After Hours and Understanding Pop Culture

Recently I was invited to speak to a group of college students. As I was about to walk out the door at home to get there, my wife asked me what I was speaking on. I told her “I’m speaking on how to understand pop culture and use it for ministry”. Her reply, “So basically you’re speaking on your Thing”. “Yeah.”

I love pop culture. I love pulling it apart and exploring what it says about us and our society. I love discovering different points of view and world views. And I love holding pop culture up to the lens of the gospel and see where it contrasts and where it agrees. I spend a lot of time trying to understand the culture around us. So when I see something that manages to pop open the hood of pop culture and helps me see the working parts underneath, I like to share it with people.

After Hours from Cracked is one of the best shows on the internet and you should be watching it.

Cracked is one of the best websites on the internet. I have dozens of their articles saved in my sermon illustration folder. It’s a site I check out each day because a) their articles are funny, b) intelligent, and c) often provide a unique insight into our pop culture obsessed world. After Hours is one of their shows where four of the Cracked staff sit down for dinner and argue about pop culture. I’ll never look at Back To The Future the same way after this episode. While the content of After Hours can be crude, it’s no more so than most sitcoms airing in a 7.30pm time slot.

The recent episode on The Matrix that persuaded me to write this post. I think it should be required viewing for anyone who wants to understand pop culture and how we identify with the characters within. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments.