15th Dec 2006
Ms. Theologian still likes the obscene
Dear Ms. Theologian:
What do you think of this.?
-Mmmmm… chocolate…
Dear Mmmmm… chocolate…:
I like this a lot.
The last time, Ms. Theologian commented on the theological implications of kitsch it was in relation to dogs and a nativity set, but she also thinks that marshmallows are equally kitschy. What is kitsch? According to Milan Kundera, “it is the absolute denial of shit.”
Kitsch is that vision of the world in which nothing unwholesome or indecent is allowed to come into view. It’s the aesthetics of wanting to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony. Kitsch excludes shit in order to paint a picture of perfection, a world of purity and moral decency.
In other words, kitsch is marshmallows–both utterly sweet and disgustingly fake. That’s the nature of kitsch. Now the nature of Christmas is about mingling the sacred (Jesus, birth, light, hope) and the profane (a v. poopy stable). Christmas is about the unwillingness of strangers to provide for one another and about the unexpected acts of kindness. And on the much bigger scale (take a deep breath), it’s about letting your child come to Earth only to be painfully slaughtered. That’s what Christmas is about. It’s about birth amid pain.
So, in other words, kitsch is in absolute contradiction to Christmas, which is what makes marshmallow smores as a creche brilliant.
In summary, Ms. Theologian doesn’t mind the marshmallows. She might even buy it.
–Ms. Theologian
P.S. If you’d like to write to Ms. Theologian, send an email to ms dot theologian at gmail dot com.
