Why I Die A Little Bit Every Time You Link Tim Minchin to Me

by shionline

Dear readers, this post will have to come with a disclaimer, and one that goes beyond me being an oversensitive feminist. If you’ve been long enough on the internet, you probably know that argument does not go down very well. However, for the purpose of this post, and on this topic alone, I am crazy. You will think it while you read, and I accept that. And yet, I simply cannot get over that man called Tim Minchin, and his fans.

I am an Atheist, and as such, anyone who shares this trait with me is Tim Minchin’s Biggest Fan. Really. It’s in the Atheist guidebook. To those who are not atheists, though, there should be an introduction: Tim Minchin is an Australian comedian, and somewhat an heir for Tom Lehrer, in that he writes and performs comedy songs and plays the piano nicely. And really, when I first looked up his videos, he seemed like one of the best things on the internet. I have my tendency to obsess over this or that comedian, and these tend to be lovely weeks. Some of these binge periods have made me a lifelong fan of many, and I’ve written about QI before.

In my adoration to some of these comedians, this is probably when a bit of crazy kicks in. I can get very attached to the celebrities I like and agree with, and this is probably my biggest problem: Tim Minchin is a wonderful performer. I still love him. Not only is he very funny, and an Atheist, but he also writes some very touching songs. Go on and listen to this. I remember tearing up, at that point.

Right after White Wine in the Sun, which really was my favorite song of his, I stumbled across two other videos. This is when my oversensitive feminist rears its critical head. And while she makes me miserable sometimes, such as whenever I watch commercials, I know she’s right. The next two videos by Tim Minchin that I stumbled across, then, were this and this. I cannot watch these videos again, unfortunately, so I will not hold your hand and write exactly what is wrong with them. I will say that a key part of it was the condescending look at feminism, and the invocation of women as sex objects, no matter the topic. Women are still, in the first video, totally acceptable targets, even as the song marches on.

This was when the feminist in me clashed with the adoring fangirl, which still resides in my head since my days in the Harry Potter fandom. Somewhere, deep down, I still become fourteen whenever I see a talented person on-screen. And in this world of Western comedy and Atheism, these people have a general tendency to be white middle-class men, usually heterosexual. Now, I’m familiar with privilege, and I can’t say that I don’t enjoy it. I know that we can’t crucify just anyone who’s failed to look beyond it, but when this person is someone I’ve grown to adore, it depresses me, and I feel a bit betrayed. I hate feeling this, because these people do not owe me anything, and I have my full rights to just not watch or read them anymore.

These videos, in combination with the ones I loved, disturbed me to a somewhat extreme degree. I remember crying myself to sleep, that night, and I still can’t bring myself to listen to any of his songs that I still love, and certainly not enjoy them. I don’t really know why I’ve reacted this way for Tim Minchin. I enjoyed Rosemary’s Baby, despite Polansky being a rapist; I still love Stephen Fry, despite some slightly sexist humour, and statements that made me shift uncomfortable in my chair; And I still look up to Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, even though the former belittled sexual harassment, and the latter just has an overall creepy-sexist-vibe I can’t even really explain.

A part of me wonders if I can’t forgive Minchin because of his relative youth. British humour, especially with its younger comedians, has grown on me because it approached matters of gender and race with a sort of grace and progressive manner I haven’t seen before. Not really. The internet has more of this, now, but the new generation of British comedians was the one who introduced me to it. Could it be that our PC culture had worked, and hasn’t killed of humour like the old generation moaned about?

I don’t know. Because I’m crazy. I cried myself to sleep over a sexist video, remember?

This is one of the things I always find hard to admit, or even think about, when reading atheist blogs, or other comedians, writing about Tim Minchin. The man, if you’re on the right places online, is completely unavoidable. To admit that I dislike him might just be coming out as a certified crazy-lady who doesn’t have a sense of humor or irony. A bit like a naked king of comedy, iff you like clichés as much as I do. It pains me, because I love comedy, and I love Tim Minchin. It’s just the sort of love that makes me die a little inside.