having me around and isn’t ready to toss me away just yet, and her actions outside of sleeping are normally un-diva like.
And though I like to tease her about her love for pillows and the fact she doesn’t give me much of the bed to sleep on, I really don’t mind. When I returned home during my college years, I was relegated to staying in a small room without a real bed – just a twin-sized mattress on the floor – so I adjusted a long time ago to sleeping in places many others might find uncomfortable.
Sleeping in a bed of pillows with a lovely wife is almost like paradise. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed in hopes that the poor sap without a pillow isn’t sleeping in a nightmare-like place wishing he or she just had one pillow.
In all fairness, I’m giving Jenny some space to respond to my allegations/comments. This is what she had to say:
“There is nothing wrong with having lots of pillows, and I am not a diva. I use the pillows strategically. I typically have two under my head to reach the appropriate consistency for comfort. One goes upright against the headboard so I don’t bang my head, and to block the light from the alarm clock. I then use one to support my back.
“Another pillow is used to hug – that is a comfort thing. I’m too old to sleep with my cabbage patch doll that I’ve had since childhood.
“Another is used between my knees – a tip from the chiropractor – to help with back pain. That is seven.
“Others are used for a defense against the cats – I can throw them at the furry alarm clocks without harming them to make them stop running around at 3 a.m., or use it to push Priscilla to another spot on the bed, as she insists on sleeping right where my legs go, and when I try to move the 24-pounder in the middle of her “cat nap” she bites me and hisses. The pillow is protection.
“And finally, they can be used to muffle the sound of my husband, Darth Vader, sleeping next to me.”
If I were Darth Vader, though, I would use a simple mind trick to convince her she doesn’t need all those pillows.
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