tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post115498820155870037..comments2023-05-14T07:51:18.017-05:00Comments on The Suburban Christian: Calvin seminar: Further thoughts on Christian writingAl Hsuhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04407264726681695790noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-1155303800642316402006-08-11T08:43:00.000-05:002006-08-11T08:43:00.000-05:00Good thoughts, Al. I think sarcasm/satire is just ...Good thoughts, Al. I think sarcasm/satire is just incredibly difficult to pull off in a longer format--whether Christian or secular.<BR/><BR/>The best example I can think of is Twain's <I>Huck Finn</I>. And that book doesn't fully reveal its satire until the end, which many readers despise.<BR/><BR/>Another good example is <I>Monty Python's Holy Grail</I>. Now I love this movie, but it just doesn't work well to watch it from beginning to end. It is better in small doses.<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0131344420/sr=8-1/qid=1155303314/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-5201242-2853546?ie=UTF8" REL="nofollow">Harmon and Holman</A> say a satiric novel has many defining elements, but one of them is a sense of hopelessness. At the end of <I>Huck Finn</I>, Jim escapes only to discover that he was free all along. At the end of <I>Holy Grail</I> (not a novel, I know), the knights arrive at the same french castle they encountered in the beginning.<BR/><BR/>All of that to say, I think a longer work can adopt a satiric tone occasionally without alienating the reader. Moments of snarkiness are fun. But too much spoils the message.Mark Goodyearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13515891157372544251noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24215087.post-1155054434517659962006-08-08T11:27:00.000-05:002006-08-08T11:27:00.000-05:00I think the insights of the Calvin seminar that yo...I think the insights of the Calvin seminar that you highlight are fantastic. I grew up on the "Simpsons" and even "Married With Children." Cynicism and sarcastic humor are great, and in the case of the Homer, Bart and the rest, the tool of cynicism is a great way to laugh at our selves.<BR/><BR/>But I have gotten tired of every TV show, book and movie jumping on the cynicism bandwagon for success. It seems like now it is ok to be a dead-beat dad or a divorcee. The Clevers may be long gone from the screen or literature, but maybe it is time to come back to Zach and the gang and start calling each other 'googers' or lighten up the entertainment - be it print or screen.<BR/><BR/>In reading a Christian book on marriage, recently published, I found the cynical tone to not benefit the reader. Theirs was a message of hope, but they did so in the degradation of others. The language was cynical rhetoric rather than constructive advice. It was hard to take seriously. What was worse, it was overtly Evangelical Christian Sub-culture, i.e. they wrote flowery Christian lingo amidst darker, sarcastic phrases. It made the book rather unintelligent. It was waaaay to conservative for me, but I think that the authors would have been more successful and I would have retained a great deal more if they had gone to the Calvin seminar.<BR/><BR/>On that note, I appreciate your style of writing - at least on your blog. It is informative, helpful and critiques where necessary. You are always generous and respectful, which makes any criticism you may have much more authoritative. Thanks.<BR/><BR/>(sorry for the long comment).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com