Last night, I watched the HBO Comedy called Here and Now, which featured standup by Ellen Degeneres. I watched the special primarily because Rob Bell, one of my favorite Biblical teachers, mentioned it in a seminar that I attended. Rob said the standup routine is a good example of how to tap into everyday experiences and issues to connect with a crowd. Although I have never been an Ellen Degeneres fan, primarily because of her position as a leader of the gay political agenda, she did a great job of finding humor in everyday life. I developed an appreciation for her skills as a standup comedian and communicator.
Ellen started out by addressing the thing on everyone's mind. The one thing that could get in the way of her skill and turn people on or off just because of her lifestyle choices. Yes, that's right. She addressed the gay issue right up front. And she did it in a way that disarmed the crowd no matter one's particular beliefs on the subject. She poked fun at all sides, and in the process she got her audience to move beyond her lifestyle and focus on the quality of her comedy.
Ellen started out by saying that everyone watching the live show or DVD had something in common. She said, “You’re all gay.” The crowd roared in laughter. Some were obviously in shock. Ellen said, "There are some guys here who have turned to friends next to them and asked, 'People won't think we're gay just because we came to hear her comedy will they.'" She said, "That was my one obligator gay reference." She explained that if she didn't say anything about being gay, some would leave disappointed as if they had lost a leader. It was obvious that she wanted to let the bomb go off instead of having everybody worry about it in the back of their minds the entire night. She made a few more jokes about people wrongly assuming the wrong thing about your sexual orientation just because you laughed at her jokes. This disarmed the crowd, especially those thinking, "Should I laugh at her because she gay and probably has some hidden meaning in her routine." Then she went on to create common ground for everyone no matter their political, religous or social beliefs. She said, "We all share one thing here in common tonight, we all love to laugh."
In a moment of brilliance, she created unity and let everybody know that she was not going to use comedy to push a pro gay agenda. Instead, she hit on issues common to all such as the appeal of procrastination, the busyness of life today, the little stupid things that we all do in life, the way that consumerism has impacted American values, and the power of music.
Sometimes we are afraid to talk about the thing on everyone's mind. It is too risky and could upset the status quo. But a good communicator tries to get in the mind of the audience and understand what they are thinking. Actually, the best communicators will make a mad dash for the thing that is unmentionable because he understands that there is power in conquering it. There is freedom and progress in unleashing the human mind to deal with it. A good teacher will predict the questions that are developing in the minds of the students and teach to them. A good salesman can guess what objections you will raise to his sales pitch and have answers ready to sweep you back onto the path of saying, "Yes. I'll buy two."
Jesus was a master at reading the crowd. His discernment allowed him to touch the very thing that was not up for discussion. From the motive of Pharisees to the secrets of a woman at a well, Jesus dared go where others would not tread. In the process, Jesus changed the world.
Rob Bell was right. I learned a lot by listening to the comedic stylings of Ellen Degeneres. She made me laugh and think. Her routine helped me see that just because I disagree with someone's lifestyle doesn't mean that I should completely tune out everything they have to say. I learned a lot about commmunication from her and was challegend to live life with intention despite the cookie cutter approach frequently used by others. I learned that sometime is is ok to procrastinate and you can make a big splash by talking about the thing that nobody wants to address.
