I did not get the Chewbacca mask video. I realize this says nothing good about me.
The lady in the video was funny. And seemed happy. She made a joke about her weight, which always pains me for women. But still, try as I might, I have not been able to wrap my brain around the why of it. Why we were all watching it and why did we all feel the need to share it? A day after it was released, there was one pervasive assessment:
We loved this video because it reminded us of joy! Everything on the internet is so depressing!
Is that accurate? Are we experiencing actual joy when we watch this video? Is everything on the internet depressing? My experience of the internet has been at least 72% baby elephant videos and a solid 2% is brownie mix recipes.
So I have spent the past few days feeling like the world’s worst joy experiencer. And I don’t know why I’m drawing this cultural line in the sand by writing about it. But, I didn’t watch the video and laugh whole heartedly. Maybe I have a high standard for humor? I need at least a Jimmy Fallon lip-sync battle, and would prefer a clip from the Mindy Project? A lady making jokes in a Kohl’s parking lot just didn’t translate for me.
But I am not certain that this is just about taste. I think whole phenomenon is more complicated than that. I just wonder and worry about what exactly it is that we are all looking to the internet for? Her video would have been so much funnier to me if I had known her and been friends with her. Who are the children she keeps referencing? What has her struggle with body image been like? Has she made me finally watch Star Wars?
The video reminded me of stories my friends in high school used to tell one another late at night gathered around kitchen tables. It reminded me of the way my mom and I laugh together. The video made me think of the way my husband and I vacation with our closest friends simply so we can stay up late drinking cheap wine and telling one another funny stories about our kids. So the video reminded me of joy. But it was not joy in any real way.
I cannot say that I have ever experienced real joy from the internet. And, to be honest, I do not think I am a psychopathic weirdo. Real joy is not found staring at a screen. Trust me, I have caught glances of my face when I am looking at my phone. At best, I look like I am being taken off of oxygen, at worst I look really anxious. But I never look joyful. Because I am not really in communication with anyone but a perceived version of myself and others.
The internet does not smell or whine. It does not have personal problems. The internet has places where we can say whatever we want with little to no fallout. It may make you laugh. If you watch enough videos about sad things, the internet will make you cry. But it is a way to experience life without ever having to risk your self-imagined personhood. It is a wonderful way to feel connected to people if you never want to actually deal with them. But it is not a path to real joy.
Honestly, I think many of us enjoyed the Chewbacca mask video lady because she reminded us of what it is like to laugh loudly with a friend. And so many of us, too many of us, neglect those moments. We are too busy and too tired to know anyone anymore. And I sometimes wonder if we have the internet to blame for that as well.
Occasionally, I have met people who find all of their resources for Christianity on the internet. They read sites like this one and choose not to attend church. Often they have told me that their church options are not great. And I believe them. Church is risky. The pastor could say anything. And the people, THE PEOPLE, they are just so people-y. Frankly, there are many Sundays that I would rather read Mockingbird’s Another Week Ends at the Waffle House and head home for a nap in lieu of actual interaction. And so, to be clear, I am not interested in shaming those people anymore than I am interested in being a cultural contrarian about a funny video a mom made in a parking lot.
But I do wonder what they, what we, are missing out on. Friends are so complex. They come with back stories and quirks and coffee dates. Churchgoing Christians are so messy. They have all of these opinions and sins they fail to see. And God knows, churches are full of that nonsense. And yet, we worship this Ancient-of-Days kind of God, who just keeps bumping into us and compelling us to bump into one another. We worship the God who could have lead us solely from above, but chose to love us down here, in person.
Christian or not, there is something intensely beautiful beyond our computer screens and closed doors. There is authentic joy and endless laughter. The kind that we know only from loving people. And from knowing them up close.
“Why do we marry, why take friends and lovers? Why give ourselves to music, painting, chemistry or cooking? Out of simple delight in the resident goodness of creation, of course; but out of more than that, too. Half earth’s gorgeousness lies hidden in the glimpsed city it longs to become.” – Robert Farrar Capon, The Super of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection
COMMENTS
12 responses to “Full Disclosure: I Did Not Understand the Chewbacca Mask Lady Video”
Thanks Sarah, this made me feel “better.” I watched out of guilt (imagine that) and thought she was funny, but did get it. This paragraph hit the nail on the head for me: “Christian or not, there is something intensely beautiful beyond our computer screens and closed doors. There is authentic joy and endless laughter. The kind that we know only from loving people. And from knowing them up close.”
Keep on…!
I didn’t find the video as funny as many seem to have, but I can understand how people would appreciate (and maybe even slightly envy!) her lack of self-consciousness and relative emotional freedom to take joy in something so ridiculous. I mean, I wish I would laugh that hard more often…or ever!
For my part, I didn’t watch the video to experience joy. I watched it to *witness* joy. And the empathy I felt while witnessing that joy made me laugh and feel momentarily good. And while certainly, witnessing and experiencing joy of loved ones, friends and family in my offline life feels more meaningful, I don’t think that negates the fact that witnessing joy and having good feelings, regardless of source, is something I’ll always welcome in my life, no matter how fleeting or ephemeral it might be.
My $0.02 (which admittedly, might not be worth even that much). 😉
I’m so thankful for a Gospel that is big enough to love me both when I see the light, and when I notice the shadows. Thanks for a piece that reminds me of that truth–I needed it.
I do know Candace and am friends with her. I know her kids and all the rest. She is a delightful person and a strong Christian. I think she would really appreciate your post. When this blows over, I might send it to her.
I think you are taking this way to seriously or else you ran out of material to write about. Perhaps? Be Chill and rejoice with those who rejoice…Stop and smell the roses too.
Hey Robert Carl! I’m wondering if you might show a bit more grace? I’m sure Sarah has plenty to write about, and the fact that she chose this–which resonates with me and a lot of others–doesn’t seem to be a personal affront like you’ve taken it, but some thoughtful observations that I for one appreciate. “Be chill” and “stop and smell the roses” yourself, perhaps? Or maybe we could all abandon the cliches and be gracious to those willing to take trends like this and examine them more deeply than their first layer, whether we agree with their conclusions or not.
Starting with the rhetorical question-guilt trip combo is sure to bring Robert Carl to his emotional knees. 😉
the women did not intend to have the video go viral . she was just having fun and going to show her friends and it caught fire . Her laugh is infectious. its not about the story behind the story. it just is. It made an autistic child laugh for the first time in in two months while joy may not be the right word, it made a lot of people laugh.. .. , she got to give a testimony about Christ. and that caused me joy in my heart . We christians can have fun also
the news is reality what a nice break from it.
I didn’t laugh or find her video particularly humorous….. just kinda weird that she’s filming herself in a parking lot.
Your post has such a negative tone to it– like how dare we say this viral video gave us joy or caused us to laugh. And my question is why. Why do you feel the need to knock something that is positive in this world? This is not someone who meant to make a viral video or even someone who cared about getting thousands of views. She just wanted to share her story about a pretty fun mask that she found and be silly for a moment before going to pick her kids up from school. I think the fact that this video has gone viral is a true testament to how many people need something joyous in their lives. No, I don’t believe that watching a video on the internet can replace actual joy we feel when we are with friends and family. But, in my opinion, watching this lady feel so free– free enough to sit in a parking lot with a mask on laughing hysterically– was the joyful part. I think that’s why it connects with so many people. Everyday we are bombarded by this world– pressures at jobs, school, home, etc.– yet here was someone who just was free of all of that for a moment and she wanted to share it. It’s like getting really awesome news and needing to tell someone about it! Aren’t we joyful for that person? Aren’t we happy that they are having a good moment? Yet here you are sitting in judgement of a lady you know nothing about. (Neither do I other than the articles I have read). And you are questioning those that found her joyful. I guess my real problem with your post is that you are missing the point. I don’t think anyone said that this replaced their joy. I think people stated that it reminded them of it especially while they were going through the hard times. Now, I know nothing about you– I just saw your post on Facebook. But, to me it sounds like you are the one who is missing out. No one said look for joy from the internet. But, some days we all need a laugh and to be reminded of that time in our lives when we felt so free and happy that we could laugh that joyously about something as silly as a chewbacca mask. Honestly, if something has to go viral in this world– would we want it to be something positive and uplifting?