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