Orel: It's
only track, not church.
Dad: Only track? Young man, track is very important for your future. What happens when you grow up and need to sprint thirty meters to the unemployment office?
Orel: I never thought about it that way.
Dad: Kids your age seldom do. It's called "stupidity" and it's a very natural thing.
Matt Groening has said on more than one occasion that one of the alluring things about The Simpsons is that it rewards repeated viewings. The same could be said for Moral Orel, which layers so many jokes on top of other jokes within its slight fifteen minute timeframe it's next to impossible to catch every gag. Here's a few products in the background I noticed during last night's episode:
Sugar-coated salt
Catsup-flavored mustard
Sugar Poppin' Loud-eez (cereal)
Spray Slap (a spray bottle Orel's mother uses to discipline his little brother Shapey)
There's also the running gag of giving the characters punny names like Clay, Reverend Putty, and Coach Stopframe. Speaking of Coach Stopframe, his seven page letter to Orel's dad Clay, which oddly enough, only mentions Orel on one page (Coach has a thing for Orel's dad) convinces Orel he needs to try harder at the sport. Taking advice from a camp counselor that a person can get energy from drinking their own urine, Orel begins to sell his urine to the track team and whoever else will buy, though he doesn't tell them what it is.Once again, Orel's relentless drive to do good and help his fellow man backfires on him, and in the end he's taken into his father's study for a nice Christian beating. This is only the second episode (unless you count the Christmas episode, which is actually the last one of the season) and already the show has touched on naked cannibalistic zombies, satanism, and pee drinking. I'm not sure which is funnier, unintended blasphemy or actual blasphemy, but Moral Orel makes them both equally hilarious.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-30-2006 @ 11:46AM
Verland Walker said...
To whom it may concern,
Maybe my comment won't concern anyone, but I find the level of irreverence and dare I say animosity(hatred) towards the Christian faith quite interesting. Is there a word Christianphobic? Why are people so scared of "thou shalt not kill", or "thou shalt not commit adultry", etc? Do you really think that the human race is better now that everyone does whatever they want to? We are spending more money and time trying to fix messes that are the result of disregarding some biblical principles and you know it. (Or maybe you don't) Rules and laws (uncorrupted) were meant to protect. I'm sure that you have a few of your own whether they are valid or not. I just can't help but wonder what would happen if a show was created that was totally defamitory to the Muslim religion, or homosexual community, etc. Every group has its extremist and its phonies, Christianity included. I think it's easier to attack Christians because the Bible teaches us that God will be his own avenger. So unlike other groups that would probably attack and deal with "Mr. Moral Orel" in a less civil manner, we are expected to love,pray and allow God to make the final Judgement.
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1-30-2006 @ 9:20PM
JoshG said...
It's because Christianity is the religion of the majority. It is the most prominent and draws the most attention to it. Much of the ongoing "culture war" in this country is largely wound up with Christianity. If the majority of Americans were Jewish or Muslim, there'd be a show targetting them instead.
This might be a stretch of an example, but it's like The Daily Show. Some accuse the show of making fun of Republicans more often than Democrats, but back when Democrats were in control, TDS went after them. They simply go after whichever group is in power at the time because that's the group that is prominent and draws everyone's attention.
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2-10-2006 @ 3:49AM
Chuck L said...
Moral Orel is a great cartoon! It's like "Reality TV Features a Day In the Life of a Southern Baptist".
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2-14-2006 @ 1:30AM
Belgand said...
While I'm not myself a Christian I don't feel that characterizing it as "anti-Christian" is correct. The characters on the show are clearly not following the spirit of the religion. Instead it focuses on people who have chosen to do what they want while using religion as an excuse. It's more about hypocrisy and the anti-Christian nature of many self-professed Christians (e.g. say, Fred Phelps who classifies his homophobia as being religiously motivated).
As far as Christians being used, well, as earlier posts stated Christians make up the majority at present and if something is done in the name of religion in America 9 times out of 10 it's done by someone who claims that it is to appease a Christian ideal. If we lived in a predominantly Muslim country (where similar things happen, in many cases to a far more dangerous degree) Muslims would be the target.
For someone who has to deal with life in America where we are increasingly assaulted by people of this sort it's absolutely hilarious.
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2-17-2006 @ 12:26AM
Dan Black said...
I have to agree the show uses various anti-christian jokes but in comparison to the absurd amount of pro-christian shows and the gross amount of televised preaching that bombards you the second you turn your on you TV on a sunday it's really not worth bitching about. I enjoy the anti-christian jokes more than you can imagine. After all, 80% of the country is christian and it's nice to see something other than Charlie-Brown-Like shows with insanely obvious Christian overtones. You tell one person your Atheist and all of a sudden forty fucking people want to protest and scream at you how much you need jesus. I say more power to the other 20%.
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2-17-2006 @ 10:40PM
sadisticon said...
Moral Orel isn't offensive to me. It's rather like any other situation comedy where the characters circumstances and incongruent contradictory behaviour is the catalyst for silly set ups. The bourgeois are more the target than the so-called Christians. And do you remember Davey and Goliath? Anyway about Moral orel: It's a funny show.
And by the way, in a country dominated by muslims you probably wouldn't get away with irreverence towards that particular brand of brainwashing.
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2-20-2006 @ 3:27PM
suszie said...
in regard to the comment by verland walker, "but I find the level of irreverence and dare I say animosity(hatred) towards the Christian faith quite interesting. Is there a word Christianphobic? Why are people so scared of "thou shalt not kill", or "thou shalt not commit adultry", etc?" perhaps some are christianphobic because the Christian religion tried to exterminate all who did not believe as they did from the witch burnings to the native americans that were given blankets infected with teburculosis...everyone that did not bow down to that religion was considered to be lost or of no consequence..people have a good reason to fear a faith that has murdered so many in the name of God
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