<< Fake goals pay off on a lower level

2004 contents

main

12 JAN 2004
On being true, false and funny
Even though our glorious goals are funny, false and fiction, they are the emotional and spiritual heart of the mission. We're combining true, false and funny, merging them intricately in a way I'm still trying to get my head around. Today I'm seeing how to reconcile true and false. Even though the goal and method are both funny, we have to do it in a true and serious fashion.

Seriousness in pursuit of funny is no vice. I saw this first as support, all the serious work that goes into a funny production. Then I saw it as funny, to take something funny seriously. Now I see a third interpretation, that we have to take it seriously, to hold the whole funny enterprise together.

I was choking on the contradiction of being serious about a joke. My efforts are exposed as a performance. I'm required to disbelieve my script. How can I be serious and disbelieve?

Suspension of disbelief, acting as if true and serious, is the trick. We can connect with the glorious goals and imagined rewards and bring their energy into our performance.

Funny world is false in being a crude parody of the highest, and true in being more fun than the other place (serious world). We can be righteously committed to funny world, even though it's a sham.

That's a simple true, false and funny view that doesn't require mental gymnastics. Our mission has true and false parts. We're committed to both. The false parts are essential both for funny and the other benefits.
9294