LAUSR

ABSTRACT When situating the Gospel of Mark within a Jewish context, incongruities concerning both Jesus’s character and the collective character of Jesus’s disciples become apparent. The Markan Christ, for one thing, is a non-Christ. He does not defeat the powers that be (rather, the powers that be defeat him), nor does he inaugurate a messianic age. His disciples, additionally, are generally clueless, and do not understand who Jesus is or what his theologies are. This essay puts into conversation the Markan narrative with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend to consider whether humour might be part of Mark’s Gospel. More specifically, it unpacks the self-disparaging humour of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (e.g. what it is; where it is; how it functions), and question intertextually if or to what extent Mark’s Gospel might be implementing a similar self-disparagement as a way to open up space for critical reflection and critique—a self-disparagement that, when held up by humour, does not leave readers falling down an existential hole.