Humanity, Hope and Faith Live On

This past Sunday, the season 2 finale of the Walking Dead aired on AMC and what a way to finish off the season, leaving us wanting for more in season 3. There was one particular scene that related to what we highlighted in class, when in times of terror, people begin to be thankful for what they have. The scene took place after the crew had to evacuate the farm because of a walker attack, leaving them spread out in groups, hoping that they would later reunite. Hershel, Rick and Carl were the first to get to the meeting point on the highway. What grabbed my attention was when Hershel, the Catholic figure in the show said something along the lines, “I knew God would resurrect the dead, but I didn’t think it be like this.” He later goes on to tell Rick that he needs to keep moving for Carl’s safety. This scene seemed to show the characters’ loss in hope because Hershel wasn’t sure that the rest escaped the attack and Rick was starting to be doubtful himself, thinking they should keep moving for the sake of Carl’s safety. Carl on the other hand didn’t want to leave and still had faith that his mother and the others were still coming. Well, he was right and the rest of the surviving crew reunited placing light upon the scene. This entire scene showed that even in a zombie apocalypse, there is still a sign of hope and faith that everything will be all right. When Hershel, Rick and Carl saw the rest of the crew, they knew that all wasn’t lost. A sense of hope still existed in which the humanity of the characters was still present. The Walking Dead exemplifies countless times in which the humanity of people is questioned and tested, but in the end, times of terror make people look for the good that is left in a world that seems to have none.

Those who survived from the walker attack on the farm reunited on the highway.

To Play or Not to Play (Optional Post- Just for Fun)

This week’s article, “The Play is the Thing” brought up the idea of it being appropriate to portray the passion of Jesus in film, but not video games because in games, the user or gamer is more active towards deciding what happens to the avatar within the game. Why is it such a big deal to have a game that portrays the events of Jesus life and that involves playing him as a character? God of War is a video game in which you play as Kratos, who slaughters everything to kill Ares and eventually become the God of War himself in the sequels. The game is based off of pagan Greek mythology and it is just a blood bath of fun. Why is it that we can play games as a pagan god, but not ones as Jesus or Mohammad? Perhaps the reason can be based off the interactivity, but I think narrativity plays a bigger role. It is alright to play as a Greek god because the Greek mythology is about honour, war, idols, sacrifice, heroes, worship, etc. Each god has a number of different stories about themselves, so it would be fine to base a video game off an interpretation of one of those stories. Christ’s life on the other hand has a certain lay out of events, even if there are some differences between the gospels. Christianity is about Jesus’ sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins unlike Greek mythologies praise of humanistic characteristics. However, I don’t think there could be anything wrong with a Jesus video game as long as the same conclusions arise as seen in the gospels such as the crucifixion and resurrection. Being Jesus in a game and allowing him to upgrade in each level as you progress throughout his life would be interesting to see; almost like neo in the matrix or Dante in the Inferno or Jedi in Star Wars. As the character gets stronger, they move closer to their ultimate goal, whatever it might be. In Jesus case, the game could end with a crucifixion level, where Jesus could battle the devil or something on a platform/lair in his mind, showing him beat evil and leading to his resurrection and triumph. The story of the gospel still gets across and what actually happens doesn’t change. The only thing added is the events in between the lines that that would spice up the game’s appeal. Dante’s Inferno and Greek mythology have so much opportunity to be games because of all the images found within them and how they are about journeys. Jesus life was also a journey with many interesting aspects that could be altered slightly into making a game, while still sticking to the main points of the story. Essentially, the appropriateness of taking Jesus’ narrative is what would decide if a Jesus game could be made and based on my opinion, I would see no harm in there being one with proper guide lines being follo

Now imagine a Jesus version of all this..."The Path of Jesus", "Son of God", "The Holy One: Salvation"... YOU DECIDE!

Response to The Script's "Science and Faith"

Looking at the Scripts and their album, “Science and Faith” was very interesting to use as an example of an integrationist band. I too think that they are part of this group based on what the vocalist singer said the meaning of the album was. I particularly liked how you used two examples of their songs from the album to illustrate the underlying spiritual tones that might not have been intentional when the music was made, but that were used more as motivational words that allow us to pick ourselves up when bad things occur. I think that noting this part is crucial to The Script’s music and other pop culture bands. The music, as you said, is not made to target a certain group such as Christians. Instead, “Science and Faith” is a medium that provides one with support and guidance when things get hard. Like many other band’s lyrics, how the listener listens to the words in the music is based off their own interpretation. The music could relate to a system of faith, but it doesn’t have to necessarily. The lyrics could just be words that touch people in some way. I think it is this idea that makes the Scripts an integrationist band and not the other two. They aren’t separationists because their music doesn’t focus on faith; ignoring the consumer world of pop culture. They aren’t transformationists because their mission is to make music that involves lyrics based on motivational upbringing and certain issues happening in the world; not whatever sells. Bands should not have to express what their religion is, but instead their focus should be on making music that everyone can hear. Music is meant to be heard so that anyone can take what they hear and interpret it as they choose too, making it have an impact or not on the individual’s life. How people interpret lyrics can impact how bands are viewed, even if at times, those interpretations aren’t the band's intended mission or meaning behind the music.

Bible Games...Going Back to the Good Ol' Days

This is a three part series called Bible Games from an online show called Angry Video Game Nerd (AVGN). You don't have to watch all three videos and can either choose the second or third. I included all three though because I highly recommend watching them all. They are at times inappropriate, but still funny. Enjoy the games in these videos that I can only label as the Holy Grail of Crapola!

Video game companies, including colour dreams/wisdom tree games mentioned in the videos, attempted to reach out to a Christian audience by creating religion related games including Bible Adventures, David and Goliath, Flight to Egypt, Sunday Funday, etc. The sad attempt at creating these games could include taking already existing games and changing their themes as to relate to biblical and Christian references. What were these companies thinking when they made these games and what were their intentions to selling the crap that was witnessed in the videos (except for the one Noah game made by the respectable company, Konami)? Perhaps, by creating games that could relate to the Christian religion, these companies were trying to reach out to a wider audience. However, since all these companies did was pretty much change the title of another game and throw in random biblical trivia, it looks more like they were just trying to create a product that would be mass consumed by the population in a consumer culture. Unlike many other companies, such as the corporations mentioned in the Christian Apps blog that have made attempts and that have succeeded in reaching out to a Christian culture, the video game companies in the videos only produced what we can call the holiest of crap. The videos show the unsuccessful attempts of when a company is not trying to be authentic in producing a product that relates to Christianity, but instead, are just trying to find another way they can make a quick buck. Through this example, I am just trying to show that drawing connections between pop culture mediums and other systems, such as faiths and religion don’t always lead to success in a consumer culture. If anything, sad attempts at creating something that might seem appealing to a certain audience in hopes of making more money only makes a mockery of the targeted topic or system. More thought needs to go into producing products that draw connections between pop culture mediums and other areas such as Christianity.

Christian Apps… “There’s an App for That”

The expression, “there’s an app for that” has been tossed around due to the increase in people owning the latest smartphones. In light of Lent, the priest at my church demonstrated the use of a 40 day app during his homily. The app involved planning what one would give up for Lent with some different features. This got me thinking about what other Christian apps existed and so I searched it on my Iphone. In searching Christian/Catholic apps, a number of results came up that included bible apps, catholic meditation and prayer, catholic and lent calendars, confession and penance apps, and so much more that relates to the Christian faith. Further research showed that these apps were made by all sorts of companies both catholic and non-catholic, including Catholic Spiritual Direction Inc., Catholic Communications Network, Surgeworks Inc., Valent Richie and so on. So what are the goals of many of these companies? It’s probably safe to say that for the Catholic organizations, they are moving towards getting the Christian faith out through new mediums that include smartphone apps. For the non-Catholic organizations however, their goals simply focus on creating well working apps as highlighted on their websites (Surgework Inc.). The question is, can the Surgework company/apps really be authentic or are they just another corporation looking to have their product mass consumed? Well let’s look at the pricing of some of these apps:

Catholic Spiritual Direction Inc. – App: The Better Part: A Christ Centered Resource for Personal Prayer= $0.99

Catholic Communications- App: Xt3 Lent Calendar= $1.99

Valent Richie Meditations= Free

Surgeworks Inc. – App: Divine Office Audio= $19.99

So as you can see, Surgeworks Inc., the non-Catholic organization, charges an arm and a leg for their apps. Perhaps more goes into making the app, but it is obvious here that they are strictly a profit based corporation in comparison to the other companies, which sell there apps for a fraction of the price making them free or two dollars at the most. So many companies work on having their product sold with some being more profit based than others and ultimately, it is difficult to base the authenticity of these organizations in a commercial consumer culture structured around capitalism.

Response to South Park:Extreme Depiction of Christians, or Extremely Funny

South Park is by far one of the most offensive and insulting shows that take their ideas from religion, pop culture, politics and other mediums and there is only one thing that can really be said about the show and its’ creators… bravo! South Park and its creators have had the balls to take things that should be forbidden to talk about or make fun of and they have been able to display comedy that is both inappropriate and yet accepted by most.  Like you Christian, I also consider myself a devoted Catholic and see no wrong in some of the ideas that Matt and Trey have portrayed on their show throughout the years with religious references including priest’s relationships with little boys, Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ and Jesus and the Super Best Friends which include characters such as Buddha and a Moses super computer. Like Christianity, many topics are displayed as a parody on the show. I don’t think the creators were ever making an extreme and critical attack on certain issues; they are just taking what might be recent in the culture of the past and present and giving people a comedic outlook towards it. The reason that South Park gets criticized so much for what they depict is that they seem to take extreme approaches where others might not. But isn’t that how many things have come to be a part of pop culture? Take consumerism for example. Something becomes popular because one individual decides to create something such as a certain pair of pants that will make them standout amongst the rest. Those pants become the next fad and eventually the norm until something else new comes along. Matt and Trey of South Park are merely leaders and not followers in today’s present pop culture. By doing what others won’t, they are allowing new doors to open in which pop culture can progress further from.

Picture of Jesus and the Super Best Friends: from left to right... Laozi, Joseph Smith, Mohammad (who was portrayed in the older episodes but then censored in the later ones), Jesus Christ, Seaman (better known as Semen), Buddha and Krishna.

Reality TV.... Don't Believe Everything You See!

Reality TV has become a very popular genre since its beginnings with shows such as Big Brother and Survivor. Many reality shows work towards displaying the real life events of groups and individuals, in hopes of getting a large audience and high ratings. Religion is seen in shows including 19 Kids and Counting, All-American Muslim and Trading Spouses. In particular, there is one moment in Trading Spouses, a show in which wives are swapped between families for a week, that no one will ever forget. Marguerite Perrin, a devoted fundamentalist Christian, had stayed with a family who did not follow Christianity and that studied astrology. When she had returned home would be one of the most memorable moments in reality TV.

Caption for video clips: The first clip shows the last scene of the two part episode when Marguerite returns home. The second clip shows an moment in which Marguerite is in the presence of a gay psychic Christian on a radio talk show. The last clip shows different clips of Marguerite and the way she displays herself. Reality TV can be very one-sided is displaying what will bring in the highest ratings. (Bare with me on the clips. They all serve a purpose. The first could only be a direct link)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOpva_iit-8

Reality TV can be seen to display Lynch’s characteristics, in that many shows are used as a source to portray the practices of the everyday life Christian, such as those in 19 Kids and Counting. However, the clip above showed a completely different view in displaying Christians on TV that could be viewed as harmful to the religion. But how much of what we see on reality TV can be true? Remember, creators and producers of shows go through hours of editing in hopes that they will achieve the highest ratings on television. Even though shows might be considered reality, at times, a lot of it is scripted. In the case of the actors or characters on the show, such as Marguerite, some are just trying to get their 15 seconds of fame. What I am trying to get at here is that reality TV can be harmful or harmless to certain topics, such as Christianity, based on how one views a show. 19 Kids and Counting can show Christian ideals in everyday practices, while Trading Spouses can make Christians look like extremists or weirdos. In the end, both examples are shows looking for ratings and you shouldn’t believe everything you see; even if its reality TV.

Response to Jesus: "I'll be back"

I agree with a lot of what you have to say.  Attributing many characters as a Christ figure based off of Koslovic’s characteristics can at times feel repetitive and redundant. However, in my opinion, I do not believe that his list should be put entirely to waste. By having a Christ figure list of characteristics, Koslovic has allowed people, if they want to, to make connections between characters in film to Christ. Some characteristics might seem strange to make connections with, but many are valid and appropriate. What needs to be remembered is that this list is used by choice. If someone wants to interpret a character as a Christ figure, then they should be able to. It is harmless more than anything. Some people might strike up controversy and debates about justifying a character as Christ-like, but in the end, all these assumptions are based on the way in which someone decides to interpret media and what they say is based on point of view. What people decide to believe is entirely up to them. As Deacy said in his article, movie characters do not have to be attributed to Christian beliefs and there is nothing stopping other systems of thought or theories being related to a film’s characters or imagery. Once again, analysis is solely based on the opinion of an individual. Drawing connections to film, whether they were placed in the film intentionally or unintentionally, allow the viewer to experience media in new ways. When I first saw Fight Club, I drew a lot of connections between what was said in the movie to Buddhist ideals. Another person might have interpreted the movie differently; that doesn’t mean that its’ imagery is harmful to the consumer population. Essentially, like the Jesus parables, Christ figures allow us to draw connections to how Christ acted and how Christians should act. It can give us both insights to a character in a movie and to Christ himself, but this is based on interpretation and whether people take it with a grain of salt is entirely up to them.

Extra: Neo can be related to both Christ and Buddha in different ways...at the same time he can simply be Neo and nothing else... how one views his character is based off opinion and interpretation and that is based on if one wants to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Christ Figures: Harmful... or Just Harmless?

Are Kozlovic’s Christ Figure characteristics as harmful as some might put towards Christianity? Is his list completely useless and just an attempt to look for a Christ figure in a movie through the smallest signs and characteristics? Many well-known Christ figures- Neo, Superman, Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins, etc. - can be both harmful and harmless to Christianity. If anything, Kozlovic’s list is more harmless than harmful, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good list to use when looking for Christ figures in film.

The whole idea of a Christ figure is completely subjective and whether or not a person or group relates a movie’s character to Christ is based on opinion. With that in mind, Christ figures could be harmful towards Christianity because people might look for the smallest characteristics that they can relate a character to Christ with, causing him to be misinterpreted. In other words, the character could be viewed as a mockery to Christ himself. On the other hand, having Christ figures in today’s society can be appealing to Christianity because it could cause people to take interest in the religion.

Whether or not a Christ figure exists in a movie and whether they were made intentionally, or just created by the viewer, is based on whether or not people want to believe that a movie’s character is a portrayal of Christ. In my opinion, in no way does this seem harmful. Christ figures have always existed. Even in the time of Jesus, weren’t his parables, in a sense, portrayals of people who acted like him; to show people how to act according to God, but to not make Jesus the actual character in his stories? If people choose to view Christ figures, it is because they want to make a relation of their hero to Christ himself. It’s other people’s choices to accept those same Christ figures or not. Kozlovic’s characteristics simply allow one to relate God’s son to a character that certain people might find influential and would want to make the connection with.

Response to Sporting "gods"

Your post strikes up some very interesting points on the topic of ads and how producers of certain products or ideas use athletes as their spokesman to persuade the consumer to take interest in the product and buy it. Using athletes in product ads brings on huge selling rates for products and since many companies use this approach in building their product’s rep, it seems completely harmless and fair game in the competing world of market consumer culture. What about the consumer? In a way, isn’t anyone who gives into the sales pitch of a product advertised by athletes just making themselves a part of the so-called mark of the beast world of consumer culture, that we talked about in class, by making them selves a bar code in the market? Ads and athlete spokespersons have a strong influence on the consumer and companies use this influence to manipulate and persuade people to buy something. Taking Christian ideals such as the crucifix symbol in the LBJ Nike commercial or the messianic figure in the Messi Adidas ad can be viewed by some as suspicious and inappropriate use of a faith’s symbols. Others, on the other hand might take these hidden meanings and look towards them as a sign of hope. Finding out an athlete is a devoted Christian or when the world heard that Muhammad Ali was a part of the Nation of Islam (NOI) could be promising and beneficial to certain faiths because it might cause people to follow them. People look at athletes like some god, even at times when they are not representing a product. It is the producer who takes these godly athletes and uses them to their advantage. Essentially, what I’m trying to say here is that people need to be cautious of what products, represented by their favourite athlete, they give in to. Whether or not using spokespersons for a product is good or bad is completely based on perspective.

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Some photos of what products and consumer culture do to us in relation to zombie photos...not so far off. Be careful of what you become!

Product Placement: The Devil's Tool

This week, lecture looked at how there are negatives and positives to product placement in pop culture. We have to be cautious about the message we take away from these advertisements. Product placement can seem harmless at times, and yet at others, it is a very scary technique that producers use to get the consumer to notice or have interest in a product or idea. One particular movie that I always remember when thinking of product placement is the Truman Show, starring Jim Carey. This movie is about Truman (Carey) whose entire life has been video taped without him knowing, making him the star of his own show. Throughout the movie, there are a few scenes in which products are advertised, such as coffee, a kitchen knife, a real estate business and many more. In the clip, the last product placement of the coffee causes Truman to ask his wife with an almost crazy look, who she is talking to as she promotes the product.

This scene just shows how scary product placement can be. At times it might seem harmless and that a company is just trying to get their product’s name out there. But at what cost does this occur? There are so many products that are placed in our visual perspective everyday, with some being viewed consciously and others unconsciously. These examples of product placement are what make us excessively desire things we don’t need. Like Truman, having so many product placement ads placed into our lives causes us to question what is real and unreal. In my opinion, unlike PSAs, which can promote positive announcements, product placement only seems to benefit the elitists and producers of the product and the consumers are only made to think that they are getting something from giving in to the product or idea. Essentially, product placement is a powerful tool used to promote a product that one might really not need, and it only feeds the growing market of American consumerism. 

On a more positive note, here are two other clips of product placement that are just my favourite. Harmless and just funny, but still product placements. Enjoy!

Wayne's World Sponsor Scene

Happy Gilmore Subway Scene

Comment on Jessica’s The Cult of Gaga

Pop Culture and celebrity figures such as Gaga and Madonna have all had their share of pack rats and followers mimicking the way they dress and act as if these pop singers are some sort of deities or goddesses. However, this is not entirely a negative concept. As consumer culture works, things become popular over time and when one thing is “in”, there is always someone who wants to be different. That person will take the lead and cause a new fad to erupt, eventually magnetizing many to follow. This cycle is repetitious, which can be negative but also positive in the sense that it allows different eras in our pop culture society to erupt (disco, hippie, greaser, punk, Goth, rocker, etc.). With Gaga being one center of attention in this era, she portrays quite a few examples of Gordon Lynch’s four approaches of pop culture in relation to religion. In relation to how pc serves religious functions in society, I think Gaga falls under all three subheadings. As you said, as a social function she has created a community in which many follow and that you could almost call a Gaga Nation. 

On the existential level, for many, Gaga can provide a meaning for life (extreme Gaga fans). They worship every word from her and relate what she says to situations in their lives.

Finally, on the transcendent level, I believe that when fans of Gaga listen to her music, they are taken to this next level of reality that is almost tranquil and at peace, as would happen with any artist’s music that someone lives by.

You finished off with asking if Gaga is a good or bad role model, which can relate to Lynch’s third approach on suspicion and appropriation. I think that there is a mix and that Gaga can be seen as a threat to religious beliefs, but she can also be viewed as a means to reach the Christian community on large.            Word count: 328 words

Rule #1: You Do Not Talk About Fight Club! Let’s Talk About Fight Club

This week’s media incorporated into lecture was a clip from Fight Club, which has been seen as a strong medium relating to religious beliefs. Fight Club can be seen to take on a more negative or reversal symbolic depiction of what it is like to be a Christian. As the clip showed in class, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) explains to Edward Norton’s character how we must learn to give up all our material possessions of the consumer culture. In one respect, Durden’s ideas do highlight Christian beliefs on how one must give up their material worldly possessions if they choose receive God’s salvation. In a sense Durden could be seen as the Saviour or Christ figure at this time. However as the movie unravels, and Durden recruits men for his plans of terrorism, his character immediately changes to a more cynical anti-Christ perspective. Now one could argue that the movie depicts a corrupt version of Christianity with Durden leading his recruits down a path of evil. However, in my opinion, there is something more to this movie. Edward Norton, even though he is the same character as Durden, should be seen as the true Christ image in the film. Yes, Durden carries Norton throughout the film, but Norton nevertheless ends up triumphing over Durden in the end. His triumph depicts one of good over evil where he no longer abides by Durden’s philosophy because he sees that it is evil. Norton depicts Christ in my opinion, because he triumphs over this evil that many people (the recruits) do not, which shows a small sign of his goodness and wanting to escape the evils of the world. In relation to Lynch’s four approaches, I think that this PC example can be used to relate to biblical texts. In a almost hidden sense, Edward Norton’s character shows that even though one might fall into the hands of evil at times, they can still triumph over it in the end.                        Word count: 327 words

Interesting fact: the scene in the movie where Durden is getting recruits and they are outside his house for four days at a time is a display of how in the past, if monks wanted to be accepted into a monastery, they were tested by showing their humility and standing outside the doors for days. Henry IV waited outside the monastery for four days until Gregory VII forgave him over papal authority and royal authority disputes. Hmm… Interesting. Picture of scene above.

Welcome All

This semester should be very interesting and there will definitely be a lot of interesting topics to talk about. I hope that many can be involved in reading and sharing ideas on my posts and I hope we leave this course with newly learned information. Can't wait to get started. Jesus Rocks