Russell Brand And Ricky Gervais Are Just What Your Brain Needs – The Federalist
Posted: April 30, 2020 at 12:49 pm
Its day 2,346 of staying home, and if youre like me, youve streamed yourself into a coma. I actually watched the John Gotti biopic starring John Travolta the other day, thats how bad its getting (It wasnt as bad as youd think).
If your brain and soul are hungry for something deeper, two surly, foul-mouthed British comedians are here to the rescue. In the most recent episode of his podcast Under the Skin, comedian Russell Brand interviews fellow British comedy luminary Ricky Gervais. I became a fan of Brands podcast after his two amazing conversations with Jordan Peterson, both of which also provide excellent intellectual calisthenics.
The hour-long episode covers everything from Gervaiss love for animals, their narcissism, and the nuances of God, spirituality, and religion. While you may not agree with either, seeing these two exceptionally bright, self-effacing, piss-and-vinegar comedians exchanging barbs and wisdom is just the mental stimulation you need today. Their own search for the truth might even prompt the sort of self-reflection we all could use at this time. Heres a sneak preview.
Brand and Gervais are millionaires many times over and enjoy even greater fame in Britain than in the United States. Still, neither came from wealth or acclaim. Brand was an only child raised by a single mom. Gervais signature edgy humor is inextricably tied to growing up in the working class. Knowing where they stand in society can be tricky.
As Gervais explains, Were court jesters we have to be court jesters. We have to have low status. Were in the mud with all the other peasants, teasing the king. But we have to keep our low status somehow, I think. I feel I want to.
Gervais is the creator of the original The Office series, and Brand talks about feeling sorry for his character, David Brent. The pair both see him as a sad figure, engaged in ever more absurd acts in order to reach a place of acceptance or worth. Compared to our reality TV culture nowadays, this character isnt even absurd anymore.
As Gervais jokes, Big Brother contestants make deals with the producers to get on the show. Let me in there, and Ill start a fight and take my clothes off. It facilitates the emotional destruction of people who just want to be loved and the public eats it up. As Brand puts it, Theres been a glorification of idiocy in culture.
Gervais laments the toll this takes on fame-seekers. This obsession with seeing normal people destroy themselves. These people keep going back to fame and going, Do you love me yet? No, they dont love you, they want you to fail!
Gervais is a well-known atheist. While both men have substantial criticism for organized religion, Brands travels through addiction and mental illness have given him a firm belief in some kind of god and a sense of interconnectedness.
Im a solipsistic, narcissistic person, Brand says. Ive been through the mills of addiction, sex, fame, drugs, money, and all that kind of stuff, and its placed me at a point where Ive had to open myself up to different ideas.
He means this as a challenge to Gervais that while they both have criticisms for organized religion, Brand sees Gervais as having a similar sense of wonder and awe at the universe, the same wonder that prompted Brands spirituality.
Gervais concedes, I seem like a spiritual person, but not literally, which is totally true. I am in as much awe at seeing a tree, or a mountain, or a bird, or a river as anyone who thinks God made it. I see the beauty of nature.
While Brand sympathizes with Gervais distaste for the constraints of organized religion, he explains, Ive gone on sort of the opposite journey, in that I feel like I started off atheistic just in that I would reject any attempt to impose regulation or control on me for the purposes of domination.
But as Ive gone through my own stuff with addiction and mental health or whatever it is, Brand continues, my own sense of despair particularly looking at it from a perspective of mental health issues and addiction is that there is an unaddressed yearning for a kind of oneness, togetherness, and for love.
While Gervais understands that desire for connectedness, he doesnt think desire alone is enough to make it true. It is a terrifying prospect that well never exist again, I think, but it doesnt mean its not true, says Gervais.
The bottom line is I cant believe something I dont believe. So how do I find meaning? Well, we are here. The chances of us being us you being you and me being me, existing now, that sperm hitting that egg is 400 trillion to one. Were not special, but we are lucky. We do exist. Its incredible.
As were looking for ways to occupy our minds in this strange time, this conversation is worth a listen. You may disagree with Brand or Gervais conclusions; I do. The redeeming undercurrent, however, is that both men are seekers of the truth. Their convictions are born of deep consideration, and they are willing to follow them to their natural conclusions, no matter how disappointing or inconvenient. Now might be just the moment we need to consider what we really believe as well.
Caroline D'Agati is a writer, former park ranger, and New Jersey expatriate living in DC. She studied English at Georgetown and media studies at The New School. You can follow her on Twitter at @carodagati.
Link:
Russell Brand And Ricky Gervais Are Just What Your Brain Needs - The Federalist
- You Can't Beat COVID-19 With Diet, No Matter What the Internet Tells You - Lifehacker - December 17th, 2020
- MSU students and professor publish research internationally - Morehead State University News - December 17th, 2020
- Freedom of speech at universities is not under threat it is actually thriving - The Independent - December 17th, 2020
- Michael Eric Dyson on how not to waste this moment of racial awakening - The Philadelphia Citizen - December 17th, 2020
- Sator Trailer Reveals a Deeply Horrifying Hybrid of Fiction and Fact - Collider - December 17th, 2020
- Notebook: Miles says 'practice and competition' will determine whether Kendrick starts again - KUsports - December 14th, 2020
- Three Positive and Negative Takeaways from Cardinals Win Over Giants - Sports Illustrated - December 14th, 2020
- All Love in Lindale: Eagles headed to first state championship game with game-winning field goal - Tyler Morning Telegraph - December 14th, 2020
- The Real Appeal of Jordan Peterson - Merion West - December 11th, 2020
- Why Jordan Peterson's Message on Gratitude Is More Important Than Ever | Jon Miltimore - Foundation for Economic Education - December 11th, 2020
- A round with Patrick Peterson: Golf with Michael Jordan, Passionfruit Truly and an idea for The Match - usatoday.com - December 11th, 2020
- Letters to the editor: 'Let's see some realism about Canada's place in the world' - National Post - December 11th, 2020
- New political science book shows how American exceptionalism is fading and what to do about it - Yahoo Finance - December 11th, 2020
- Prep roundup: Columbus goes 2-1 on the mat - Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier - December 11th, 2020
- Jordan Peterson and the Return of Solzhenitsyn - Merion West - November 2nd, 2020
- Kindred: Bob Loys legacy? His lifes work will live on - The Pantagraph - November 2nd, 2020
- The numbers that prove Meteorettes are something special - Daily Mercury - November 2nd, 2020
- Property transfers | News, Sports, Jobs - The Review - November 2nd, 2020
- Revision 8.2 A further note on the rededication of Palestine - Patheos - November 2nd, 2020
- Gameday inactives, injuries and weather: Week 8 - The Huddle - November 2nd, 2020
- NFL trade rumors: 15 players most likely to be traded at the 2020 deadline - Sporting News - November 2nd, 2020
- Week 8 Fantasy Football Booms and Busts: Should we be worried about Lamar, Big Ben? - Yahoo Sports - November 2nd, 2020
- American Health Will Sink the GOP in November - TheStranger.com - October 4th, 2020
- Lions OC Darrell Bevell: Kerryon Johnson was the player of the game - MLive.com - October 4th, 2020
- Panthers top Cardinals in 31-21 win - Greensboro News & Record - October 4th, 2020
- The Crowding out of a Humanities Education - Merion West - October 4th, 2020
- Joe Rogans Spotify Debut Sparks Speculation Over Missing Episodes - Forbes - September 7th, 2020
- Russell Howard: 'The real world isnt social media' - The Guardian - September 7th, 2020
- Should the Kansas City Chiefs consider signing Adrian Peterson? - Arrowhead Addict - September 7th, 2020
- 2020 NFL roster cuts tracker: See every cut from all 32 teams after initial rosters trimmed to 53 players - CBS Sports - September 7th, 2020
- Leonard Fournette landing spots: Patriots, Buccaneers lead the top five - CBS Sports - September 7th, 2020
- Jordan Peterson saw this coming a while ago - Sarnia Observer - August 28th, 2020
- The RNC is turning into one long right-wing Youtube video - Business Insider - Business Insider - August 28th, 2020
- Camden couple involved in fake will scheme released from federal prison - El Dorado News-Times - June 16th, 2020
- Five defensive players the Arizona Cardinals need to live up to expectations in 2020 - Revenge of the Birds - June 16th, 2020
- Dave Rubin On Where Liberals And Conservatives Can Agree, And Can't - The Federalist - June 16th, 2020
- YouTube sells subscriptions with just one word heres how you can emulate it - The Next Web - June 4th, 2020
- Avoid This #1 Mistake and You Will Be Rich - Stock Investor - June 4th, 2020
- On the Limits of Dave Rubins Cultural Politics - National Review - June 4th, 2020
- Patrick Peterson sees 'championship-caliber team from top to bottom' in Cardinals - Cards Wire - June 4th, 2020
- Lower Dauphin High School releases final honor rolls of school year - Middletown Press and Journal - June 4th, 2020
- University of Alberta fires anthropology professor for saying biological sex is real - The Post Millennial - June 4th, 2020
- Howard Balzer on Cardinals Tempering Expectations - Sports Illustrated - June 4th, 2020
- Kuiper: Stop playing the victim | Opinion | nwestiowa.com - nwestiowa.com - May 25th, 2020
- Jonathan Kay: It takes a true artist to find new ways to shock the conscience. Kent Monkman has done that - National Post - May 25th, 2020
- Graduation 2020: Westby Area High School - The Westby Times - May 25th, 2020
- Cardinals reportedly have interest in Everson Griffen - NBCSports.com - May 25th, 2020
- Jordan Peterson is back at work on his next book - May 20th, 2020
- The one ACC team Michael Jordan wanted to beat most while at North Carolina - Sporting News - May 20th, 2020
- Michael Jordan wanted to beat one ACC team more than any other - 247Sports - May 20th, 2020
- Patrick Peterson: This is probably best team Ive been part of on paper - Yahoo Sports - May 20th, 2020
- The Indy Book Club: Convenience Store Woman is a gothic love story with a sickly capitalist kink - The Independent - May 20th, 2020
- Wisconsin Bars Flooded With Traffic, Or Are They? - TheStreet - May 20th, 2020
- What Happened to Jordan Peterson? | The New Republic - May 13th, 2020
- Jordan B. Peterson Health Update: Author Is Recovering ... - May 13th, 2020
- Jordan Peterson recovering from tranquilizer addiction - May 13th, 2020
- Imperium Group Features Top Disruptors and Entrepreneurs of 2020 - GlobeNewswire - May 13th, 2020
- RED DENNIS & The Politics of Disrespect - The Milpitas Beat - May 13th, 2020
- 'Cuck Zone' Artist Is Happy That Twitter Thinks Her Work Is 'Rad' - Newsweek - May 13th, 2020
- Mohamed and the Mountain | Annette Poizner | The Blogs - The Times of Israel - May 13th, 2020
- Bob Holliday talks about the fun day when MJ and Buzz Peterson went golfing - WRALSportsFan.com - May 13th, 2020
- An autopsy of the Intellectual Dark Web - The Spectator USA - May 13th, 2020
- Dave Rubin interview: His new book, censorship on the left and what he sees happening in Canada - National Post - May 13th, 2020
- All Our 2019 Corrections And Clarifications - CANADALAND - May 13th, 2020
- Jordan Peterson and Carl Jung's Worldviews Have Been Greatly Oversimplified - Merion West - April 30th, 2020
- Dave Rubin Talks To Shapiro About Learning From Jordan Peterson On Tour - The Daily Wire - April 30th, 2020
- The one player Michael Jordan was scared of in college? Buzz Peterson details it - The Athletic - April 30th, 2020
- Michael Jordan feared a certain NFL legend on the basketball court, according to his North Carolina roommate - CBS Sports - April 30th, 2020
- Michael Jordan's 'last dance' at Carolina, through the eyes of his teammates - Winston-Salem Journal - April 30th, 2020
- The Problem with Edmund Burke and Defenders of Tradition - Merion West - April 30th, 2020
- Justin Rohrwasser Has Right-Wing Paramilitary Gang Tattoo - The Root - April 30th, 2020
- FreedomFest Urges People to 'Catch the Vision' in Las Vegas - Right Wing Watch - April 30th, 2020
- There Was Only One Player Michael Jordan Feared Playing, According To Former Teammate At UNC - BroBible - April 30th, 2020
- A short stretch in the cult of yoga - The Conservative Woman - April 30th, 2020
- Bird Droppings: Arizona Cardinals preparing for virtual draft, Jordan Phillips looks to build on career year - Revenge of the Birds - April 12th, 2020
- Announcing the Release of Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Peterson - Merion West - March 7th, 2020
- Has teaching objective truths become inconvenient? - University World News - March 7th, 2020
- The best recent poetry review roundup - The Guardian - March 7th, 2020
- Big 12 Offseason Tracker: Kansas States Joe Klanderman promoted to DC - Burnt Orange Nation - March 7th, 2020
- We Already Have a Wealth Tax, and Its a Lot! - Stock Investor - March 7th, 2020