The God and Devil Show:
A Vector-Based Exercise in Irreverence
By Amandeep S.. Loomba
There are those who would say that the God and Devil Show's insolence
toward popular figures in American culture is simply irreverence for
the sake of irreverence. It's easy to look and the almost contemptuous
way that animators and actors of the Flash-based cartoon treat subjects
ranging from George W. Bush to Britney Spears as cheap laughs achieved
at celebrities' expense. On the other hand, many would say that this
sort of mockery is vital, a sort reevaluation process that urges the
viewer to step back from pop culture and try to understand what it
is that we are really absorbing on a daily basis. In truth, the God
and Devil Show is both of these things. Poking fun at Britney Spears'
supposed breast augmentation has become as much of a national pastime
(and a staple of the talk show circuit) as poking fun at the current
US President. To go beyond the standard celebrity indictment of the
Lenos and Lettermans, you have to do things that can only be done
on the Web.
For instance, the viewer gets to choose the ultimate spiritual fate
of popular comedian Chris Rock. Will you click Heaven or Hell? The
God and Devil Show manages to poke fun at both the celebrity and the
audience by boiling Chris Rock down to one fundamental quality. Would
Chris Rock be Chris Rock if he failed to use foul language? Furthermore,
is his style of comedy even original? As a web-based cartoon with
no actual celebrities or celebrity egos to deal with, only their web-based
manifestations, the God and Devil Show can go to extremes. In Chris
Rock's personal hell he is condemned to go through life without cussing.
George W. Bush visits the talk show as some sort of barely domesticated
animal, whose failure at housetraining leads to an unfortunate mishap
in which he defecates on the Bill of Rights. Abraham Lincoln, we learn,
suffers from penis envy, exemplified by his jealousy of the enormously
phallic Washington Monument.
The irreverence of the God and Devil Show is outright hilarious.
The animators have touched on something golden in the interplay between
almost omnipotent God and a cheery feminine incarnation of the Devil,
both with coffee mugs in hand. Their regular deconstruction of celebrities
is one of the most interesting examples of what is possible with Flash.
As web animation blossoms into a new creative medium, the God and
Devil Show is a perfect example of the media-savvy outlet for anti-celebrity
mockery.