Shane Gillis, Death & Rebirth

My shower thought this morning, was wondering how many Baptist pastors across America yesterday were using the comeback story of Shane Gillis to relay to their congregation about how God’s plans are always better than our own. The old… “We Plan, God Laughs.” My guess is over 30, under 100. If there is one thing, I know from growing up in the church, born again Christians are wildly horny for moments in pop-culture that can be tied into their sermon on Sunday morning. Janet Jackson’s nip-slip? Jezebel. Brittney shaving her head? The story of Job. Brad and Jennifer? Ruth.

For those of you who don’t know who Shane Gillis is, he is a comedian who, in 2019, got fired from SNL only days after being hired. Old clips resurfaced of him joking about race and the moment lent itself to the truly never-ending war of ideologies. The cult of woke verses the cult of ‘Merica.

Upon his hiring he was by no means a household name to anyone outside of the Philadelphia Helium Comedy Club — but by the end of one 24-hour news cycle he was catapulted into what is now a highly celebrated comedy career, achieving the most coveted adjective a comedian can be described as — undeniable.

This past Saturday night, he took the stage at Saturday Night Live as the host, and it was a hugely celebrated moment in the comedy community from open micers to headliners.

Sometimes I forget that not everyone thinks about standup comedy from the moment they wake up until the moment they fall asleep, and at times, also during rem. If you don’t exist in the confines of this joyously demented pursuit, what you need to know is that him hosting was a really big deal, but not for the reason that most will likely brand it as.

From the perspective of a non-comic, it looks like a victory for those who believe that you can’t say anything anymore. It looks like a giant middle-finger to political correctness. And in a way it is. But what I really think comics are resonating with — is that at its very core it is a story of death and rebirth. It is Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey happening in real time, and we need these stories to feed our spirits as we blindly chase our dreams.

The Hero’s Journey can be understood by these benchmarks:

1. Call to Adventure

2. Supernatural Aid

3. Challenges & Temptations

4. ABYSS (Death & Rebirth)

5. Transformation

6. Atonement

7. Return

Anyone using their hours on Earth relentlessly pursuing a dream understands the equal-parts burden and freedom that it ushers into your life. Those celebrating, were of course celebrating Shane and standup comedy as an art, but largely I think they were taking part in another human showing those of us toiling in the unknown, what it is like to momentarily bask in the known.

For me, Shane represented that Death and Rebirth™ works and is necessary. The only thing I know to be true, 100% of the time, is that all we ever have is what’s in front of us. And when we surrender to what is we allow the universe to unfold for us that which we cannot facilitate for ourselves.

Finally — Shane is a great comic and he’d think this blog was gay! Anyway. I love comedy and hate Mondays you freaks. Thanks for reading if you’ve made it this far. I hope something cool reveals itself to you today.