Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Rufus Wainwright - Christmas for Atheists


Posted December 14, 2010 on CBC
UPDATE: This is a parody by Gavin Crawford from CBC 22 Minutes

25 comments:

  1. Boy that was lame. This however is great:
    Acrobats strip for Pope Benedict XVI, perform topless in Vatican
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rbxov7CVi8

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  2. Wow, this guy is like BrĂ¼no. Is he always like this?
    Anyway, it was funny. :)

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  3. Cute, humorous. Unfortunately not the kind of humour I typically enjoy so I probably won't be watching it again.

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  4. Pointing this out, for people who don't know: this is a parody.  This guy isn't really Rufus Wainwright.

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  5. This guy, also, doesn't much like atheists I'd imagine; at least from the context of only this clip.

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  6. It could be the start of a whole new marketing plan to include non-believers in the whole xmas splodge. Next, non turkey and ham, xmas palm trees, admission that Santa IS real and that all that is really being cellebrated is the Winter solstice in the north and the Summer version in the south. Then we can all be included and exploited for commercial gain. Oh it's good to belong!

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  7. Also Rose...It's Gavin Crawford from "This Hour Has 22 Minutes". Very good imitation of the even more talented Rufus.

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  8. That really was awful. I thought Rufus was spiritual or nominally Christian, at least not an atheist. Am I missing something? What's supposed to be funny about this besides stupid stereotypes of atheists as snooty, arrogant killjoys?

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  9. Could have been funny. But then again, 22 minutes lost all value when they lost first Rick Mercer, and then founder Mary Walsh. The only remaining original cast member is Cathy Jones, who is very much a hit and miss kind of comedienne. 

    This is pretty typical of their current output: throw together a bunch of cliches and hope one of them gets a laugh. 

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  10. huh? really lame, its hard to see that being offensive to "athiests". Now if the same sketch was done for religious people, nobody would even have to try to be offensive to a religious follower.

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  11. Awesome. I'm glad he took a stab at atheists.

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  12. You guys take shit way too seriously.  "<span>This guy, also, doesn't much like atheists", "What's supposed to be funny about this besides stupid stereotypes of atheists as snooty, arrogant killjoys?".  The only ones perpetuating that stereotype are the ones who consider a comedy routine as a serious attack on atheists.</span>
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    <span>Guys, I hate to break it to you but it's a JOKE.  Learn to laugh at yourselves for a second instead of getting all butthurt over anything that could even remotely be considered offensive.  I thought that the Christians had that market corned but I guess not.  It's time to take a good long look in the mirror.  :P</span>

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  13. lol @ Rolling eyes, you really think the comments here take this sh@it seriously?

    Besides comparing an atheists reaction to arrogant steriotypes to a theists one is not a valid comparison. Atheism is simply a non belief in god and believing in a god is something much more emotional and irrational. Taking offensive if your religious seems like the default reaction I see from almost any theist I speak to when you even respecfully analyse their reason of their beliefs in the spiritual/supernatural.

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  14. @Anonymous Why yes, yes I do.  I think the number of rejections of the skit mentioning the words "lame" or "perpetuating stereotypes" or "doesn't like atheists" lend really well to my argument that some atheists are as incapable of taking a joke as our theistic counterparts.  In fact, a friend and I watched this together and he light heartedly said "See!  There's the difference between atheists and theists: at least we can take a joke.".  I then asked him if he really believed that so we made a wager and checked the comments.  Wouldn't you know it, there were more comments complaining about the unfair portrayal of atheists than there were comments from those with a sense of humour.

    You wouldn't think atheism were simply a non-belief the way some of us talk. Many of us are in the habit of announcing atheism as a non-position and crying out against stereotyping while in the same breath declaring atheists as intellectually superior and rational.  Pretty hefty assertions for a supposed non-position, if I do say so myself.  I'm afraid we can't have it both ways.

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  15. Well rolling eyes the day people react to a targeted insult/joke in a way where they do not defend themselves and what laugh at themselves instead, that day will be a much more peacefull one!!! :)   However I stand by my conclusion that the reactions here are much less serious than the way theists react to an insult about their stereotypes. In fact their are words used just to describe this blaspheme, Infidel all about insulting / questioning some ridiculus god.

    Lets say we have a sketch of a cartoon where Jesus is pulling a rabbit out from a hat breaking its neck and feeding it to the poor, well I can guarentee most religious followers will say that I have sinned and wont take it as a joke.

    This video is not  a valid argument for concluding atheists cant take a joke. The most serious reactions we have here are <span> "lame" or "perpetuating stereotypes" or "doesn't like atheists". </span><span>For example </span><span>the most common "atheist" insults are missing such as stupid bible bashers, damn child rapist accessories, arrogant mindless god shits, you see none of the best theist insults are here, most didnt even leave a comment! lol</span>

    These comments say nothing like the relevant typical theist reactions from jokes or insults such as " You are going to hell, you have sinned against god, you are all immoral and godless.

    What people think and say about being an atheist or even a theist doesnt change the ability for them all to react to critisizm.

    If you suddenlly act like a little child then I cant conclude that since you dont believe in unicorns all those people who dont believe in unicorns act like children. This does not become any more true despite any 2000 year old book about how unicorns are real and created the world or even your personal experiencs alone at night with unicorns or even billions of mindless sheep believing in unicorns.

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  16. Is your argument really as simple as "Well we're not as bad as theists".  That's a pretty low bar to beat and I wouldn't really consider it a benchmark.  I also didn't conclude atheists as a whole can't take a joke, I said some and I specifically addressed my comments to those atheists who are commenting on this video about how awful and lame a comedy routine is for insulting their non-beliefs.  I don't know why you're reading into this so much.

    Some atheists commenting here are over sensitive and I find their reactions similar to that of some theists who also get upset and bent out of shape over some inocuous comedy,  I find it ironic and thought I'd point it out.  Nothing more, nothing less.  I have a sneaking suspicion that many of those who appear to be offended by this awful stereotyping material have had no problem enjoying comedy that utilizes a bit of hyperbole and stereotyping at the cost of theists.

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  17. yeah your probably right Rolling eyes about most of us "<span>enjoying comedy that utilizes a bit of hyperbole and stereotyping" of others. its not something I am proud of doing when I have done it. Its a bit like laughing at someone eleses misfortune like tripping over. Its not morally right to do so sometimes its just a human reaction.
    </span>

    I guess I  am reading into your comment so much as i think your first comment was disproportionate to the comments you spoke of. It could have been a lot worse and I think you should reserve your critisim when atheists actually react in an insulting way. My comments about <span> "Well we're not as bad as theists" are probably arrogant but that a product from what I have seen in the world.</span>

    Anyway I would like to laugh more at some anti-atheist videos, got any links? I think its funny how Edward currents humor probably wouldnt work in reverse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkhQLt1vbWU&feature=related please prove me wrong.

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  18. yeah your probably right Rolling eyes about most of us "<span>enjoying comedy that utilizes a bit of hyperbole and stereotyping" of others. its not something I am proud of doing when I have done it. Its a bit like laughing at someone eleses misfortune like tripping over. Its not morally right to do so sometimes its just a human reaction.
    </span>

    I guess I  am reading into your comment so much as i think your first comment was disproportionate to the comments you spoke of. It could have been a lot worse and I think you should reserve your critisim when atheists actually react in an insulting way. My comments about <span> "Well we're not as bad as theists" are probably arrogant but that a product from what I have seen in the world.</span>

    Anyway I would like to laugh more at some anti-atheist videos, got any links? I think its funny how Edward currents humor probably wouldnt work in reverse http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkhQLt1vbWU&feature=related please prove me wrong.

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  19. Exactly, so why is he being portrayed as an atheist?

    BTW, his version of hallelujah (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR0DKOGco_o) is my favorite--not that it says anything at all about his religious beliefs.

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  20. My original post wasn't written very clearly.

    My negative reaction is more about misportraying Rufus as a condescending, intellectual atheist. I'm a fan of him, and he's none of those things. He is one of the in-touch-with-his-emotions, easy going, vaguely spiritual types.

    They did a decent job at making fun of his laugh and mannerisms, yes. But they really just slathered an unrelated stereotype onto him. Why fabricate that?

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  21. R£ligion $tink$ of mon€¥December 18, 2010 at 6:28 PM

    Heretic section at I-tunes LOL!

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  22. Cohen described it once not as a religious song, but a secular one.

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