Media, Film, Music, Religion

The Supernaturality and Feminism of Xena: Warrior Princess.

2010-11-12T08:42:00.001+10:00

G. A-D.

The 1990’s saw the television program Xena: Warrior Princess (‘XWP’) become a popular mainstream vehicle for feminism. Set in an ancient, fictional meta-world of religious and spiritual plurality, Xena introduced the concept of the independent and strong female heroine, whose supernaturality provided purchase from which to launch modern feminism from an inaccessible and insular concept to a widely appealing and positive doctrine. ‘XWP’ was integral to the contemporary generation’s developing perceptions of gender as fluid, not binary (Gauntlett, 2002). Xena was one amongst a range of courageous women popular for their physical, emotional and spiritual strength as role models for adolescents (Gonick, 2006, p. 10), alongside other characters such as Buffy Summers of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ or the Halliwell sisters of ‘Charmed’, that are all but extinct in current popular culture (Busch, 2006). Xena’s effectiveness as a feminist role-model would not have been possible without her supernatural qualities and those of the meta-world she inhabited. This paper will discuss ‘XWP’s value from a media theory perspective, before focussing on its approach to feminism and gender representation, and the importance of supernaturality as a tool to engage audiences. It will also discuss the show’s approach to religious plurality as a device for mass-appeal.

Popular culture has a responsibility to audiences to provide positive role models, however this is disturbingly rarely provided. From the beginning of the series, XWP situated itself to be an agent of social change. Noted media theorist Albert Bandura provides an explanation as to why mainstream media is so effective in influencing social behaviour in his model for Social Cognitive Theory of Mass Communication. It states that people are generally unwilling to adopt new practices until they can see the benefits of them, which is why entertainment media is so important in facilitating social diffusion through implanting ideas to adopters. These effects can also be entirely socially mediated; they can be experienced by people who have never even been exposed to the media however they are influenced by its effects on the original audience, or ‘early adopters’ who have been exposed (Bandura, 2001).

There is much debate over Xena’s feminism. Some theorists argue that her origins belie her feminist message. Her character was introduced in the series “Hercules, the legendary journeys” as a cruel, ruthless and immoral warlord, however while being romanced by Hercules, a man, he convinces her to use her power for good, not evil. Thus began the spinoff show “Xena: Warrior Princess”, and while Hercules does feature in it as a love interest and morally positive influence, he is not individually credited with her reformation as he is in “Hercules”. The significance of her origin is debatable when discussing her contribution to media as a feminist role model, however modern feminists generally agree that a more positive feminist message would have been to have Xena either reformed through her own devices, or influenced by another woman (D’Erasmo, 1995; Magoulick, 2007, p. 730). Morreale (1998) credits Xena as the first lead woman in a television series as the archetypal hero on a quest. She is a strong feminine woman with masculine qualities, and the show appeals typically to men with action-based adventure, as well as women, with fantasy and spiritual themes. However, Morreale argues, while Xena is outwardly feminist, stories are told in a traditionally patriarchal fashion. It is this ambiguity that made ‘XWP’ so popular across so many demographics, and at its height it was among the top ten syndicated television series worldwide; indeed its very name is ambiguous. “Warrior” implies a strong, powerful and masculine person, whereas “Princess” softens its inference, defining Xena as feminine and even to an extent vulnerable (compared to if she was called a “Queen”, for example).

Her attire is practical and functional; leather installed with metal breast plates, however the bottom half is split and short, and her cleavage is emphasised, presenting her as an object of strength and utility but also as one of desire. Xena’s choice of weaponry is also gendered; her primary weapons are her sword, symbolic of the male sex, and her chakram, a hollow, round disc symbolic of the female. While she uses her sword more regularly, her chakram requires more skill to master, is more powerful and often the tool that ultimately ends the battle; it is also her signature weapon and later in the series is imbued with the power of the gods (Nelson, 1997, para. 16).

The portrayal of men in ‘XWP’ frames it as a feminist program. There is no male that Xena cannot defeat in battle, though some come close, such as Ares, God of War. Furthermore, her enemies are almost always male and immoral, however her primary, recurring enemy who becomes her most formidable match in battle is a woman, Callisto. Ares is also a recurring character, and was usually bested by Xena in battle due to his weakness of being in love with her. The only male regularly recurring character is Joxer, who provides the comic relief, and is consistently seen to be a blundering idiot, pathetic and ineffectual, especially when viewed beside Xena and her sidekick Gabrielle. Xena also does not exhibit what Morreale calls “Appendage Syndrome”, where the “Warrior Queen” figure is seen as connected to her nearest masculine figure (Morreale, 1998, p. 2). Xena’s father left when she was young, her brother is deceased, and she had to give up her son at birth to his father’s family. Though she learned some fighting skills from her brother, her most powerful battle skills are learned from other women, some of which were good and others villains.

Xena’s subversion of traditional feminine representations is especially apparent when her character is required to adopt disguises. Often, she must ‘disguise’ herself as a normal woman (to get past guards, for instance). When she does this, she wears much more feminine clothing with soft yet bright colours, usually dresses. She also changes the way she walks, from bold, confident strides to slower, less deliberate steps, softens her facial expression from her trademark glare, and affects her voice to be breathy and more high pitched from her normal, deep tone. In this guise she presents a parody of women and femininity as she sees it; she laughs more generously at men’s jokes and tolerates their sexist leers more than she would as ‘normal’ Xena. When she fights, she reverts to her normal self and uses devices of her feminine affectations to taunt her opponents, such as punching them and then covering her mouth in feigned, wide-eyed shock and saying, in her ‘feminine’ voice: “Oops!” This shows that the character is self aware of her personal subversion, and proud of it, and also critical and derisive of men’s weakness to it. She sees ‘traditional’ women as complacent and weak, and always expresses her relief at the end of the ruse to be back to her usual strong self.

Approaches to gender in ‘XWP’ are very much ahead of their time, and concepts addressed by it have rarely been attempted in subsequent mainstream entertainment almost fifteen years later. Xena’s ambiguity allowed ‘XWP’ to mainstream the concept of gender as positioned on a spectrum; a concept explored by de Beauvoir (1953), as opposed to a masculine/feminine dichotomy, and it also challenged other gender perceptions. The recurring character of Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, for instance, had a very liberal, ‘masculine’ approach to sex (Marks & Farley, 2005, p. 184), and was seen with multiple sexual partners throughout the series, without the need to form emotional attachment to them, and discarding them at her whim. A season two episode titled “Here she comes… Miss Amphipolis” included a transsexual character Alex, as a male-born participant in a female beauty pageant. When Xena realises Alex’s secret, she acknowledges that they are both ‘acting’ as ‘women’, and she says, without shock, hesitation or personal struggle, that he had every right to participate as the other women, saying “May the best person win” (emphasis added). This sensitive, positive treatment of transsexual people has not been seen in any mainstream entertainment program since. Furthermore, Alex was heterosexual, expressing attraction to Xena, further challenging the erroneous heterosexist stereotype of transsexual men as automatically homosexual as well (Gerhardstein & Anderson, 2010, p. 362).

The plot device of the pageant also was further example of Xena’s approach to femininity as a performance and her disdain for those that conform to it. She calls the contestants “underdressed (and) overdeveloped bimbos”, while Gabrielle calls pageants “a feeble excuse for men to exploit and degrade women”, to which the male organiser responds “Since when do we need an excuse?” As the episode progresses and Xena assumes her disguise she begins to sympathise with the female contestants as they all have important reasons for being there, however they still conform to feminine values of using their beauty instead of other faculties, as well as community based values (instead of traditionally male individualistic nature) (Winstead & Griffin, 2002, p. 489), for example one is there to get money for her poor family, another is there to protect her village from impending war. Despite the developing sympathy, however, Xena’s disdain at having to ‘act’ feminine is clear when she rapidly changes her facial expression from blowing kisses to rolling her eyes, or from battering her eyelids to sneering.

The episode (and indeed most of the series) also presented men only as one-dimensional, lecherous and weak, perceiving themselves as ‘owners’ of the women they sponsor in the pageant and completely preoccupied with competing with the other men using ‘their’ women as pawns. Incidentally, the beginning of that episode is one of the more humorous yet overt messages of female power in ‘XWP’; it opens with a gang of men leering and chasing the beauty contestants on a beach, who are then saved by Xena and Gabrielle throwing clams at them, in a display of characteristically unsubtle symbolism.

Another feminist message of ‘XWP’ was in the strength of Xena’s relationship to Gabrielle. Their relationship began with a young, naïve and audacious Gabrielle idolising Xena from the stories she’d heard about her, and following Xena to satisfy her lust for adventure. Xena initially resists however eventually allows Gabrielle to accompany her on her travels. Gabrielle serves to ground Xena and act as her moral conscience, keeping her on the path of goodness, and reminding her of the strength and value of her reformation (Pattee, 2000, para. 9). In turn, Xena is integral to Gabrielle’s personal development, teaching her survival skills including combat and weaponry. Their deep connection, love, admiration and mutual respect for each other presents an extremely positive role-model for girls and relationships, and it consistently presents the two women as influencing and encouraging each other’s personal and spiritual growth as individuals and partners. Male romantic interests for either of the women rarely last more than one episode; however their underlying friendship is only ever temporarily threatened, and is the one constant and most significant source of strength for both women throughout the series.
Xena is often haunted by her past and is sometimes tempted from her path of goodness, by what Carl Jung would label her ‘male shadow’. According to Jung, normative masculine and feminine concepts are archetypal images within our collective unconscious (Carr, 2002, p. 478). In addition to this, there is a gendered concept of the shadow that influences people to act outside their gender’s stereotype; the ‘male shadow’ is feelings of aggression, conflict and domination, and the ‘female shadow’ is feelings of social conformity and restriction to society’s gender norms (Jung, 1954). These shadows are inherently dark in nature (thus the term ‘shadow’) and provide an antithesis to our primary gender identity, and it is from this conflict that more a complex sense of gender identity arises. Both are closely linked with feelings of guilt, which Xena is constantly plagued by. It is the influence of the male shadow that provides her compelling inner conflict and the struggle to transcend her instinctual drive to allow it to rule her. The shadow concepts are not exclusively destructive; it is the regulation of their influence with the person’s existing gender qualities that present complex protagonists and undermine the binary perception of gender (Calvert, Kondla, Ertel, & Meisel, 2001, p. 34), reinforcing the spectrum approach.

The true nature of Xena and Gabrielle’s relationship has remained the subject of fierce debate long after the program ceased airing. It was widely believed that the two were lesbians, and while they were regularly psychically intimate such as holding hands or putting their arms around each other’s waist, they only kissed romantically around three times; an insignificant number across 134 episodes involving about as many heterosexual kisses. The writers of ‘XWP’ took advantage of the audience’s curiosity, frequently alluding to a romantic relationship between the women, and it was not until it had stopped airing that the producers and actors admitted that they were lesbians, with the creator Rob Tapert (who also wrote, directed and produced the show) clearly saying that he wished he could have included clearly homosexual characters and relationships in the show however he could not lest it alienate audiences (Minkowitz, 1996, p. 3).

Some argue that the women being lesbians detracts from the show’s feminist message. They argue that it presents a stronger argument for feminism if the women possess a strong connection yet are still heterosexual, as this is more contradictory to people’s expectations of gender representation (Stein, 1998). It is too convenient, they argue, to present two women independent from men as lesbians instead of two independent heterosexual women, who place friendship before romance the way men traditionally do. Independent heterosexual women are threatening to men, they argue, whereas an attractive lesbian couple who still flirt with and engage sexually with men are objects of hyper-sexual male fantasy. The ambiguous sexuality also cemented ‘XWP’ as a cult show to a lesbian audience, and is widely heralded as the original and most normalising depiction of lesbians in mainstream media (Pattee, 2000, para. 16).

Discussion of ‘XWP’s feminist gender representation is integral to exploring its supernatural themes, as it was arguably their main function to act as an effective vehicle for modern feminism. ‘XWP’ would not have been so successful in mainstreaming feminism were it not steeped in spirituality. The supernatural themes of ‘XWP’ are what made its feminism so widely accessible to such a vast audience. By giving Xena supernatural strength and powers from the pantheon of the gods, as well as endowing her most powerful enemies with supernatural qualities to match her (such as Callisto becoming a goddess), she was removed enough from normal yet strong independent women to be a non-threatening yet still feminist icon. Modern Feminism has a lot of critics, and is often denounced as being exclusionary, misandrist and the field of ‘angry lesbians’ and women who do not respect men (Minnick, 1998). Xena presented an ‘other’ who remained relatable and venerable despite her extremely progressive feminist ideals which would have been dismissed in any purely female character, by both male and female audience. Her supernaturality acted as a vehicle and gave her licence to be more aggressively feminist than other, human, popular culture icons of the time and arguably since.

The significance of spirituality is also an important part of ‘XWP’. The show involved classical ancient Greek, Roman and Norse mythology, as well as Hindu, Judaic, and Christian theology, and Taoism, which were all allowed within the same time period due to the writers’ lack of regard to chronological or geographical accuracy (Jones, 2000, p. 404). Xena’s personal spirituality was also quite fluid and she never aligned to a specific one, however she and Gabrielle were often called on to protect spiritual leaders, especially Eli, modelled on the Judeo-Christian Jesus, and she most frequently battled or was assisted by ancient Greek Gods (Fillingum, 2009). She never aligns to a specific spiritual path, nor expresses a need or desire to, however Gabrielle, who is presented as more in touch with her personal spirituality, chooses (after various failed attempts) to follow Eli, in his religion of peace and non-violence. Ultimately though she is compelled to rationalise a return to violence in order to save Xena’s life, and while she remains a ‘follower’ of Eli, her divergence from his path reinforces the strength of her and Xena’s relationship, as well as the concept of an individual and fluid approach to spirituality. This widely inclusive approach also maintained ‘XWP’s mass-market appeal to a spiritually diverse audience. Gabrielle also is significantly influenced by the spiritual rituals of the Amazons when she becomes an Amazonian Princess, and, briefly, a Queen (Durham, 2001, p. 204).

Never before, or since ‘XWP’ has a television program with a supernatural heroine been so popular while maintaining Feminist ideals. Other supernatural heroines such as Buffy Summers of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ or the Halliwell sisters of ‘Charmed’, though generally feminist (albeit in a diluted form), have not had the same success across such a wide audience as ‘XWP’ (Minkowitz, 1996, p. 74). Other popular television series without supernatural themes have had actively feminine protagonists, such as ‘Maude’ or ‘The Golden Girls’, however their audiences were predominantly female and the leading characters lacked the ‘masculine’ qualities that were allowed in Xena due to her supernaturality. Another factor of ‘XWP’s popularity was the time it was produced; it began to air while television was still the most popular form of media-based entertainment in the home (Havick, 2000). It has since been replaced by the internet and as audiences turn away from the increasingly hegemonic nature of free-to-air programming, they are spoiled for choice when they can consume entertainment of their choice from anywhere in the world instead of just what television network executives choose to broadcast (Hoover, 2006).

Xena: Warrior Princess was a significant cornerstone in mainstreaming Modern Feminism thanks to its supernaturality. Contrary to what one would expect, its transcendental spirituality was integral to the accessibility of its progressively feminist doctrine, and its perfect timing of the series ending just before the Internet’s revolution of how people consume media cemented Xena’s unrivalled position as the most popular supernatural, feminist heroine that ever was and arguably ever will be on television. The show’s creators fulfilled their moral responsibility to audiences by encouraging and inciting change using tools explained by Bandura’s Social Cognitive theory. The complex Jungian approach to gender archetypes normalise gender as positioned within a wide spectrum; a relatively isolated phenomenon in the history of mainstream media both prior to and after the conclusion of ‘XWP’ in 2001. There has been a disappointing regression to the binary masculine/feminine dichotomy in current mainstream media, which is arguably congruent to the decrease of supernaturally themed programs. By limiting textual contexts to realistic realms, writers are depriving themselves of plot devices that serve as unique conduits of culturally radical doctrine, not only to the detriment of their own success in an increasingly competitive media environment, but also to the detriment of audiences and wider society which relies on media to facilitate social progress and development.

Fans or Followers?: An Exploration of Baseball’s Potential Status as Religion

2010-11-10T13:36:00.002+10:00

By: Elise Burgett

Sport has often been compared to religion, and some would even consider it a religion in its own right. In particular, baseball is a common subject of study when debating the question of whether or not sport is a religious activity. Much like a religion, baseball does allow individuals to find and understand their identities within a greater community: the network of fans, or followers, supporting a given team. By focusing on the specific fandom of Boston Red Sox supporters, this paper examines whether baseball should be considered a religion in itself or simply a component of popular culture with many similarities to religion. It discusses this fandom in the broader context of American popular culture using Emile Durkheim’s concept of collective effervescence, as well as through Chris Rojek’s related idea of secular celebrity religion. Ultimately, it uses Samuel Sandmel’s theory of parallelomania to conclude that, while baseball does function like a religion in American culture, it cannot be considered a religion in and of itself.

It is true that there are a number of parallels between sport, in this case baseball, and religion. While discussing the possibility of the “Church of Baseball,” for example, David Chidester highlights four general areas of comparison: religion and baseball both ensure a sense of continuity, foster the creation of a community of belonging, involve a sacred space of home, and engage in sacred time of ritual (Chidester 745-746). All of these similarities are played out in the story of the Boston Red Sox and their fans. The Sox experienced an 86-year Word Series drought, failing to win the championship between 1918 and 2004. Just as God’s faithful look towards redemption with hope in their hearts, continuity was created as generation after generation of Red Sox fans carried on the hope that each year was their year until, finally, their decades of suffering were rewarded with a win in 2004 (“Here’s Hoping” 5). Similar to adherents to a religion, Red Sox fans are part of a distinct and passionate community with its own style of dress (apparel featuring the team’s logo), hymns or chants (“Let’s go Red Sox!”), practices and traditions (singing “Sweet Caroline” during the seventh inning of every home game), and even its own name (“Red Sox Nation” or “Fenway Faithful”). Red Sox fans also find community by taking part in the common practice of defining themselves in relation to the Other through their intense rivalry with the New York Yankees; for fans, the Red Sox are clearly “Us,” while the Yankees are “Them” (Magdalinski and Chandler 3). Boston’s baseball stadium and home of the Red Sox, Fenway Park, represents Chidester’s concept of sacred space, while the juxtaposition of ritualized time (nine innings in each game with a break in the middle of the seventh, for example) with moments of enthusiastic ecstasy, like after a crucial win during the playoffs, demonstrates his idea of sacred time. These examples based on the Boston Red Sox illustrate that it is possible to draw parallels between religion and the sport of baseball, but this descriptive definition of baseball as religion is not enough to deem the game a religion in and of itself. Similarities can be found between religion and many areas of popular culture, such as music or television series, so a deeper connection would be required to qualify baseball in particular as a religion.

Sociologist Emile Durkheim proposes a theory for looking at religion within a society that delves beyond the kind of surface comparisons discussed above, a theory he calls collective effervescence. He asserts that religion reinforces social ties and norms, therefore bringing people together in community, through this collective effervescence, or group energy, which is ultimately attributed to the sacred (Cary). In other words, individuals taking part in an activity, whether sponsored by an institutionalized religion or representing an area of popular culture, actually feel a distinctive energy as they come together in community, and they ascribe this feeling to the sacredness of the given activity in which they are participating. This theory of collective effervescence provides another link between religion and baseball specifically. Both the idea of God and the idea of belonging to a fandom like Red Sox Nation are social constructs which are considered religious because they bring and bind people together, aiding followers to understand their place within a larger social network (Xifra 194). Just as members of a particular congregation often feel increased religious fervour when worshipping among fellow believers, Red Sox fans are more likely to reach ecstatic highs when surrounded by other loyal fans; they are bonded through their dedication to the game, which is therefore raised up to a level of sacred importance.

This parallel between religion and baseball is more profound than the superficial similarities discussed previously because it actually affects the way people interact and understand themselves in relation to others. Analysing baseball through the social theory of collective effervescence highlights its status as an ideological practice that, like religion, helps socialize individuals into their community, in this case, Red Sox Nation (Magdalinski and Chandler 4). The shared experience of ecstatic moments among fans draws them together in their faith for their team, just like highly emotional religious experiences within a congregation enforce the beliefs of that community. For Red Sox fans, this shared faith has involved sticking by their team through an 86-year losing streak, through which they actually “bonded by this epic failure” (Saporito, Gregory and Wulf). All along, despite decades of disappointment, the Sox believed they would one day come out on top (Crepeau 113). This concept of redemptive suffering, which is also a major component of many religions, has linked generations of Red Sox fans who have never even met, and acceptance of it is part of the process of socialization into Red Sox Nation. Another aspect of this socialization, of the inculcation of faith in the Boston Red Sox, is participation in their intense rivalry with “that barnstorming assemblage of all-stars, that billionaire’s vanity toy, also known as the New York Yankees” (Cooper). In the true spirit of collective effervescence, when Red Sox fans come together for a game against New York, the anti-Yankees energy is almost tangible. Rooting against the Evil Empire brings Sox fans together almost as much as rooting for their own team. These social ties created within Red Sox Nation through fans’ worship-like treatment of baseball do demonstrate Durkheim’s concept of collective effervescence, but is this enough to consider baseball a religion? Questions remain; for example, who would be the god, or the source, of this religion?

Related to Durkheim’s collective effervescence theory is Chris Rojek’s notion of secular celebrity religion. Just as fans imbue entire areas of popular culture, such as baseball, with sacred meaning and significance, they also often raise individual athletes up to a religious status. According to Rojek, “[c]elebrities offer peculiarly powerful affirmations of belonging, recognition and meaning in the midst of the lives of their audiences” (172). Similarly, followers of different religions rely on a higher power to provide substance and meaning to their lives. In the case of baseball, these celebrities would be the athletes, the individual members of a team like the Red Sox, and Red Sox Nation certainly does put its players on pedestals. During the ultimately successful 2004 bid for the World Series, for example, pitcher Curt Schilling played on an injured ankle, the tendon sewn in place to prevent it from coming out of the sheath. During this game his sock became quite badly bloodied, an image that remains sharp in the minds of Red Sox Nation. Aside from the obvious religious metaphors involved in this image, those relating Schilling’s sacrificed ankle to Christ’s bloody sacrifice on the cross, it also links to religion in less readily apparent ways. Just like Christ and His life are held up as examples for believers to follow, Schilling’s brave performance is used by Red Sox fans to symbolize the mustering of courage and endurance to overcome a given adversary (MacDonald 18). In keeping with Rojek’s idea of secular celebrity religion, Schilling is lifted up to sacred significance as his fans revere his physical sacrifice, using his example to guide and empower their own lives.

However, the worshipful treatment of an athlete by fans does not necessarily make him or her a god. In reality, the media often plays a large role in transforming celebrities, such as baseball players, into larger-than-life figures for their fans to worship. In other words, there is not something intrinsically sacred about baseball or its players; rather, America’s media portrays the game and its athletes in a way that prompts fans to think of them as held up above the ordinary citizen. These depictions have a profound effect on the attitudes of fans towards their team, since it is basically inevitable for Americans to engage with some form of popular media culture on a day-to-day basis (Beaudoin 13). In today’s television-obsessed, internet-saturated world, culture is perpetuated and passed on primarily by print and electronic media (Albanese 5). At the same time, media helps create the very fandoms that ultimately worship their favourite teams through broadcasting games on television and radio, aiding fans in supporting their teams even when far from home (Juffer 9). Therefore, the way that the media chooses to discuss baseball, an integral component of American culture, helps mould fans’ outlooks regarding the game. In the case of the Red Sox, religious terminology and imagery abounds, casting the team and its players as sacred entities. Articles with titles like, “In Boston, Some See Hand of Higher Power” feature pictures of players like former Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez pointing to the sky in an apparent salute to God (MacDonald 18). Meanwhile, Time Magazine’s article “Holy Sox!” discusses the “messianic belief” and “redemption story” experienced by Sox fans during the 2004 season (Saporito, Gregory and Wulf). This use of such overtly religious imagery and language is a clear attempt by American media to raise the Red Sox up to a sacred level, a tactic that deeply influences fans of all ages. “Believe in Boston” was Red Sox Nation’s battle cry during the 2004 race to the World Series, and apparel proudly proclaiming the wearer a member of the “Fenway Faithful” is all over Fenway and the surrounding sports bars on game days. Sox fans see their team as a sacred source of and reason for faith, just like the media has portrayed it.

Between the abundant religious undertones in media coverage of the Red Sox and the fans’ highly emotional attachments to their team, baseball clearly has a religious side to it, but the question of whether it can actually be considered a religion in itself remains. In relation to texts, Samuel Sandmel, former president of the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, coined the term “parallelomania” to describe the tendency towards “‘extravagance among scholars which first overdoes the supposed similarity in passages and then proceeds to describe the source and derivation as if implying literary connection flowing in an inevitable or predetermined direction’” (qtd. in McCloud 10). This theory of parallelomania can be expanded to consider the relationship between popular culture fandoms and religion: though there are similarities between fandoms and congregations, they are often not thorough enough to render a given area of popular culture the same as a religion (McCloud 10). Despite the similarities in ritual between religion and baseball, the collective effervescence that manifests itself during gatherings of fans, and the way in which fans treat players with worshipful respect, these parallels are ultimately too broad and superficial to deem baseball a religion. While they can constitute part of a definition of religion, the descriptive and functional parallels between religion and baseball discussed in this paper are not enough to form a solid definition of baseball as an actual religion. For example, the descriptive approach of finding parallels in ritual can be used on almost any aspect of popular culture to make it seem like a religion; as for collective effervescence and fans’ relationships to athletes, not every activity that serves to build community and identity can be considered a religion (McCloud 10). In accordance with Sandmel’s theory of parallelomania, it can be said that while baseball can function in a similar manner to religion in American culture, it cannot be considered a religion in its own right.

As William Herzog II, vice president for academic affairs at Andover Newton Theological School in Massachusetts, states, “[b]aseball is just a game. [...] It doesn’t feed the hungry, or care for the sick, or settle disputes between warring nations. And yet [...] there is something ineffably stirring and nearly transcendent about sitting in Boston’s Fenway Park [...] [t]here are a lot of things about baseball that tug at the heartstrings” (Burke 18). Baseball, in its own right, is not a proper religion. Though it does bear resemblances to institutionalized religions, in the end it does not serve the same purpose. However, at the same time, there is an intensely emotive side to baseball by which faithful fans can partake in “nearly transcendent” experiences, a phenomenon which highlights the parallels between religion and baseball that do exist. Though baseball and religion are not deeply similar enough to be considered equals, an examination of the fandom of Red Sox Nation demonstrates baseball’s ability to function like a religion in American culture and, perhaps more importantly, in the hearts of its fans.

Works Cited

Albanese, Catherine L. “Religion and American Popular Culture: An Introductory Essay.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 64:4 (1996): 5. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Beaudoin, Tom. “Liturgy in Media Culture: Working Creatively with a Sign of the Times.” America 185:8 (2001): 13. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Burke, Daniel. “Rites of spring ring in ‘Church of Baseball.’” The Christian Century 127:10 (2010): 18. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Carey, Jolinda. “Durkheim: Religion and Society: The sacredness of Ozzfest and Durkheim’s social theory of religion.” suite101.com.Suite101, 2 Jul. 2006. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Chidester, David. “The Church of Baseball, the Fetish of Coca-Cola, & the Potlatch of Rock ‘n’ Roll: Theoretical Models for the Study of Religion in American Popular Culture.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion LXIV/4 (1996): 745-746. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Cooper, Rand Richards. “Nice Guys Finish Last: ‘Still, We Believe: The Boston Red Sox Movie.’” Commonweal. 18 June 2004. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Crepeau, Richard C. “Divine Wrath: The Goat and the Bambino.” NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture 13:1 (2004): 113. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

“Here’s Hoping.” The Christian Century 122:1 (2005): 5. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Juffer, Jane. “Why We Like to Lose: On Being a Cubs Fan in the Heterotopia of Wrigley Field.” The South Atlantic Quarterly 105:2 (2006): 9. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Macdonald, G. Jeffrey. “In Boston, some see hand of Higher Power.” The Christian Century 121:23 (2004): 18. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Magdalinski, Tara and Timothy J.L. Chandler. “With God on Their Side: An Introduction.” With God on Their Side: Sport in the Service of Religion. New York: Routledge, 2002. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

McCloud, Sean. “Popular Culture Fandoms, the Boundaries of Religious Studies, and the Project of the Self.” Culture and Religion 4:2 (2003): 10. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Rojek, Chris. “Celebrity and Religion.” Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader. Ed. Sean Redmond and Su Holmes. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications, 2007. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Saporito, Bill, Sean Gregory, and Jane Bachman Wulf. “Holy Sox.” Time. 8 Nov. 2004. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Xifra, Jordi. “Soccer, civil religion, and public relations: Devotional-promotional communication and Barcelona football club.” Public Relations Review 34 (2008): 194. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.

Mediating News and Religion

2010-11-09T19:24:00.001+10:00

An exploration of the relationship between news and religion

Jessica Duncan

In a democracy, Journalists have incredible power to control public agenda, opinion, and political priorities. Unfortunately, if the journalist reports in a bias way, this could lead to negative representations being given to the public. Often religion is the target of such bias. This essay will discuss the relationship between religion and news media, first from the perspective of the news including journalist, and how they report religion and secondly discuss how religions react to the news coverage and how religions themselves make their own media to counter the views put forward in mainline news in print and television. This essay will also voice the opinions of three Australians, for whom religion and media is an interest, occupation or an area requiring urgent attention.

Unfortunately, for our purposes, Australian media does not give the best examples of journalist bias against religion. The United States of America offer the best examples of the clash between journalism and religious organizations. The U.S. has perhaps the greatest tradition of religious involvements in society, and a journalistic tradition of reporting on such involvement. Because of this, it may be inevitable that there should be a clash. Journalistic critics constantly challenge the validity of stories about religion^[1]. They aim to ensure that stories on religion are presented in a morally objective manner, free of media and journalistic bias^[2]. Commentators and critics of the journalism industry are largely undecided as to whether journalists are religious or unreligious. According to Goldberg, surveys indicate that journalists are not religious people^[3]. He argues that this fact is almost certain to affect their coverage of religion^[4]. He states, “Journalists think they are the only species on the planet who can keep their biases in check because they’re professionals. Well, I don’t think that’s true.”^[5] Mattingly states that “We need journalists who can treat religion with empathy and also skepticism, quote people accurately, show respect for the lives of their sources, and stop mangling the technical, yet often poetic, language of religious life.”^[6] Many modern stories about or involving religion have to address the role of the “other”. The “other” in society is often an object of fear and ridicule because it is unknown, unexplored, and not understood. This could perhaps be another reason for the issues surrounding religion and news media/viewer. Often the “other” (in this case a religious “other”) is “foreign” both to the journalist and to the reader. The journalist has a difficult job in describing this “other” to an audience for whom it is not familiar. For a journalist to effectively write about the “other” they must first understand it, or at least endeavor to understand it, and then begin the difficult task to describing it to the reader. When done effectively, stories about the “other” can shape and change societies attitudes to it. However, when done poorly, with bias, this can lead to public fear, hatred and often alienation of the “other”. One such religious group that have had to deal with poor journalistic representation is the Australian Islamic community.

Given that more than half of all news media comes from the United States, it is obvious that it would have not only a Western viewpoint, but also an American one. Ramji, in his article Representations of Islam in American News and Film: Becoming the ‘Other’, claims that anti-Islamic sentiment in news media can be traced back to the Gulf War^[7]. News during this time avoided discussions and articles detailing the context of the War, for example, the events leading up to it, and frequently included coverage of malicious demonstrations of Arabs and Muslims^[8]. The media also often used double standards, particularly in relation to the UN sanctions. Despite the fact that many were appalled and outraged by the racist coverage, the reporting continued largely unquestioned. Another significant attack my the media on Islam took place in the Bosnian conflict. The Croats were associated with words such as “Catholic”, “Westernized”, “technologically advanced”, and “sophisticated”; were as the Serbs were categorized as “Eastern Orthodox”, “Byzantine”, and “primitive remnants of the Ottoman empire”, which automatically associated it with Iraq^[9]. Muslims, in this case, were completely outside the Western cultural domain, therefore ‘alien’ and ‘other’. Early reports coming from the scene of the Oklahoma bombing in April 1995 read that police suspected Islamic terrorists were responsible, despite the fact that there was no evidence to support this claim. Nonetheless, this false information resulted in many Arab-owned businesses being targeted, and investigations of several Middle-Eastern individuals^[10]. This instance is particularly horrifying considering the perpetrator behind the attack was a right-wing American Citizen. I spoke to an Australian Muslim, Aalam^[11], who agreed to share with me his thoughts on the representations of Muslims in Australian news media. He believed that the media was often biased against Muslims. He said that the frequent media stories on Muslim extremists and suicide bombers added to public fear about his faith. He states “It isn’t that they always say that Muslims are bad, it is just the amount of negative publicity that adds to outrage”. I asked him if he believed that positive stories about Islam would change the public’s view on it, and he agreed, but he added “There would need to be a lot of them to outweigh the negative ones.” This false representation of the “other” has often lead to demonstrations of public outrage, for example, the Cronulla Riots. It has also been largely responsible for negative public stereotypes of Muslims and Islam. This has certainly come from the media, either from journalist bias, false reporting, or overexposure to negative stories.

In order to gain an Australian journalist’s perspective, I interviewed journalist Ellen-Maree Elliot on how she would approach writing a news story on religion, and how she felt religious bias was portrayed in the media. She insisted that portraying an accurate story without bias was paramount in the business of news journalism. Reports must be factual, adhere to the journalistic code of ethics, and give the views of every side of the story. When possible, it was also preferable to interview a religious leader involved. She stated, however, that it is incredibly difficult to completely avoid bias, even if your opinions are not specifically told. She stated that “a journalist’s bias can show through from the words they use, the people they choose to interview, and how far they will go to peruse an interview or information”. Elliot said that an extremely bad example of journalism was the inclusion of religion surrounding the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain. She stated that many journalist reporting on the story chose to include the information that Azaria’s mother, Lindy Chamberlain, was a member of the Seventh-Day Adventist church. This information had nothing to do with the disappearance, yet the implications of cultish behaviour, sacrificing of children, and cold and emotionless parental attitudes, led to a “trial by media” and subsequent guilty verdict.

Elliot insists that if religion has nothing to do with the story, then it should not be mentioned at all, lest it lead to a similar situation. This is widely considered to be one of the worst examples of ethical journalism in Australia. Elliot also claimed that the ABC and SBS tend to be better in their broadcasting of religious stories, where as channels Seven, Nine and Ten tended to be less informed. She believed this was because journalists working for commercial networks were under greater pressure to find and report stories that are both newsworthy and profitable. From this, we can learn that even if a journalist does not state their bias, it can become clear. Money often gets in the way of good journalist, because stories that have a positive religious angle, or ones that do not portray religion in an extremely negative light, do not sell newspapers or guarantee viewers. Sensational stories sell, and unfortunately in the business of journalism, it is as simple as that.

The question, however, still remains. What can be done to correct biases and falsities in journalist’s reporting? Porterfield suggests that the first step is an obvious one, that journalists should realize that they are only human, and they will have biases. If biases are realized, then they can be kept in check. Another recommendation could be combating ignorance, because it is usually through ignorance that biases develop. Another obvious solution could be greater religious education for journalists and editors alike, so that obvious and blatant biases can at least be eliminated from stories at the final stage, if not eliminated all together. There are some religious groups that have decided to avoid biased journalists by creating and publishing their own media. An excellent example is the Watchtower and Awake! magazines distributed my members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. These magazines are printed in 182 languages and distributed in approximately 400 countries. These magazines contain both religious doctrine and education, as well as topical news stories on (among other things), natural gas, the Commonwealth Games, and the Global Financial Crisis. I asked Peter^[12], a distributer of Watchtower and Awake!, if he felt these magazines are an efficient form of media for both the distribution of Jehovah’s Witness doctrine and news stories. He agreed, adding that the wide distribution assists people to not only learn about Jehovah’s Witness faith and current topical issues, without the interference of money-conscious journalists. He stated, “People can hear the good news of God, as well as learning something new about the world of God”. In a post-9/11 world, Islam suffers greatly from biased and pessimistic media. To combat this, Daily Muslims, a news site for U.S. and Canadian Muslims has been established. Daily Muslims publishes hard news articles on a variety of topics, completely free of (often) unnecessary anti-muslim views and biases. It is a shame, however, that these forms of “religious media” are not widely viewed or read. Often, the only exposure to media that Australians have is the nightly news on commercial television and radio stations, and mainstream newspapers. Whilst a site like Daily Muslims does offer unbiased news for Muslims, it does not offer it to those who are already biased or produced, the general public.

The unfortunate nature of media bias is that we only know if we have they have acted wrongly in the aftermath of an incident. Though this new tradition of media made by religion is amiable, however they are often themselves biased and are not widely distributed for community. Those that have prejudices (often created by the media) do not read unbiased reporting. The unfortunate fact is that today sensational stories sell newspapers, and sensational stories are often incredibly bias, blatantly wrong, or not grounded in context that is so vital to stories about religion, specifically religious conflict. Perhaps if television stations and newspapers ran more positive headline stories about religious groups then it would slowly change public opinion, however, there would need to be quite a few to outweigh the current amount of negative publicity. Religious education for journalists, editors and producers would greatly assist the current situation, as it would ensure that biases and false information never makes it to air or print. The best that can be done with instances of extremely bad journalistic exploitation of religion, however, is to learn from them and hopefully ensure they never happen again.

Bibliography:

Anonymous. (2009). Religious news coverage is suffering, says journalism professor. The Christian Century. 126 (12), 15.

Baker, R. T. (1955). Religion and Journalism. Religious Education. 50. 361-364.

Khiabany, G. (2010). Iranian Media: The Paradox of Modernity. New York: Routledge.

Mattingly, T.. (2009). Getting Religion in the Newsroom. In: Marshall, P., Gilbert, L. and Green-Ahmanson, R. Blind Spots: When Journalists get it wrong. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 151-155.

Mitchell, J. et al. (2003). Mediating Religion: Conversations in Media, Religion and Culture. London: T & T Clark.

Porterfield, K. H. . (2007). Religion. In: Sloan, D. and Burleson Makay, J. Media Bias: Finding it, Fixing it. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. . 50-64.

Schmalzbauer, J. (2005). Journalism and the Religious imagination. In: Badaracco, C. H. (Ed.). Quoting God: How media shapes ideas about religion and culture. Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press. 21-36.

Shandler, J. (2009). Jews, God, and Videotape: Religion and Media in America. New York: New York University Press.

Stout, D. A. (Ed.) (2006). Encyclopedia of religion, communication, and media. New York: Routledge.

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. (2010). Watchtower & Awake! Magazine. Available: http://www.watchtower.org/. Last accessed 29th October 2010.

^[1] Porterfield, K. H. 2007. Page, 51.

^[2] Ibid.

^[3] Quoted by Porterfield, K. H. 2007. Page, 52.

^[4] Ibid.

^[5] Quoted by Porterfield, K. H. 2007. Page, 52.

^[6] Mattingly, T. 2009. Page, 151.

^[7] Ramji, R. From Mitchell, J et al. 2003. Page, 65.

^[8] Ibid.

^[9] Ramji, R. From Mitchell, J et al. 2003. Page, 67.

^[10] Ibid. Page, 68.

^[11] Name changed to protect privacy.

^[12] I was asked not disclose this man’s full name, and thus have not.

A New Wave in Christianity: Exploring the Universal Religion Pentecostalism and Why it Appeals to Millions of People

2010-11-08T16:10:00.002+10:00

By Elizabeth Bailey

This paper will examine how Pentecostalism has transitioned from its founding in 1906 to today using a variety of different techniques to appeal to new converts.

With over 500 million members, Pentecostalism in one of the largest Christian denominations in the world, with its flexibility and adaptability, Pentecostalism caters to almost every type of person, from any background, in any country, and all social classes. As a religion that is famous for its emphasis on a relationship with the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues, Pentecostalism is considered by outsiders to be crazy, but serves a community for its members. Pentecostalism is an appealing religion to millions of people as it enhances the lives of its members, while from the inside it fills the hearts and souls of the parishioners, it is not a perfect religion, but one that is considered to be fragmented within its own sect and uninterested in the teachings other religions by outsiders. With two camps clearly defined: Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals, it is important to understand both points of view: why Pentecostalism is so appealing to millions of people and the criticism surrounding Pentecostalism. It may not be a perfect religion, but Pentecostalism uses a variety of techniques to draw people in and create converts.

In Christian tradition, the Catholic Church was born from a miracle when the Holy Spirit ascended upon the 12 apostles and blessed them with the ability to speak in many languages, this event is known as the Pentecost, a day celebrated 50 days after Easter Sunday. As written the Bible:

When the Day of the Pentecost has fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as fire…And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance…Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them (Acts 2, 1-4 and 41).

The birth of Pentecostalism took place in the same way in 1906. As Philip Hughes writes in The Pentecostals in Australia, “…William Joseph Seymour [a black preacher in Los Angeles], had become convinced that is people prayed with sufficient fervour and intensity, God would respond with a new ‘Pentecost’ in preparation for the end of the world” (Hughes 2). According to history on April 9, 1906 Seymour watched one of his followers become overwhelmed with the Holy Spirit and begin speaking in tongues and so the revivalist movement of Pentecostalism began (Anastas 32). After witnessing this miracle, Seymour founded the Asuza Street Mission, which mixed races, but this phenomenon did not last long, but Pentecostalism continued to thrive and grow (Anastas 34).

Today, Pentecostal churches are the fastest growing group of churches in Christianity, with over a quarter of all Christians considering themselves Pentecostals (Gooren 1). As Mark Jennings wrote in his article “Won’t you break free”, “Pentecostals have clearly demonstrated an ability to adapt to the times, and perhaps part of the appeal of the movement in post-modernity is the generally conservative, morally prescriptive stance couples with a definite experiential element that is now devoid of some of the more “loony” elements of the past” (Jennings 166). This adaptability Jennings discusses is on element that makes Pentecostalism appealing. In Jennings article, he discusses his experience at Breakfree Church, a Pentecostal congregation in Perth. During his time at Breakfree, Jennings noticed the importance music played in all of the services. While Pentecostalism is traditionally recognized as the religion where people speak in tongues, according to Jennings, “At Breakfree, however, speaking in tongues was generally confined to the prayer meeting, where a committed core of participants gathered in the hall before the service” (Jennings 166). This transformation from speaking in tongues publically, to a small group privately praying and speaking in tongues is one way the Pentecostal Church has changed. By making the services more welcoming and less chaotic for visitors and new members of the Church, Pentecostalism has become more approachable and appealing to people. Breakfree’s use of music is another element that draws people in, not only is music used as a technique to begin a spiritual experience with God, but music makes the service more lively and memorable to new converts.

Glossolalia is an important practice in the Pentecostal Church, but today more emphasis is placed on the experience one has with the divine, rather than the practice of speaking in tongues. As Jennings states, “Pentecostalism [is] a religion on manifestation” (Jennings 171), speaking in tongues is not the only way Pentecostals display their experience with the divine. During his time at Breakfree, Jennings saw that music was one tacit used to allow the congregation to commune with God. Jennings writes, “What sets Breakfree Church- and Pentecostals churches like it- apart here is the deliberate manner in which music is used to try and draw people away from the outside world to a space where God is to be experienced” (Jennings 163-164). Timothy Wadkins also described his experience at a Pentecostal Church in El Salvador, saying, “…the gifts of the spirit are emphasized, and Sunday celebrations are animated with raised hands and open weeping….Healings are regular occurrences” (Wadkins 27). Both of these descriptions of events that take place during Pentecostal services are examples of how Pentecostalism is a religion of display, where showing everyone that you have a relationship with God and the Holy Spirit is important. By displaying one’s relationship with the divine, Pentecostalism sends the message that anyone can have a divine experience, it is not something that needs to be taught as in other religions.

The manifestations of belief that take place during worship for Pentecostals are directly connected to the core doctrines of the Church, which Joel Robbin presents in “The Globalization of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity”, Robbins writes, “ Jesus offers salvation; Jesus heals; Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit; Jesus is coming again” (Robbin 121). These core doctrines make Pentecostalism portable, they are easy to teach to converts and by speaking in tongues, performing healings, using music as a way to connect with God, and through television Pentecostals are able to make their relationship with the divine frequent, memorable, and fun.

Media also plays a large role in converting people to Pentecostalism and helping Pentecostals make worship a daily ritual. Lynn Clark examines the media’s influence over religion in her book From Angels to Aliens, according to Clark:

….mass media have been associated with religious change in at least two important ways. First, the invention of the printing press established an alternative center of power that challenged the church’s authority to define the issues that we expressed to the public…. Second, the media, and the entertainments media in particular, have played a role in religious change, in a fundamental way, (Clark 224-225).

Today, television is one of the key ways religions such as Pentecostalism are able to reach so many people daily and how members are able to maintain such a strong faith. It is easy to turn on the television for 20 minutes a day and watch a sermon from your living room, people are able to experience the Holy Spirit from the comfort of their own homes on a daily basis. Bobby Alexander found in his book Televangelism: Redressive Ritual viewers of shows such as “Hillsong” and the “707 Club” have ritualized their preparation and participation, Alexander writes, “82% [of survey participants] indicated that they participate in the worship format of the program; 82% pray along with the telecast; and 37% read the Bible along with the program. (Alexander 199). These three statistics elucidate how television promotes worship. These viewers are not just watching “Hillsong” on a Sunday morning while eating their pancakes, they are wholeheartedly participating; using television as a way to reach viewers that may not be able to attend church or to reach members daily, Pentecostalism appeals to so many because one does not need to leave one’s home to have an experience with the Holy Spirit.

The Pentecostal Church does more than convert people, it also creates a community for millions of people. While in El Salvador, Wadkins interviewed numerous converts to Pentecostalism and what he found was that many of them all had similar stories. Wadkins writes, “Prior to ‘getting saved’ they [converts] suffered from the effects of depression, gang violence, drugs, marital strife…Their lives began to change only when they took responsibility for their predicaments, acknowledged the saving work of Christ on the cross, and received the healing power of the Holy Spirit” (Wadkins 28). By joining the Church many of the converters Wadkins spoke to were saved not only spiritually, but physically as well. Henri Gooren, also found that lives of many Pentecostal converters were changed once they joined the Church. In his review of “An Introduction to Pentecostalism”, Gooren agrees with Allan Anderson’s optimism about the Pentecostal Church saying, “these new communities sometimes filled the gaps created by socio-economic and religious disintegration and offered full participation and supportive structures for marginalized and displaced people” (Gooren). By creating a system that allows disadvantaged groups to move up in the world and that helps those in need, Pentecostalism appeals to not only to advantaged middle-class citizens, but poorer third world countries as well.

While Pentecostalism appeals to million of people globally, within the religious community there are several issues surrounding Pentecostalism and their beliefs and relationships with other religions. In his book, Gathering the Faithful Remnant, author Philip Powell criticizes Pentecostalism and the history they so proudly promote. Philip writes, “Pentecostals…frequently revise history and claim or imply that many of the great heroes of the “church” support their position [to begin the church’s history with scripture]. All too frequently they do this on the basis of very flimsy evidence and in some cases no evidence at all” (Powell 367). Philip argues that Pentecostals change their history in order to better fit the word of God and that written in the Bible. Philip believes that by changing the religion’s history with little or no evidence, followers will begin to doubt and lose faith (Philip 367). Changing the history of Pentecostalism to better-fit scripture is a valid concern. Pentecostalism promotes spirituality and the word of Jesus Christ, but altering the history would be considered lying. As a Christian denomination with so many members, it is important for the Church to be completely honest and Philip is correct in saying that as this phenomenon continues those converted will begin to question the legitimacy of the Church and its doctrines.

Upon its founding the Pentecostal Church was considered by many to be a phenomenon that would pass and a church of fanatics. The Catholic Church did not understand the history of Pentecostalism or consider Pentecostalism a valid religion for a time, but in 1960’s as the ecumenical movement began in the 1960’s and the Catholic Church opened their doors to the idea of promoting Christian unity, Pentecostals became suspicious and pulled away from the movement. Peter Hocken writes in “Christian Unity?” about the misunderstanding and suspicions the Pentecostals felt in regards to participating in the ecumenical movement alongside the Catholic Church saying, “The Evangelical and Pentecostal suspicion that the ecumenical movement lacked a spiritual foundation and was just a human effort to merge denominations finds no support in the origins” (Hocken 163). This fear that rather than promoting Christian unity the ecumenical movement became a ploy to merge dominations is still present today, and many Pentecostals are uninterested in the teachings and similarities they share with other Christian dominations. While different Christian dominations teach different doctrines, it is important to have a united front and respect for the teachings of other religions. The Pentecostal fear of losing its identity is legitimate, but Christian unity is also important. In order for Pentecostalism to grow it must put aside its fear of other institutions and its suspicions of other structures and teachings (Hocken 167).

Pentecostalism has transformed from a religion founded in Los Angeles that fell apart because of race to a universal religion with over 500 million members. Today, Pentecostalism is no longer considered a religion of fanatics or “holy rollers”, but as a Christian domination that promotes a strong relationship with the divine and an unquestionable belief that the scripture is completely true (Hocken 162). Through its multimedia approaches televised services-to music as a core element in worship Pentecostalism is continuously attracting new converts. Speaking in tongues is no longer the only image associated with Pentecostalism, today millions of converts from around the world would agree that Pentecostalism transformed their lives for the better and provided a community where they could worship and receive personal aid. While there are downsides to Pentecostalism: changing the religion’s history to better fit the Bible and fearing and being suspicious of the ecumenical movement and working alongside the Catholic Church to promote Christian unity, Pentecostalism is a religion that appeals to millions of people because it provides a community inside and outside of worship. Pentecostalism is a flexible and adaptable and as other religions struggle to find their place in the modern world, Pentecostalism will continue to transform to meet the needs and desires of its members, making it one an appealing religion that will only continue to grow.

Works Cited

Alexander, Bobby C. Televangelism: Redressive Ritual Within a Larger Social Drama. Atlanta: Scholar , 1994. Print.

Anastas, Benjamin. “The Pentecostal Promise.” New York Times Magazine 23 Apr. 2006: 32-34. Print.

The Bible. Mawson: Gideons Internation in Australia, 1987. Print. New King James Vers.

“Christianity Reborn; Pentecostals.” Economist 19 Dec. 2006: 84. Web. 6 Nov. 2010. .

Clark, Lynn Schofield. From Angels to Aliens: Teenages, the Media, and the Supernatural. New York: Oxford UP, 2003. Print.

Gooren, Henri. “An Introduction of Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity By Allan Anderson.” Rev. of An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity, by Allan Anderson. Ars Disputandi 4 (Oct. 2004): n. pag. Print.

Hocker, Peter. “Charismatic Movements Christian Unity? The Opportunities and Challenges Raised by the Pentecostal and.” Transformation: An International Journal of Holistic Mission Studies 27.162 (2010): 162-168. Print.

Hollenweger, Walter J. The Pentecostals. Trans. R. A, Wilson. London: SCM , 1972. Print.

Hughes, Philip J. The Pentecostals in Australia. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Services, 1996. Print.

Jennings, Mark. “’Won’t you break free?’ An enthnography of music and the divine-human encounter at an Australian Pentecostal Church.” Culture and Religion 9.2 (2008): 161-174. Print.

Karkkainen, Veli-Matti. “Identity and Plurality: A Pentecostal-Charismatic Perspective.” International Review of Mission 91.363: 500-503. Print.

Powell, Philip L., and Aeron Morgan. Gathering the Faithful Remnant. Healesville: Christian Witness Ministries, 2002. Print.

Robbins, Joel. “The Globalization of Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity.” Annual Review of Anthropology 33 (2004): 117-143 . Print.

Synan, Vinson, ed. Aspects of Pentecostal-Charismatic Origins. Plainfield: Logos International, 1975. Print.

Wadkins, Timothy. “Pentecostal Power.” Christianity Century 4 Nov. 2006: 26-29. Print.

Islam in the news and its impact on Muslims

2010-11-08T10:57:00.001+10:00

Examine how Islam is portrayed in the media, especially in the aftermath of the 2001 September 11^th attacks. What are some of the effects of this portrayal on the Islamic communities globally and locally?

This essay examines how Islam is portrayed in the media, and how this representation of Islam has affected Muslim communities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and my hometown, Singapore. To set the parameters of my essay, media is defined as broadcast and print news media. In studying the portrayal of Islam in the media, I am using two theoretical frameworks by Bourdieu and Baudrillard, reflected in their essays ‘On Television’ and ‘The Precession of Simulacra’ respectively.

Media coverage on 9/11

The terrorist attacks on the iconic Twin Towers and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, or commonly known as 9/11, marked a watershed in US, and probably, world history. The attacks were planned, executed, and staged perfectly that no one, not even the media, would have missed the succession of events that brought down a powerful country which prides itself in its defence and warfare. The perpetrators of the attacks, the Al-Qaeda, justified their violent act as part of their crusade against the infidels––the Americans. Their religious affiliation to Islam then became the spotlight of the news coverage both on TV and in print. In this essay, I will examine three areas of Islam that have been on the news, and how they have been presented so far. These areas cover topics such as Jihad, the Koranic verses, and Syaria penal laws.

The media and its medium: ‘manufacturing our consent’

According to Marsden and Savigny (2009:1), ‘The media provide the basis from which we can gain knowledge and understanding of our contemporary environment, yet they are not passive conduits for communication’. The phrase, ‘passive conduits for communication’, gives us the impression that the media are not just presenting us with the news per se, but in a way, influences what we think through the narrative frames of the news. Journalists do define the parameters of what we think through the framing of the news, and what constitutes the ‘news’. Within the framework of narrative frames, the political influence on news production also plays a key role in determining the type of news for public consumption.

This political influence is evident when, in addressing the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration clearly demarcated the distinctive line between the notion of ‘us’ and ‘others’, so that Americans, both Muslims and non-Muslims, would feel united as one, and rally for one another. In reality, hate crimes were happening in the US; tackling this problem meant that President Bush had to step in and construct a framework that separates the Muslims in the US (‘with us’) from the Muslims outside of the US (‘against us’) (Ibrahim, 2010:118). The other Muslims, who were not in the confines of American soil, were treated as the ‘others’––a brand of Islam which advocates Jihad. The discourse of ‘otherness’ primarily focuses on the religion of Islam, which is inherently violent, and directs hatred at America. The media presents this ‘violent’ nature of Islam through the narrative frames, when terrorism is equated with Islam, and creates a conflation of the terms such as ‘terrorism’ and ‘Islam’.

The conflation of the terms, ‘terrorism’ and ‘Islam’, presents itself as an area which is highly contentious: is it a coincidence or is it consciously ‘manufactured’ by the media to influence how we (readers or audience alike) think? To respond to this, I would like to quote Bourdieu who states that even before the news reaches us on TV or in print, it has already been subjected to ‘censorship’ and various levels of decision making, in which the journalists ‘retain only the things capable of interesting them and “keeping their attention”, which means things that fit their categories and mental grid; and they reject as insignificant or remain indifferent to symbolic expressions that ought to reach the population as a whole’ (1998:330). The content that makes up the news has to be ‘interesting’ and ‘attention-grabbing’; thus, scenes that denote violence in strikes and rioting are preferred to a peaceful demonstration. The interviewees are also selected carefully, and usually these are people who are loud, young, and angry (Ibrahim, 2010:120).

The process of news selection is also crucial. In Bourdieu’s description, we see how news is filtered in many layers (within the journalist’s decision making matrix and through the management) and at the end of it, the essence of it, or even the truth, might be dissipated. News that ‘ought to reach the population as a whole’ gets swept aside, and what gets aired on TV is clearly news that focuses only on ‘contentiousness, scandal, or the offbeat’ (Underwood, 2002:130). What gets presented in the media then is through the journalist’s (and the management’s) lens: an overgeneralised and oversimplified connectivity theory that links terrorism with Islam, just because the perpetrators happen to be Muslims and are proud to be citing Islamic verses when interviewed on TV. At the end of it, the credibility of the news is questionable. However, are readers or the audience able to discern this, or have they been conditioned to this type of news?

To respond to the question of whether the audience is capable of discerning the credibility of the news or whether they have been conditioned to consuming the news as it is, McChesney (2003:310) claims that ‘professional journalism is on the decline, and over the years, the audience is used to the sub-standard reporting’. He also cites Westin (2000:5) who deduces that ‘the audience has become accustomed to shoddy reporting to the point that the average viewer does not necessarily expect quality journalism…the mass audience cannot perceive the difference between a well produced story and a below-average one’. The conditioning is there, and the quality of journalism has definitely met the expectations, but the bar set is not high. The audience is used to the below-average news that they are not able to discern the difference between good and not so good quality news.

In my opinion, the concern lies not just with the quality of the news, but the way in which journalists frame their news to ‘manufacture [our] consent’ (Herman and Chomsky, 1988). Are we ‘tricked’ into forming our own opinion with the media’s manipulative news framing? To a large extent, we are, especially now when media conglomerates are controlled by a select few. The same news footage gets reproduced several times, up to a point that it leaves an indelible mark on the audience (and to a certain extent cloying too). I would like to term this mass reproduction of news as ‘canned news’: they have been ‘manufactured’ by the media conglomerates, and ‘delivered’ straight to news stations worldwide.

Further, Bourdieu (1998:330) also adds that ‘these journalists can impose on the whole society their vision of the world, their conception of problems, and their point of view’. This imposition is not done in an explicit way, but done in a manner that is only discernible if one is aware of the inner workings of journalism. What is presented is one journalist’s point of view, and the audience believes that it is the real representation of events. However, an event itself has many perspectives and points of view––what is real, and what is the truth can never be presented in one ‘plenary’ platform. This phenomenon is reflected in Baudrillard (1994:468) when he writes:

Whence the characteristic hysteria of our times: that of the production and reproduction of the real…What every society looks for in continuing to produce, and to overproduce, is to restore the real that escapes it. That is why today, this “material” production is that of the hyperreal itself…Thus everywhere the hyperrealism of simulation is translated by the hallucinary resemblance of the real to itself.

From the above quote, we see how the production and reproduction of the real are happening in our society today. But it is not only the society that makes this phenomenon ‘materialise’: the media also play an important part in creating this hyperreality. The simulacrum is as close as the real thing, but the real cannot be presented in any form. Paradoxically speaking, the simulacrum is the real itself.

Baudrillard’s concept of hyperreality is also echoed in Horkheimer & Adorno’s (2002:58) ‘The Culture of Identity’ when they posit that ‘language which appeals to mere truth only arouses impatience to get down to the real business behind it. Words which are not means seem meaningless, and the others seem to be fiction, untruth.’ This paradox reflects the sad state of how truth is downplayed or altogether dismissed in the media. The continuity of this paradox represents itself in the form of a Mobius strip––there is no beginning or end. The culture industry continuously duplicates ‘appearances’, and as a result, the truth is obliterated.

Misinterpretation of Jihad

After 9/11, when the world knew about the perpetrators’ religion, more attention was given to Islam, especially how the terrorists made use of the term, ‘Jihad’, to justify their actions. Journalists who presumably had no background knowledge of Islam nor were fluent in Arabic language, presented Jihad as Holy War. This is a common problem with any language when it is translated; there is usually no corresponding accurate meaning when some words are translated into English. More often than not, a transliteration occurs, not a translation. And this is what usually happens when journalists look up Arabic words in Arabic-English dictionaries. According to Ibrahim (2010:118), ‘one of the ongoing problems with western coverage of Islam is that Jihad is always translated as a holy war.’ This was also demonstrated when ABC’s Bob Woodruff did a news coverage in Islamabad, where, according to him, ‘is where the recruits…study the Koran and they learn about Jihad, or Holy War’ (cited by Ibrahim, 2010:119).

This concept of Jihad can be misconstrued not only by non-Muslims, but also by Muslims alike, especially if they lack background knowledge in Arabic. Therein lies the problem where Jihad can be manipulated to suit one’s personal agenda. This is clearly illustrated by Osama Bin Laden who claimed that his Jihad was ‘against the United States and killing of Americans is the core of his faith’ (cited by Ibrahim, 2010:119). The phrase, ‘the core of his faith’, would be a gross misrepresentation of Islam, in which the core values are definitely not ‘killing of Americans’. Genocide is never advocated in the Koran, let alone killing of Americans.

When the press presents a radical view (especially by Bin Laden) that is not balanced by other perspectives, especially from an Islamic scholar’s point of view, the audience or readers see only one perspective, albeit a bigoted and incorrect one, of a religion. An audience that is not aware of the limitations of news coverage will believe what the news anchors report, and readers who are not aware of editorial biases will consume the written words as the truth. This phenomenon is attested to by Baurillard (1994:473), who writes that ‘one remains dependent on the analytical conception of the media, on an external active and effective agent, on “perspectival” information with the horizon of the real and of meaning as the vanishing point’. The idea of dependence is crucial here, as we as receivers of information, rely on the media’s objectivity and efficacy in producing “perspectival” information or a balanced viewpoint.

The lack of contextualisation

Although the media purportedly report news at an objective level, media analysts question whether this objectivity can be achieved in light of human biases, and the limited perspectives offered not just through the journalists’ viewpoints, but the panoptic nature of television. When the topic of religion is covered in the news, there are many factors that can affect the understanding of the readers or audience. Within the short time constraint given to journalists to cover a topic on religion, it is virtually impossible to find multiple perspectives that will result in a balanced report. The lack of contextualisation also exacerbates the problem––according to McChesney (2003:304), ‘A second flaw of journalism is that it tends to avoid contextualisation like the plague…Coverage tends to be a barrage of facts and official statements. What little contextualisation professional journalism does provide tends to conform to official source consensus premises’.

The lack of contextualisation is palpable when Koranic verses on war are taken in isolation, and incorrectly reflect the real ‘terror’ of Islam. When the 9/11 terrorists used Koranic verses to justify their violent actions, or their crusades, the reporters aired their views without consolidating this with other viewpoints, especially from the perspectives of Islamic scholars. This gives an incorrect view of what Islam is, and Ibrahim (2000:119), cites Edward Said’s observation:

Much of what one reads and sees in the media about Islam represents the aggression as coming from Islam because that is what ‘Islam’ is. Covering Islam is a one-sided activity that obscures what ‘we’ do, and highlights instead what Muslims and Arabs by their very flawed nature are. (Said, 1997: xxii)

Most of the time, the news coverage is on Arabs, whom the audience usually associate with Islam; the problem is, Arabs are not a homogenous group of Muslims––there are also Arabs who are Christians. Arabs and Muslims have become synonymous that there is no distinction between race or ethnicity with religion. This is just one example of a conflation of terms.

Another example of a conflation of terms is ‘Islam’ and ‘terrorism’. The 9/11 attacks became a preamble to many more terrorist attacks that occurred in Bali, London, and Bali. The perpetrators who executed these attacks more often than not claimed affiliation to Al-Qaeda, and inevitably, the conflation of the terms Muslim/Islam and terrorist has resulted. The terrorist has a face now, and profiling (by government watchdogs all over the world) has just been made easier. When the news covers terrorist attacks, and show young, angry, masked Muslim men with their rifles chanting, “Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!” (God is Great! God is Great!), the audience makes the connection of terrorism with Islam. Further, every time Osama Bin Laden is mentioned, he is seen with a firearm, and rallying the Mujahideens. The constant play of these images definitely makes an impact on the audience, and ‘manufactures’ the association of terrorism with Islam.

Impact on Muslims worldwide

The 9/11 attacks not only created chaos and cacophony worldwide, they also spurred a spirit of Islamic revivalism and more inter–faith dialogues in some countries such as Tony Blair’s Faith-to-face foundation, and the Inter-Religious Organisation in Singapore. Hopkins (2008:44) cites Bloul, 2003, when she observes that even though ‘Islamophobia in the media has grown over the recent years, the rate of Islamic ethnicisation has also increased’. Islamic ethnicisation entails Islamic ‘oneness’, and probably has elements of Islamic revivalism when Australian Muslims, despite their race, nationality, or political affiliation, become united (Hopkins, 2008:44). They identify with the challenges that Muslims around the world face, and empathise with the difficult journey that some Muslims embark on, especially in light of the 9/11 attacks.

In Singapore, Islamic revivalism is evident when issues such as allowing Muslim girls to wear the hijab or head scarf in government schools are brought forth and contested. Being a pluralistic society, the Singapore government is aware of racial and religious tensions, and attempts to appeal to Singaporean Muslims to be ‘moderate Muslims’ and place their national loyalty above everything else, especially race and religion. Tan (2007:26) notes that ‘one consequence of Islamic revivalism is that Muslims may find it increasingly difficult to put national interests above the personal desire to take one’s faith seriously––even if it means expressing one’s religious views in the public arena’. While it is clear that there is a clear demarcation between one’s duty to the country and obligation to his/ her faith, Islamic revivalism tends to blur this line. Currently, Singaporean Muslims practise their religious beliefs in the private sphere; however, when religious issues are brought up in public spheres, the government has to tread on this ground carefully lest racial or religious riots are created. History has taught Singapore that this could happen, especially in the case of Maria Hertogh. The lessons from history have ensured that the government will try its every means to prevent such events from happening again.

At the same time, the rise in Islamic revivalism also brought about the world’s attention to Islamic Syaria laws, especially the penal laws, which transgress the international law of human rights. In Australia, particularly, ‘there appears to have arisen a disturbing sense that Muslims are un–Australian and that Islam poses a threat to the Australian way of life’ (Akbarzadeh & Smith, 2005:2), as cited in Hopkins (2008:44). The question of whether Syaria laws sit well with the concept of democracy has been explored in the current affairs programme, ‘Insight’, which was aired on SBS One on Tuesday, 2^nd November, 2010. The title of the segment was ‘Fear of Islam’, and the question of whether anti–Islamic sentiment was on the rise was explored. The question seemed rhetorical to me, and the title was, for want of a better word, distasteful. What it invited was a whole barrage of criticisms from the audience, who were ill-informed about Syaria penal laws, and an ‘expert’ who was formerly a Muslim. SBS’s attempt to address the problem of anti–Islamic sentiments that are on the rise in Australia is applaudable, but rather than attaining enlightenment, it opened a can of worms, where more problems were created.

Islamophobia in Australia is a phenomenon beleaguering Australian Muslims since the turn of the century; according to Dunn, Klocker, & Salabay (2007:564), ‘contemporary anti-Muslim sentiment in Australia is reproduced through a racialization that includes well rehearsed stereotypes of Islam, perceptions of threat and inferiority, as well as fantasies that the Other (in this case Australian Muslims) do not belong, or are absent’.

Dunn et al. cites Kobayashi and Peake (2000:393) who define racialization as “the process by which groups ‘are identified, given stereotypical characteristics, and coerced into specific living conditions’ which often involve ‘social/spatial segregation’ or otherwise ‘racialized places’. [Additionally], this process is not necessarily based on racial differentiation (genetics, skin colour, etc), but through asserted cultural features, such as religious performances”.

Thus, racialization, through the description given above, does not mean categorising groups according to their race, but according to religious beliefs and practices. The ‘well rehearsed stereotypes of Islam’ are probably a result of the media (mis)representations of Islam or an overgeneralisation of what Muslims are like, while the concept of the ‘other’ shows the marginalisation of Australian Muslims, who are at the periphery of mainstream society. The 9/11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent terrorism acts have exacerbated the situation for Australian Muslims because Dunn et al. cites Dreher (2005:11–14, 20–21) that ‘hijab-wearing Islamic women have reported higher rates of racist incivilities and attacks than have Islamic men or those women not wearing forms of cover’.

The hijab is the most distinctive Islamic dressing that signals others that the hijab-wearer is a Muslim. It is also this distinctive form of dressing that subjects the women to ‘racist incivilities and attacks’ because it is the symbol for a Muslimah (a Muslim woman). Hopkins (2008:44) cites Göle (1996:1), stating that ‘No other symbol than the veil reconstructs with such force the “otherness” of Islam to the West’. The hijab is not the only topic that is in the news; the niqab or the burqa has also gained a lot of attention in the news. In France, the niqab or the burqa has been banned for security reasons; as mentioned earlier, the face of terrorism has been placed on the Muslims, both men and women. The conflation of the terms, ‘Islam’ and ‘terrorism’ has now extended to Muslim women as well.

Racialization also occurs in United Kingdom. Dunn et al. (2007:567) cites Hopkins (2004:269), whose interviews with young Muslim Scots reveal the following:

Young Muslims who visibly display markers of ‘Muslimness’, whether this be through dress, through having a beard or simply through skin colour, are more likely to be marginalized through everyday racism and lack of access to employment than Muslims who do not visibly display their ‘Muslimness’.

This notion of ‘Muslimness’ does not only occur in United Kingdom, but in Singapore too. According to Ramakrishna (2009:8), ‘contentious issues among this [Muslim] community include the perceived lack of representation of proportionate numbers of Muslims in sensitive appointments in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF)… the recent ban on wearing headscarves or tudung by Muslim schoolgirls attending national schools, and the penchant of a number of employers to require Mandarin proficiency as a job requirement, a prerequisite many Muslims consider a form of economic discrimination’. Thus, the problems faced by Muslims in UK and Singapore are in the same vein: marginalisation and job discrimination.

Islamophobia in the UK, however, is on the rise, especially with the establishment of the English Defence League (EDL), which is against the spread of Islam and Islamic extremism, and Syaria laws in England. The EDL carried out mass demonstrations and have, on several occasions, turned violent. The EDL members proclaim their downright hatred towards Muslims, and the membership is growing every day.

Although there have been no physical attacks on Muslims in Singapore, or any establishments such as the EDL in Singapore, it’s a totally different story in cyberspace. There have been incidents when some Singaporeans were charged in court for sedition against the Muslims in Singapore. The Singapore government takes a strong stand against such acts that could disturb peace and stability in Singapore.

Conclusion

Religion is definitely a terrain where the media has to tread carefully. There are many compelling forces that can create religious tension in the world, and the media are one of the big players in the industry that can make or break the tension. While the picture painted of Muslims around the world is bleak, especially in the aftermath of 9/11, there are efforts to dispel the misconceptions that non-Muslims have about Islam, such as Tony Blair’s face-to-faith foundation, and the Inter-Religious Organisation in Singapore. At the same time, Muslims also need to stand united, and speak out against the libellous statements against Islam, the injustices that are inflicted upon them, but at the same time, tackle these issues in a level-headed manner.

References

Baudrillard, J. (1994). The precession of simulacra. In M. G. Durham, D.M. Kellner

(Eds.), Media and cultural studies (pp. 453–481). Singapore: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Bourdieu, P. (1998). On television. In M. G. Durham, D.M. Kellner (Eds.), Media and

cultural studies (pp. 328–336). Singapore: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Dunn, K. (2004). Islam in Sydney: Contesting the discourse of absence. Australian Geographer, 35(3), 333–353.

Dunn, K., Klocker, N., & Salabay, T. (2007). Contemporary racism and Islamaphobia in Australia: Racializing religion. Ethnicities, 7, 564–589. doi: 10.1177/1468796807084017

Hopkins, L. (2008). Muslim Turks and anti-Muslim discourse: The effects of media constructions of ‘Islamic’ and ‘Arabic’ in Australia. Australian Journal of Communication, 35(1), 41–54.

Ibrahim, D. (2010). The framing of Islam on network news following the September 11^th attacks. International Communication Gazette, 72(1), 111-125.

Marsden, L., & Savigny, H. (2009). Media, religion, and conflict. Farnham, England; Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

McChesney, R. (2003). The problem of journalism: a political economic contribution to an explanation of the crisis in contemporary US journalism. Journalism studies, 4(3), 299–329.

Ramakrishna, K. (2009, January). A Holistic Critique of Singapore’s Counter-Ideological Program. CTC Sentinel, 2(1), 8–11.

Underwood, D. (2002). I will show you my faith by what I do: a survey of the religious beliefs of journalists and journalists' faith put into action. In From Yahweh to Yahoo! the religious roots of the secular press, (pp. 130-147). Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

Representations of Islam in the Media

2010-11-07T23:42:00.002+10:00

Throughout history, Islam has been negatively portrayed in the media. This essay will address how, television series such as Little Mosque on the Prairie seek to challenge the contemporary views of Islam by providing an alternative representation of Islam. An overview of the negative depiction of Islam throughout Hollywood history will be summarised by adopting theories developed by Jack Shaheen. The ideology of the public sphere formed by Jurgen Habermas will be outlined to identify the power that the media plays in modern social systems that have contributed to the accepted representations of Muslims. The use of the media as a vehicle that promotes and constructs social identities will be explored through Stuart Hall’s concept of identity and resistance-identity. As a result, the analysis of television series Little Mosque on the Prairie will provide several contradictions to these theories through the means of comedy as a way to instill a counter-hegemonic perspective that seeks to educate a community of the misrepresentations of Islam in the media.

The media is a significant medium in shaping a cultures perspective and hegemony of Islam and Muslims which is identified through the study of vilified Muslims within Hollywood by Jack Shaheen. Shaheen (2001, p.2) describes Hollywood as the most effective teacher of our young concluding that from 1896 Muslims that have been associated as Arabs, have been labeled by filmmakers as “brutal, heartless, uncivilised religious fanatics and money-mad cultural “others” bent on terrorising civilised Westerners.” This is corroborated by Edward Said’s (In Canas, 2008, p.196) Orientalism that explores the discourse that “portrays Muslims as inferior, pre-modern and violent.” These classifications of Muslims are representative of the how Muslims are portrayed in society validating the concept hegemony that “equates with domination of a single power over others… that is devoid of any ideational content” (Haugaard & Lentner, 2006, p.216). The first episode of Little Mosque on the Prairie clearly identifies several of the representations of Muslims post 9/11 that supports the theories of the vilification of Muslims by Shaheen and Said. Many of the misrepresentations and stereotyped behaviours of Muslims are highlighted by way of comedic interpretation as there are several references to terrorist actions, relationships between men and women and the element of fear that is present in the Western characters. The prejudices evident in the first episode are driven by the xenophobia of society that constructs the hegemony surrounding Islam. Karim (2003, p.6) concludes that “the mainstream media…are important channels for hegemonic communication and usually function as instruments of consensus engineering.” Thus, the repetitive representation of Muslims in Hollywood, television series and media formulates a naturalised social opinion of Muslims that has allowed Little Mosque on the Prairie to create a counter-hegemony that will reposition identity (Wood, 1998, p.405). As a result, the vilification of Muslims in popular mediums throughout history exemplifies the interconnected relationship between culture, identity, power and media that constructs a hegemonic perspective.

The media stands as a driving force behind culturally accepted ideologies that form and transforms the accepted representations of Islam in society within the public sphere. Said (1985, p.7) identifies that Islam “somehow is made to cover everything that one most disapproves of from the standpoint of civilised and Western rationality.” The power relationship between culture, media and representation is highlighted by Morley and Chen (1996, p.85) who state that “culture is the way the social relations of a group are structured and shaped; but it is also the way those shapes are experienced, understood and interpreted.” Thus, this relationship is significantly linked to the concept of the transforming public sphere formulated by Habermas (Kellner n.d.) that describes the limitations of the media to conform to the ideologies that are accepted by the elite media corporations. Evidently, this contributes to the transformation of a society to adopt the ideology of media corporations that reverse the original meaning into a form of consumer consumption. Little Mosque on the Prairie identifies this role of the media in a scene that involves two Western men undergoing an interview on the radio in the town of Mercy. The man explicitly states the fear and concern surrounding the introduction of Muslim participants into their town by identifying and relying on the dominant cultural ideologies of Muslims to promote fear into the township that will result in community resistance and hostility. However, the predominant theme of the show attempts to disrupt the popular public sphere by creating a counter hegemony as “the public sphere is the source of public opinion needed to legitimate authority in any functioning democracy” (Rutherford, 2000, 18). By attempting to take control and transform the public sphere Little Mosque on the Prairie endeavors to incorporate social change through social integration by the process of resistance-identity.

Little Mosque on the Prairie seeks to change the common ideologies of Muslims in society by creating a counter-hegemony that shifts stereotypes through comedic interpretations. Dominant elite power media forms are able to construct a particular group to be directly associated with a specific representation. Hall (1997, p.348) defined a representation as being intrinsic to the core of culture through the “production of meaning through language, discourse and image.” This definition recognises the struggle for Islam to defer from the current misrepresentations of Muslims as Arabs, terrorists and gender divided as the media is dominated by a Western elite system that is identified as the major source of hegemony. Dines and Humez (2003, p. 90) elaborate on the function of representations in stereotypes in the following excerpt:

Institutions like the media are peculiarly central to the matter since they are, by definition, part of the dominant means of ideological production. What they produce is, precisely, representations of social explanations and frames for understanding how the world is and why it works as it is said and shown to work.

Hence, the media constructs and interprets certain understanding of what race is, in particular reference to how Islam is defined in association with cultural assumptions. Stereotypes are a derivative of the media’s powerful ability to locate sensitive issues permeated around fear that transforms society’s opinions to constitute a common ideology. Little Mosque on the Prairie seeks to disrupt these stereotypes and starts to “break the homogeneity of representations constructed and deployed by dominant institutional media channels” (Canas, 2008, p.199). This is evident in the pilot episode that sets up a binary between the representations of two Imams, an Islamic leader of worship. The current Imam is representative of the common stereotype made by dominant media, not only in the way he addresses the gathering of people at the mosque but also how he dresses. In comparison, the new Imam is young lawyer that wears stereotyped Western business clothing and does not conform to any stereotypical dominant ideologies of a Muslim. This is highlighted by a stereotyped orthodox Muslim woman states “You don’t even look like an Imam” (Little Mosque on the Prairie 9 January 2007). This binary explores how the media are able to construct particular representations within society and how Little Mosque on the Prairie seeks to contradict and challenge the current representations by explicitly incorporating components of resistance identity.

Resistance identity combined with comedy is a powerful driving force used by Little Mosque on the Prairie to create binary oppositions and dissect common stereotypes. The foundation of stereotypes is based on the sharing of information that allows varying religious perspectives to be continuous and sustainable (Stout & Buddenbaum, 1996, p.7). Canas (2008, p.196) asserts that Little Mosque on the Prairie “is a challenge to this orthodox cultivated and nurtured by hegemonic media discourse that has emerged within the media space itself.” Evidently, Muslims in Little Mosque on the Prairie project these stereotypes and are subject to these stereotypes by the more Western characters in the show. Consequently, this forces the characters to confront a “a barrage of stereotypes which unfairly shows them as a global menace, producers of biological weapons and zealots” (Shaheen, 2000, p.24). This is evident in the main stereotypes associated with Muslims in the show. Shaheen (2000, p.24) summarises the aim of Little Mosque on the Prairie to disrupt stereotypes that the media have portrayed in the following extract:

In reality, Muslims are an integral part of the American mainstream, people who contribute to their respective communities as teachers, doctors, lawyers and artists. They respect traditions, are committed to education, faith, family and free enterprise.

The development of characters within Little Mosque on the Prairie provides several versions of the realities Said refers to. A dominant representation of Muslim women in the media is that they are all repressed, controlled individuals who must follow the commands of their husbands and are obliged to follow strict, conservative rules and functions within society. This is supported by Allen (1997, p.27) who states that “many women are under such complete male domination that they do not even control their own bodies or sexuality… and are not allowed to hold positions of social, political, or economic power.” The women within Little Mosque on the Prairie seek to disrupt this stereotype. A comparison can be made between a very traditional Muslim woman in the show who does not want to disrupt the stereotyped role of women in Islam and an Anglo-Saxon Western woman. The Anglo-Saxon woman is married to a Muslim man and does not comply with the rules of dress and behavior of the stereotyped Muslim wife and works in a position of power at the Mayor’s office. Also, a comparison is made within the show in reference to American television series when a Muslim man says “Desperate Housewives? Why should they be desperate when they’re only performing their natural womanly duties” (Little Mosque on the Prairie 9 January 2007). This juxtaposition presents a version of stereotyped Muslim women in the media and a version of reality of a Muslim wife in modern society at the same time presenting the naturalised opinions of both the American and Islamic societies. Through comedic conversation and symbolic gestures Little Mosque on the Prairie successfully provided a disrupt ideology or a resistant identity of a stereotyped Muslim woman and wife.

In conjunction with the disruption of a common stereotype of the Muslim woman or wife, Little Mosque on the Prairie significantly addresses the issue of terrorism in a comedic way that seeks to provide an under- voice that unveils the media stereotype of Muslims and transforms them into the “ordinary”. Since 9/11, Muslims are grouped together as one distinct group that represents the ideology that “there’s only one kind of Islam and one kind of Muslim, both characterised by violence and anti-democratic tendencies” (Read, 2008, p.40). The pilot episode of Little Mosque on the Prairie explicitly states the fears and prejudices Muslims have faced since the aftermath of 9/11 that have forced Muslims to be directly related to notions of danger (Ramadan, 2010, p.22). The young new Imam from Canada is on his mobile phone at the airport speaking to his mother and subtly refers to several words associated with Muslim extremists by the media that urge fear in people by stating "I've been planning this for months. It's not like I dropped a bomb on him. If dad thinks it's suicide, so be it. This is Allah's plan for me” (Little Mosque on the Prairie 9 January 2007). This conversation then led to the young Imam being taken away by the airport security exclaiming that he would not be going to paradise today in reference to an Islamic belief afterlife (Little Mosque on the Prairie 9 January 2007). Clearly, Little Mosque on the Prairie uses satire and culturally sensitive references to instill a message in the audience that Muslims are ordinary people. This is highlighted by the Imam who asks the airport security, “What’s the charge? Flying while Muslim?” (Little Mosque on the Prairie 9 January 2007). This statement is a strong representation of how Muslims and Islam is portrayed in a society as a judgment based on a race and culture that has been developed and constructed on a foundation of fear from Western society. Little Mosque on the Prairie successfully breaks down the common stereotypes of Muslims and Islam using comedy and satire as a powerful tool to elevate fear and transform society’s ideologies of the stereotyped Muslim to a more culturally accepted normalised version of reality.

The comedic and satirical approach of Little Mosque on the Prairie significantly contributes to how society perceives Muslims and Islam today. Society’s traditional image of Muslims has been based on the foundation built by Hollywood and the media that has depicted Muslims in a negative light forming the current hegemonic ideas of Islam. Evidently, the media has largely been the main influence of the xenophobic notions that Western society has in relation to Islam. This xenophobia is representative of the common ideologies present within the public sphere that proves to be a challenge for Little Mosque on the Prairie which seeks to transform the opinion of society since the tragic events of 9/11. However, Little Mosque on the Prairie constantly attempts to redefine the hegemonic ideologies of society by forming a resistance-identity that seeks to break down common stereotypes of Muslims that are a derivative of the media influence. The stereotype of Muslim women and the Muslim terrorist that has been heightened by the media was a significant tool that the writers of Little Mosque on the Prairie used to transform the opinion of society and present Muslim citizens as part of the ordinary. As a result, Little Mosque on the Prairie has initiated the transformation of the ideologies of society by providing a counter-hegemony that usurps the traditional views of Western society by forming a resistant-identity that aims to reeducate a community about diversity and multiculturalism instead of a society based xenophobia and fear.

Reference List
Allen, NR 1997, ‘Islam and women’s rights’, Free Enquiry, vol. 17, no. 4, p.27.

Canas, S 2008, ‘The Little Mosque on the Prairie: Examining (multi) cultural spaces of nation and religion’, Cultural Dynamics, vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 195-211.

Hall, S 1997, Representation: Cultural representations and signifying practices, Sage Publications, London.

Hall, S 2003, ‘The Whites of their eyes, racist ideologies and the media’, in G Dines & JM Humez (eds.), Gender, race and class in media, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, California, pp.89-97.

Haugaard, M & Lentner, HH (eds.) 2006, Hegemony and power: Consensus and coercion in contemporary poltics, Lexington Books, Lanham.

Karim, KH 2003, Islamic Peril: Media and global violence, Black Rose Books, London.

Kellner, D n.d., Habermas, the public sphere and democracy: a critical intervention, viewed 25 October 2010, .

Little Mosque on the Prairie 2007, television program, Canadian Broadcasting Company, Canada, 9 January.

Morley, D & Chen, KH (eds.) 1996, Stuart Hall critical dialogues in cultural studies, Routledge, New York.

Ramadan, T 2010, ‘Good Muslim, bad Muslim’, New Statesman, vol. 139, no.4988, pp.22-26.

Read, JG 2008, ‘Muslims in America’, American Sociological Association, vol. 7, no. 4, pp.39-43.

Rutherford, P 2000, Endless Propaganda: the advertising of public goods, University of Toronto Press, Toronto.

Said, E 1985, Covering Islam, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.

Shaheen, JG 2000, ‘Hollywood’s Muslim Arabs’, The Muslim World, vol.90, no.1, pp.22-43.

Shaheen, JG 2001, Reel Bad Arabs, Olive Branch Press, New York.

Stout, DA & Buddenbaum JM 1996, Religion and mass media, Sage Publications, London.

Wood, B 1998, ‘Stuart Halls cultural studies and the problem of hegemony’, The British Journal of Sociology, vol. 49, no. 3, pp.394-414.

Case study: the Northern Ireland conflict

2010-11-06T10:39:00.001+10:00

“If there is a true religious conflict anywhere in the world, surely this is it.” This perception of the Northern Ireland conflict as religiously motivated is widely shared in both the academic world and the popular opinion. If religion is unquestionably a major factor of the hostilities, some scholars have relativised its role in favour of political and nationalist factors. The conflict indeed opposes on the one hand the republicans and nationalists, mainly Catholic, and, on the other hand, the loyalists and unionists, mainly Protestant. It almost turned into a civil war during some particularly violent episodes such as the 1972 Bloody Sunday or the 1981 hunger strike, which witnessed high popular mobilisation. If the terminology of the two enemy parties seems to attest the religious character of the conflict – they are usually referred to as “Catholics” versus “Protestants” – the role played by the religious factor in the hostilities is actually not so clear.

The aim of this paper is thus to, first, sum up the historical and socio-political causes of the conflict and to show that, if the initial difference between the two communities is religious, the real motivations for conflict come under nationalist and political demands fuelled by religion. Then, this paper will examine the peace process undertaken from the end of the 1990s and the way the Irish population deals with this collective trauma these days. The first and main part will refer to René Girard’s theory of “mimetic desire” and “scapegoat” as well as to the concept of redemptive violence, while the second part will focus on the idea of redemptive justice and national reconciliation.

The Northern Ireland conflict officially dates from 1921, when Northern Ireland was created as an independent state. But the tensions date back far earlier, from the seventeenth century, when James I – Catholic King of England and Ireland form 1603 to 1625 – ratified his predecessor’s policy of consolidating English Protestant rule in Ireland. Elizabeth I’s idea was indeed to “plant” in Ulster the faithfuls to the English crown, while supplanting Catholics, perceived as disloyal. The following centuries witnessed what is known as the “wars of religion” in Ireland when the English army led by Oliver Cromwell suppressed the rebellion of the Catholics against the Protestant settlers. Under the Northern Unionist pressures for partition, Britain agreed in the early twentieth century to recognize two parts, the Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State, renamed the “Republic of Ireland” after 1949. Indeed, if the unity of the country was seen as an ideal for the Irish nationalists, it was synonymous of “Roman” domination from the Protestant view. In relation to the violent opposition to British rule from the part of the Irish nationalists, represented by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), Protestant felt unsecure and reacted by introducing permanent emergency legislation, electoral abuses and discriminatory measures against the Catholic minority for the allocation of jobs and houses. The cycle of violence of the Northern Ireland conflict stems from this mutual stigmatisation of the two communities.

This brief account of the history of the region can make us think of the case of the United States, where the arrival o the Pilgrims Fathers also led to violence against the Native Americans. But the difference is that, if in the American case the superiority of the British settlers was clear, the Protestant ethnic group arriving in Ulster found itself in competition with a similar group – the Catholics – over land, wealth and power. It is besides worthwhile to notice that each community gave its own denomination to the location today known as Northern Ireland: Unionists called it “Ulster” whereas the same territory was referred to as the Occupied ‘Six Counties’ of Ireland by Catholics.
This situation can be analysed in the light of René Girard’s theory of “mimetic desire”, according to which the direct competition between two similar groups lead them to differentiate themselves from each other in order to “win” the competition. One of the ways to achieve this goal was to lay emphasis on the difference of religious allegiance between Catholics and Protestants, using religion as a boundary-marker and as a unifying element within each community.
As religious identity appears to be the distinction criteria between the two opposing parties, religious loyalty is tantamount to community support. This can explain the importance religion took on in a country were church attendance is higher than in the rest of the United Kingdom and where 90% of the population claims to be Christian. This reveals that tensions between two communities bring about introverted assertion of one’s identity, and, as religion is a significant element of identity, the conflict strengthens the religious identity of the population within each community.

Henceforth, religion would appear as an instrument to serve political purposes and as a tool of a competitive community eager assert dominance and influence over another. This pleads against the perception of the Northern Ireland conflict that it is a strictly religious one, and that religion is not the cause of the struggle, but rather a magnifying political element – and, after the discriminative laws, economical – of the tensions between Catholics and Protestants. Besides, most of the republican terrorists did not claim they were acting in the name of God, and, in many countries such as Germany or the US, Catholics and Protestants are perfectly able to coexist peacefully. The singularity of the Northern Ireland case comes from the progressive identification between the ‘Catholic identity’ and the ‘Irish identity’. Indeed, the Irish Catholics, united by their religion, were feeling oppressed as a nation because of the discriminatory laws enforced by the British government in housing, education and work, condemning them to economic hardship. This, along with the feeling of being Protestants’ scapegoats, motivated Irish national aspirations. In this context, the Northern Ireland case perfectly matches the definition of religious nationalism, described as “a community of religious people or the political movement of a group of people heavily influenced by religious beliefs who aspire to be politically self-determining”. Besides, the leaders of the Catholic Church in Ireland saw themselves as the leaders of the Irish Nation.

Thus, religion appears as an indirect cause of the rise of Irish nationalism in Northern Ireland. It also endows the conflict with a sacred value, as some religious beliefs of one faith contradict some fundamental institutions of the other. Thus, Protestants regard the Pope as the Anti-Christ and this kind of belief obviously provide “fertile soil for anti-Catholicism”.
But there is also a religious side to the conflict, which revolving around the religious significance of certain locations: Ulster is regarded by the Catholics as one of the four sacred counties of Ireland where Saint Patrick christened the Irish into their faith, whereas, it is to the Protestants what Israel is to the Jews. Indeed, British settlers held the conviction that they were the chosen people in the eyes of God and that Northern Ireland was their land of promise.
Religion is also a magnifying element of the conflict in a sense that the philosophy of each religion leads to different conceptions of society and different approaches of economic issues: because Protestants are more individualistic, they are less likely to yield to the correction of social injustices, whereas Catholics strongly support the redistribution of wealth.
The Calvinist doctrine also lays emphasis on the importance for the faithfuls to secure their religious freedom , which can explains the violent actions perpetuated by the Protestant when they were feeling this freedom was at stake. A parallel can here be made with the American invasion of all Iraqi’s, who were being threatened by the oppression and tyranny of Islam. Perpetuating violence to secure freedom or to restore order is the cardinal characteristic of the concept of “redemptive violence” defined by Walter Wink.

This theory of redemptive violence struck a chord in the Northern Ireland conflict with the event commonly known as the “Bloody Sunday”. To protest against the inequalities and state repression they suffered, the Northern Ireland’s Catholic minority formed in 1967 the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, an organisation in charge of organizing protests and civil disobedience in the pursuit of liberal reforms and equality between citizens. Faced with the growing social disorder and the inability of Northern Ireland governments to handle the situation, the British state sent troops in 1969 to restore law and order. But on 30 January 1972, the British Army shot dead thirteen unarmed Irish nationalist civilians and wounded fifteen other on the occasion of a demonstration held in the city of Derry. This city itself was an illustration of the ethnical and religious segregation between the two communities: the city had become a Protestant mainstay over the centuries and Catholics were forced to live apart, in the ghetto of Bogside. This episode, known as the “Bloody Sunday”, has deeply marked the Catholic population who saw in this intervention as an unacceptable abuse of state by the British state.
The collective trauma it provoked had been amplified by the conclusions of the Widgery Report, investigated by the British Government in the aftermath of the events to provide an “official memory” of Bloody Sunday. This report exonerates the British soldiers, arguing they act as pure self-defence, in response to the violence initiated by the IRA. This “blatant denial of justice” to the Irish victims led to a definitive identical rupture from the Derry Catholics, to an increase in the recruitment to IRA and to a general escalation of violence. Above all, it brought about campaigns for a public recognition of the truth, sine qua non condition for forgiveness and reconciliation. While Catholic movements were denouncing the violence and injustice of the British military occupation in Northern Ireland, most of the Unionists were rejecting the idea that the British paramilitaries’ reaction was disproportionate.
Faced with the divisive consequences provoked by this official account of the events, Tony Blair’s government asked Lord Saville to reopen the Inquiry in 1998, challenging the unreasonable outcome of Lord Widgery’s verdict. This initiative was a significant step in the peace process and in the establishment of the truth to “close this painful chapter once for all”.

The main divisions in the case that aroused indignation from the British concerned the Good Friday Agreements which asked for the early release of IRA prisoners, convicted of terrorist crimes. These debates on the justness of the Good Friday Agreements reveal the ever existing tensions after a civil conflict between the political need for peace and the moral demand for justice. The legitimacy of the state is at stake in this dilemma, as the population will not support a regime which has distorted the truth to avoid its responsibilities and which fails in its prerogatives of protecting victims of injury.
A theological approach would tend to insist on the need for justice, a key notion of the Bible, in both the Old and the New Testaments. The Calvinist sanctification of a “retributivist” punishment – the imposition of an equality of suffering – explains the lack of support to the Good Friday Agreement from the Unionists. This would suggest that some religion beliefs hamper the peace process, by giving priority to justice over political arrangements to resolve the conflict. But, on the other hand, one can argue that the ideas of compassion, mercy and reconciliation are recurrent in the New Testament, as illustrated by the example of Jesus Christ’s forgiveness to his executioners, and that the idea of reconstruction is more important than the punishment of perpetrators. It also lays emphasis on the limits of human justice in favour of God’s justice in the beyond.

Unquestionably, a balance is to be found between forgetting the past and being overwhelmed by the burden of a violent and repressive history. As Lawrence Cahoone point out: “beings without memory would have no need for retribution, but no identity either”. Wrongs cannot be righted but can be acknowledged, and all the reconciliation process is a matter of “knowing, forgiving and forgetting”. While being aware that they are not responsible for what happened, the young generation is to keep in mind the past events to find moral guidance in their every day deeds in order to avoid the repetition of such atrocities.

Ten Canoes: Indigenous Media in Australia

2010-11-05T23:50:00.002+10:00

Noriko Tamura

Introduction

This essay examines the roles of Indigenous media in contemporary Australia. In Australia, the media had exploited Indigenous people by describing them as a primitive, savage, inferior, problematic, and helpless people. The mainstream media’s misleading descriptions of Indigenous people had legitimized a negative view of Indigenous people. Having suffered under colonial representation, Indigenous people started to demand control of their own representation. Indigenous media is the use of the media by Indigenous people to represent themselves. The importance of Indigenous media as self representation is increasing, and thus Indigenous media is the fastest growing sector in Australian media today.

This essay examines the history and the significance of Indigenous media, and the problems concerning Indigenous media. One such example of Indigenous media in contemporary Australia is Ten Canoes. It is the first film made entirely in the Aboriginal language. Ten Canoes was directed by Rolf de Heer, a non-Indigenous Australian director, but it was a close collaboration film with Indigenous people. The analysis of Ten Canoes can suggest a model for successful Indigenous media, so the characteristics and roles of Ten Canoes are examined in this essay.

History of Indigenous people in the media

The history of Indigenous people in Australia is mostly a history of exploitation, dispossession and discrimination by white settlers. Since the Western invasion started in 1788, the cultures of Aboriginal people were seen by Western settlers as primitive, inferior, and valueless (Ginsberg & Mayer, 2006). Their rights to land were not admitted. Despite cultural diversity among Aboriginal people, such as seen in the large number of different languages, all Aboriginal people were seen an being homogenous.

This discriminative view toward Aboriginal people was emphasized by the way the media represented Indigenous people and their culture. Indigenous representation in the media was hardly under the control of Indigenous people (Hartley, 2004). The early colonial press in the nineteenth century supported the policies of dispersal of Aborigines, which promoted the segregation of Indigenous people. The colonial press in this time popularized a scientific racist theory of Aboriginal people, saying that the inferior was doomed to die (Meadow, 2001: 42). In the 1930s, the assimilation policy began in Australia. Under the assimilation policy, “white supremacy” was emphasized in the press and Aboriginal people were discriminated against. They were forced to assimilate to white Australians.

Aboriginal people came to be well represented visually, post-1940s. Aboriginal people were not ignored by the Australian media. In proportional terms, they were actually over-represented (Hartley & McKee, 2000: 8). However, photographs or documentaries about them emphasized the romantic, ethnographic and mythological representation of Aboriginal people, thus facilitating the view of Indigenous people as “uncivilized” (Meadows, 2001: 43). Such representation was performed from a Western perspective, and Indigenous people had little or no control over such representation.

As land rights protests and civil rights movement began in the 1970s, the demand for self-representation by Indigenous people increased. During the 1970s and 1980s, the Aboriginal response to a racist media representation was to demand control of their representation (Langton, 1993: 9). The number of publications by Aboriginal organizations, such as local newsletters, increased around this time (Meadows & Molnar, 2002). These publications were mostly small-community based, thus some of them used local Aboriginal languages.

As well as publications, Indigenous communities had begun to gain access to the Australian airwaves, largely through public radio, by the late 1970s (Meadows & Molnar, 2002: 11). The first Aboriginal public radio programme was broadcast out of Adelaide in 1972. More community radio stations have been developed since then. As a result, there are more than 100 permanently licensed Indigenous community radio stations, one permanently licensed community television station, and more than 50 Indigenous film, video and multimedia producers in Australia today (Meadows, 2002: 256).

Importance of Indigenous media

The colonial representation of Indigenous people played a major role in legitimizing dominant ideas about Indigenous people. The representations of Indigenous people by non-Indigenous people have the power to transform reality for Indigenous people (Langton, 1993: 40). It is the white gaze at Indigenous people as a “subject” that has allowed discriminative and biased representations. Indigenous media has become important to contest such representation.

Indigenous media has significant impacts both on Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people. For Indigenous people, self-representation allows them to tell their stories in their own ways, avoiding typical misinterpretations made by non-Indigenous media. In other words, it ensures more accurate portrayals of Indigenous people (Graydon, 2008). Indigenous media contributes to create an Indigenous presence in society and enhance the self-pride of Indigenous people. At the same time, Indigenous people can acquire a collective memory through self-representation, since it produces opportunities for them to revaluate their histories, traditions, and cultures. For non-Indigenous people, Indigenous media helps them recognize and value the cultural differences as it provides proper representation of Indigenous people. To sum up, Indigenous media can act as a bridge between Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures (Meadow & Molnar, 2002).

Problems concerning Indigenous media

Although Indigenous media is growing fast in contemporary Australia, some problems remain since its emergence. The biggest problem concerning Indigenous media lies in its marketing and funds. Indigenous media heavily relies on funds and support from government (Meadow & Molnar, 2002: 17).

Media is a business based on consumerism. The publications, radio and television programmes, and films need to attract audiences and advertisements in order to make a profit as commercial products. Advertisers are a major source of revenue for most forms of media (Kim & Wildman, 2006). However, for Indigenous community radio and television, the target is mainly local, Indigenous people. Aboriginal people compose approximately only 2.5% of the total Australian population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008). Therefore, in terms of the size of target audiences, Indigenous media which only serves the Indigenous community cannot attract commercial advertisements and sponsors, so they often lack funds and are dependent on government support. Indigenous media products need to attract not only Indigenous people but also non-Indigenous people in order to get more funds and have Indigenous products be more widely consumed.

Ten Canoes

Ten Canoes is one of the most successful Indigenous representations in Australia, which attracted many people worldwide. It is a film directed by Rolf de Heer, a white Australian, in 2006. It is the first film made entirely in an Aboriginal language. The film was made with the people of Ramingining from North Eastern Arnhem Land. The story of Ten Canoes is set in two different time periods: the distant past (1000 years ago) and the mythical past (much longer ago). The fictional story in the distant past is about Dayindi, who covets one of the wives of his older brother. During goose-egg hunting, to teach him the proper way, the crafty older brother tells an instructive ancestral story from the mythical past: a cautionary dreamtime tale of doomed love, kidnapping, sorcery, bungling misadventure and ill-directed revenge (Stars, 2007). The idea of this film originated from a picture of ten canoeists during a goose-egg hunt, taken by Donald Thompson, an anthropologist who visited Arnhem Land in the 1930s.

First of all, as Ten Canoes was directed by a non-Indigenous director, some people may not categorize this film as Indigenous media. However, this project started from a request made by an Indigenous man in Ramingining, David Gulpilil, who asked Rolf de Heer to make a film about “his” people. In making the film, de Heer respected and followed Indigenous cultures and closely collaborated with Indigenous people. As de Heer describes himself as a “mechanism” to allow the Yolngu people to tell their stories (Walsh, 2006), this film is not the portrayal of Indigenous people from the Western point of view, but it is the story from the Indigenous point of view with the support of Western people. Therefore, in this essay, I argue that Ten Canoes is Indigenous media which incorporates Western perspectives.

As an Indigenous representation film, Ten Canoes contests the traditional Western view toward Indigenous people. As discussed above, colonial representation had described Indigenous people as primitive and inferior, or emphasized only mythological narrative and ethnographic aspects. On the contrary, Ten Canoes cherishes Indigenous perspectives and culture, and tells a story in the Indigenous way.

Firstly, before making the film, the producers of Ten Canoes made the Ten Canoes Agreement through discussions with the Yolngu people of Ramingining. Making a protocol is an important process to work with Indigenous people and the community (Australian Film Commission, 2003). The producers of Ten Canoes were aware of the need to respect the people’s moral rights. Therefore, the Agreement admitted Aboriginal cultural paradigms of authorship and ownership by giving Ramingining community the property rights for all artefacts made for and used in the film (Davis, 2006: 6). It is different from most Western films in which the producers have all the ownership.

Secondly, de Heer respects Indigenous culture and follows Indigenous story-telling traditions in making this film. For instance, de Heer made the film using a combination of “color” and “black and white” following Yolngu cultural requirement. Their history as it now exists in and through the Thompson photograph needed to be depicted accurately, which means in “black and white” (Davis, 2006: 9). As de Heer had been contracted to make a color film, he combined “color” and “black and white” to follow the cultural requirement. He shot the story of the ancestors in the distant past in black and white, and the story of the mythical past in color.

Casting in the film also followed the Indigenous cultural requirement. According to Yolngu culture, characters that are meant to be in relationship in the film should be played by people who have a proper kinship relationship in real life. It made casting difficult, but de Heer respected the culture and let the people decide the casts (Davis, 2006: 10).

While de Heer contended colonial Western representation and followed Indigenous culture, he was also aware of the importance to employ Western culture in order to attract non-Indigenous spectators. It was important for Ten Canoes to be seen worldwide, as Indigenous people wanted it (Walsh, 2006). Therefore, he employed Western culture and targeted at not only Indigenous people but non-Indigenous people. It contributed to solve the problem of funding in Indigenous media. The budget for Ten Canoes was approximately AU$2.4 million, and was financed by Film Finance Corporation Australia Limited, south Australian Film Corporation, Adelaide Film Festival etc (Davis, 2006: 5). The aim of de Heer to make the film entertaining not only for Indigenous people but also for Western people contributed to their ability to raise funds.

The idea of fictionalizing the story is the important Western perspective employed in this film. Yolngu people wanted de Heer to use ten canoes and goose-egg hunting in the film. He agreed, but he did not make a documentary about the Yolngu people of the time when the Thompson’s photograph was taken in the 1930s. Instead, he made a fictional story by setting the time in 1000 years ago and the mythical past. It made the uneventful story of goose-egg hunting more dramatic. Because of this fictionalization, some Yolngu people were not happy with the film and said that de Heer made the wrong story (Hamby, 2007). However, it is this fictionalization that makes Ten Canoes dramatic and attractive to Western spectators while also adhering to Indigenous story-telling practices.

Through this collaboration of Indigenous perspectives and Western perspectives, Ten Canoes serves two different cultural requirements. By doing so, this film attracted both Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people. Ten Canoes had a significant impact on both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. For Indigenous people, Ten Canoes provided an opportunity for cultural renewal, and helped them bring back an Indigenous cultural memory and integrate it into the present. For non-Indigenous people, it helped them recognize the cultural difference and value it.

Conclusion

The media plays an important role in legitimizing an ideology. In Australia, the mainstream media had helped legitimize the discriminative and misleading view toward Indigenous people. Self-representation by Indigenous people emerged as the best way to contend such colonial representation. The importance of Indigenous media has become greater in contemporary Australia. However, Indigenous media tends to rely heavily on financial support from government as they are not able to be commercially independent. This is because their target audience is often limited to local Indigenous people. Ten Canoes is a successful Indigenous representation film that overcomes the aforementioned problem of funding by incorporating Western perspectives. While the film respects Indigenous culture and tells a story from the Indigenous point of view, de Heer made the film dramatic in order to attract Western spectators. As a result, Ten Canoes satisfied both Indigenous and non-Indigenous spectators and played important roles for both of them. As an Indigenous film which has a Western perspective, Ten Canoes facilitated the cross-cultural recognition between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Ten Canoes provides a successful model for how collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures can promote not only Indigenous media, but also cross-cultural communication in society as a whole.

References
Australian Bureau of Statistics. Indigenous population 2008, viewed 31 October 2010
<http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/4714.0Main%20Features42008?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=4714.0&issue=2008&num=&view=>
Australian Film Commission. 2003, Issues paper: Towards a protocol for filmmakers working with Indigenous content and Indigenous communities, Australian Film Commission, Woolloomooloo, NSW
Davis, T. 2007, Remembering our ancestors: cross-cultural collaboration and the mediation of Aboriginal culture and history in Ten Canoes. Studies in Australia Cinema, 1: 1, 5-14.
Graydon, J. 2008, Aboriginal representation in the media, viewed 30 October 2010
<http://www.suite101.com/content/aboriginal-selfrepresentation-in-the-media-a76696>
Hamby, L. 2007, A Question of Time: Ten Canoe. The Australian Journal of Anthropology, 18, 1; 123-126.
Hartley, J. and McKee, A. 2000, The Indigenous Public Sphere: The reporting and reception of Aboriginal issues in the Australian media, Oxford University Press, New York
Hartley, J. 2004, Television, Nation, and Indigenous Media, Television New Media, 5: 7-25
Kim, E. and Wildman, S, S. 2006, A Deeper Look at the Economics of Advertiser Support for Television: The Implications of Consumption-Differentiated Viewers and Ad Addressability, Journal of Media Economics, 19: 1, 55—79
Langton, M. 1993, Well, I heard it on the radio and I saw it on the television, Australian Film Commission, Sydney
Meadows, M. 2001, Voices in the wilderness: Images of Aboriginal people in the Australian Media, Greenwood Press, Westport
Meadows, M. 2002, Tell me what you want and I'll give you what you need: Perspectives on Indigenous Media Audience Research, in Balnaves, M. O'Regan, T and Sternberg, J (eds.), Mobilising the Audience, University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, 253-265.
Meadows, M and Molnar, H. 2002, Bridging the Gaps: Towards a history of Indigenous media in Australia, Media History, 8: 1, 9—20
Myers, F. and Ginsburg, F. 2006, A History of Indigenous Futures: Accounting for Indigenous Art and Media. Aboriginal History, 30, 95-110.
Starrs, D, B. 2007, The Authentic Aboriginal Voice in Rolf De Heer's 'Ten Canoes'. Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture 7, 3.
Walsh, M. 2006, Ten Canoes. Metro: Media & Education Magazine, 10-17.

Music and Religion

2010-11-05T23:29:00.001+10:00

By Olivia Nowland

Introduction

It would not be controversial to make the statement that music and religion permeate almost every aspect of the human experience. People are engaged with music both passively (e.g. playing in the background of advertisements or in shopping centres) and actively (e.g. going to a concert or listening to the radio) on an almost daily basis (Lynch 2006). Religion can be more subtle, visible in the attitudes and values portrayed by the mass media (Lynch 2005). In observing this, it is important to investigate what impact these two factors have on each other. The following essay will examine the link between music and religion using the criterion of Watson’s (1998) theory of theology and music. As well as this, it will compare religions impact on music and music’s impact on religion using Kaplan’s (1990) eightfold outline (summarised by Misenhelter and Kaiser (2008)) of the sociological functions of music. Finally, this essay will address the issue of whether music in itself can be considered a religion.

Theology and Music (Watson 1998)

Interestingly, Watson (1998) argues that while music and theology definitely interact with each other there is no theology of music. He argues that while music is used in the theological setting that it is not composed with the purpose to be a religious text, or religious itself. He offers two highly comprehensive and appropriate criteria to examine the relationship between religion and music and music as religion: music and the aesthetic life, and music and consolation.

Music and the Aesthetic Life

Watson (1998) found that some researchers believed that exclusion of music by some denominations of the Christian faith led to a complete separation of Christianity from religion, and furthermore, lead to a perception of music as a “life orientation”. He also found that some researchers believed that those of faith were somehow excluded from access to music. While, as aforementioned, Watson argues that there is no direct link between music and religion, he acknowledges that an individual can participate in both religious and musical rituals without compromising their opinions or beliefs about either. He goes further to argue that music is not the direct expression of religion, as believed by some members of faith. Although he acknowledges the purpose of religious musical pieces, he is unable to justify the claim that music is a direct result of the divine.

Music and Consolation

Secondly, Watson(1998) examines the power music has to console people, and its function in a celebratory environment. By using examples from a Christian Bible, he distinguishes between the uses of consolatory music and celebratory music, arguing that when used in the wrong context, the music could be perceived as mocking. However, he goes on to say that music is not the sole source of consolation in the religious stories, and as such should not be perceived to have the same comfort the Christian faith provides to its followers.

Eight Sociological Functions of Music

Although Kaplan (1990) did not do any work on music and religion his eight functions of music provide a useful outline to examine how and which each of these functions religion fulfils. Contrary to Watson’s argument, these For the purposes of this essay, five of these functions will be used as outlined in Misenhelter and Kaiser (2008). They are as follows: (1) Music is an expression of ideas and emotions, (2) Music is enjoyable, (3) Music can encourage conformity, (4) music is a communication tool and (5) music can distinguish a culture.

Ideas and Emotions

It is not controversial to say that both music and religion encourage ideas and emotions. For instance is has been found that people are often moved emotionally by music in a religious service, even those who do not perceive themselves as religious (e.g.(Ellis 1984; Hendrickson 2001; Pugmire 2006). Those who attend secular concerts are often moved in a similar way, pop-music providing them with a similar emotional fulfilment as religion (Riesman 1950). Many religions use music (and musicians use religion) to distribute an idea or a message. The advent of Christian metal is a primary example of this. Christian Metal artists began the movement to provide an alternative method of evangelisation and to express a different view of the Christian identity (Moberg 2007). Many pop-artists find inspiration for their songs in religion, an explicit example is REM’s “losing my religion” and some artists choose to be more subtle using religion as a metaphor (e.g. Coldplay’s “Violet Hill”).

Enjoyable

A third characteristic shared by religious and musical experiences is the level of enjoyment in the event. This concept will not be explored in detail as both musical and religious events have the potential to be enjoyable independent of each other, however, they do share some common features that contribute to the level of enjoyment experiences by participants/adherents. For instance, both pop-music fans and those belonging to religion are likely to experience some form of community. In regards to Catholic masses Hendrickson (2001) found that for 28% of Catholics, coming together as a community was the favourite aspect of the ritual. Furthermore, the many online fan sites create a similar sense of trust in the others (Cellary 2008).

Conformity to Social Norms

The fourth sociological function of music described by Misenhelter and Kaise (2008) is music’s role in the promotion of conformity to social norms. This can be seen in organised religions by the use of music in ritual, in ritual people are expected to act in certain depending on the nature and the part of the ritual they are observing or participating in (Jackson 1968). Similarly pop-music encouraged conformity to social norms, although not as ritualistic they show their audience how they are supposed to dress and act (Riesman 1950). Finally, it may be said that some religions have conformed to some of the rituals of popular music and vice versa. For example, the Hillsong concerts mimic the format of pop-concerts, while creating a similar atmosphere and hype. On the other hand, pop-music has also imitated the ideas of religion, with artists being portrayed as religious deities, or else being the target of religious like reverence from their fans. Furthermore, music can be used as a teaching tool to help the community learn the values, beliefs and attitudes that are expected of them. For example, in children’s masses children often learn parables in song form. However, music can also be used to rebel against the social norm. A prime example of this is the underground heavy metal concerts being held by young Muslims as an act of revolution (LeVine 2008).

Communication of Shared Experiences

Music in the religious context can provide those participating with a sense of community and harmony. A recent survey found that 14% of mass goers favourite part of the mass was the music (Hendrickson 2001). The survey also found that mass goers enjoyed the opportunity to participate in the songs of the mass, stating that singing as a group made the mass feel more like a community come to worship, as opposed to original mass structure where the priest would sing with his back to the congregation. In a “non-religious” context, many researchers have also found that musical experiences can fulfil the need for a sense of community in a similar way to religion (Eurich 2003). For example, at pop-concerts, while having a performer-audience dynamic, the audience is encouraged to sing along with the band and often and can become a community themselves, even if only for a brief time (Eurich 2003). An example of this is musicians tailoring music for their audience, for example, the British band Coldplay sang the John Farnham song “You’re the Voice” at their Australian concerts. Furthermore, religious story can be communicated by the use of music. A prime example of this is the Australian Aboriginal cultures, which often employ musicians dance to communicate stories of the dreamtime (Ellis 1984).

Music as a distinguishing factor

In Misenhelter and Kaiser (2008), music is used as a distinguishing factor between cultures. The same is true for religions; the sound of a traditional Christian chorus is very different from a Buddhist chant. Even within particular religions different music is used for different occasions, for instance, it would be highly inappropriate to use a funeral march as a bride was walking down the aisle.

Can Music be considered a Religion?

Although the opinion of Watson (1998) does differ greatly from some other researchers, his claim that music in itself cannot serve the full function of religions has merit. While music does have the power to change the emotions of a person, this is often not permanent. Watson finds that music is tool regularly used by religion but is not a religion itself. In accordance with this view, although many researchers (e.g. (Lynch 2006; Eurich 2003)) claim that music acts as a religion, as Watson suggests, music acts as a central point but is not the aspect that appears to make the followers “religious”. Rather it is the aspects surrounding the use of music, for example; a sense of community; social support; the practice of ritual, that create the religious experience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it has been found that music and religions both have substantial impacts on each other; however, there are also many aspects where they work independently. It has also been found that music can serve similar functions of religion, however, this parallel would not be possible to make without the atmosphere that music creates. Overall both music and religion influence society, both independent and reliant on each other.

References

Cellary, W. 2008. Content Communities on the Internet. Computer 41 (3):106-108.

Ellis, Catherine J. 1984. The Nature of Australian Aboriginal Music. International Journal of Music Education os-4 (1):47-50.

Eurich, Johannes. 2003. Sociological Aspects and Ritual Similarities in the Relationship between Pop Music and Religion. International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music 34 (1):57-70.

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Religious Representation of Australian Aboriginals in Australian Films: Where do they Come From and How are they Changing?

2010-11-02T15:03:00.025+10:00

By Monica Leonard

This essay will explore the problems and benefits of the representations of Australian Aboriginals within Australian films. This essay will overview the anthropological characterisations and explanations of aboriginal religions (or more commonly referred to as spiritualities), and lifestyles. The theories of Tylor and Durkheim will be explored and the limitations and problems of their analyses. The role of media and how it maintains and creates identity and class will be discussed in relation to Bourdieu and Baudrillard. Lastly, the representations of Aboriginal Australians within Australian cinema will be discussed.

The way in which Aboriginal religiousness has been described in the past, and perhaps even to the present, can be summarised by the works of Tylor. Tylor (Pals 1996: 15) surmises that the basis of so-called ‘primitive’ religiousness is animism. However, Bourdieu (Webb et al. 2002: 35) argues though that for an anthropologist to call a culture primitive, they must naturalise values, which describe one culture as civilised or advanced, or one that is other. Tylor argues that the essence of such
a religious perspective is the belief in “living personal powers beyond all things” (Pals 1996: 24). However, Durkheim describes Aboriginal and indigenous religions through totemism. Durkheim argues that Totemism is the way in which earlier peoples separated what he calls the, “sacred and profane” (Pals 1996: 101). Durkheim suggests that behind the totem is, “is an impersonal god, without name or history, immanent in the world and diffused in a innumerable multitude of things”(Pals 1996: 103). In this way community is formed around the totem and creates bonds with respect to the relationship with the totem. Therefore, Durkheim suggests that the totem serves as identity for early man, “The God of the clan, the totemic principle, can therefore be nothing else than the clan itself, personified and represented to the imagination under the form of the animal or vegetable which serves as totem.” (Pals 1996: 104).

Sita (1996: 38) argues that from an Australian Aboriginal perspective what is perceived to be their ritual and religiousness is one part of an entire reality, or worldview.
He also argues that the source of Aboriginal spirituality is the land and connection to it, represents the power of the Dreamtime. Sita (1996: 17) suggests that Aboriginal Dreamtime mythology along with ritual practices reveals the relationship with the natural environment and that this is also expressed through the symbology of totemism. However, Sita (1996: 40) rightly suggests that this view is a conclusion made by us and not by the Aboriginal people. In saying so, the anthropological analyses made by Durkheim and Tylor bring their own views when observing Aboriginal religion and life, and so become a biased description, or rather racial description of the ‘other’, or the ‘them’.

The role of the media has an influence in creating identity. To understand how representations of Australian Aboriginals in films affect the identity of ‘Aboriginality’, the theories of Bourdieu and Baudrillard should be explored. Both Bourdieu and Baudrillard’s theories discuss the formation and maintenance of identity and individual practices within society. Firstly, Bourdieu suggest a notion, which he calls Habitus, “the unconscious ‘taking in’ of values, rules and dispositions” (Webb et al. 2002: 36). Habitus is both the, “historical and cultural production of individual practices”, and “the individual production of practises” (Webb et al. 2002: 15). Bourdieu suggests the control or dominant practices are created by the interactions and relationships between different cultural rules, institutions and practises (Webb et al. 2002: 22). He argues that the dominated
social classes or positions remain so due to the normalisation of their condition by the dominant, as well as the misrecognition by the dominated that social positions are produced (Webb et al. 2002: 24). In this way the dominated class is subjected to what Bourdieu calls ‘symbolic violence’, where people are “treated as inferior, denied resources, limited in social mobility and aspirations” (Webb et al. 2002: 25), but for all intents and purposes view it themselves as a natural state. Essentially, Bourdieu’s argument about Habitus is that the individual is conditioned and shaped by the world and the materially and culturally. In a globalised society where stable identities are influenced by, and exposed to many other worldviews, Bourdieu (Webb et al. 2002: 43) suggests that people have to ‘make do’.

Baudrillard discusses a slightly different form of creating dominant social identities. He (Kellner 1994: 52) suggests that a hyperreality is formed and the exchange of meaning occurs at the level of information, including images and signs. Baudrillard argues that this is how dominant systems stay in place due to the fact that the “repressive and reductive strategies of power systems are already present
in the internal logic of the sign” (Kellner 1994:53). In this way the representations of Aboriginals become not a representation but an artificial, and complete sign, which creates a ‘reality’. Kellner (1994: 151) suggests that this ‘hyperreality’ is not always accepted as such and can be resisted. He suggests that people can use mass communications and media to create their own subversive messages and alternate values (1994: 158). Castells (Valtanen 2007: 4) argues that the emergence of a globalised society consumes local identities and practices, misrecognise, marginalise, or makes invisible these local practices and emphasises global practices. The idea of creating a resistance identity is explored by Castells. However, he suggests that the dominated group creating alternate messages are in danger of also succumbing to the same hegemony and exclusivity of message making that existing dominant groups create (Valtanen 2007: 6-7).

Representations of Australian Aboriginals in the media have many different socio-historical contexts. As such there are different discourses present in representations. However, there are problems with the representation of Aboriginal people as it is primarily from a non-Aboriginal view. Langton (1993:40) argues that the creation of Aboriginal representations by non-Aboriginals changes the reality and identity of Aboriginality. Jennings (1993: 10) suggests there are two ways of representing Aboriginals, positive and negative. However, Cohen (Jennings 1993: 10) argues that a positive image or
representation, one of success in a western society, or in a world becoming globalised is problematic as it ignores the dominantly prescribed limits to social mobility, and highlights values and practices of a western capitalist society. This also works for a negative representation of Aboriginal peoples. O’Regan (Clelland-Stokes 2007: 93) suggests that more than any other social group Aboriginals are seen and depicted as victims of white colonisation, “Aboriginal lifeways and aspirations are in many cases bounded by chronic social crisis manifested in alcoholism, violence, unemployment and homelessness, stemming from the ongoing effects of colonisation ”. As Bourdieu suggests representing Aboriginal people in this way highlights it as their social position and sustains the dominance of other non-Aboriginal social positions. O’Regan (Clelland-Stokes 2007: 93) argues that this victimised representation of Aboriginality portrays Aboriginal people in a negative form of the other and instils fear between Aboriginals and non- Aboriginals.

Representing anything in media only works to reduce and limit the complexity of what is being presented. Jennings (1993:10) argues that this creates a kind of stereotype, which functions repetitively due to homogeneous characteristics and the
ease in which it can be produced. In this way there are three specific versions in which Aboriginals are seen anthropological, romantic and racial. The last two are largely seen in films. Clelland-Stokes (2007:91) suggests that the discourses used to create ‘Aboriginality’ within film are “’the Aboriginal problem’ or traditional Aboriginal lifeways”. In keeping with Baudrillard’s theories these two images of Aboriginality become signs for Aboriginal peoples to identify with, or reject. In particular the representation of traditional Aboriginal becomes less human and what Clelland-Stokes (2007: 101) calls the “symbol of the ‘spirit of Australia’”. Jennings (1993: 12-13) argues that the creation of the traditional Aboriginal as the most valued representation in non-Aboriginal film ignores and marginalises the larger groups of the urban Aboriginal. The romanticisation of the traditional Aboriginal works in the same way as racism limiting Aboriginals agency in the world, “To picture Aboriginals as being ‘naturally’ suited to any particular set of historical, social or economic relationship is to deny their role in maintaining or transforming those relationships, or indeed, of defining those relationships for themselves…a quintessentially racist strategy” (Jennings 1993:15).

Two Australian films that highlight the problems of representation are The Last Wave and Jedda, which traverse the thin lines between romanticism and racism. Though the
character of Chris is portrayed as being an urban Aboriginal, his costume jeans and leather jacket, in the 'I take you now!' (Wier 1977) scene Chris is connected with his traditional Aboriginal spirituality and lifeways. In other words, this representation highlights the necessity for Aboriginal people, even in an urban setting to be connected to the traditional representational archetype of Aboriginality. Clelland-Stokes (2007: 124) is that the representation of Aboriginal spirituality in the film is a prescribed western view. The film prescribes a social function and practise that Aboriginals can assume or reject. Jennings (1993: 15) argues that The Last Wave works to emphasise the mystical or spiritual elements of Aboriginality, thereby limiting again the ways in which Aboriginal people can identify themselves through film, or in society. Jedda presents two representations of Aboriginality, that of assimilation and traditional cultural maintenance. It highlights the debates of the 1950s surrounding blood, cultural assimilation and dominance. Jennings (1993: 33) argues that characters within the film represent ideas behind non-Aboriginal prescribed Aboriginality. Jedda the character embodies both ideas. Jennings (1993: 37) suggests in the piano scene that Jedda is represented as longing to return to a traditional cultural purity rather than a cross-cultural refusal of restrictive parenting. The playing of the piano is ‘wild’ in fashion (Chauvel 1955) and frames Jedda between the two worlds of ‘Aboriginality’ and ‘whiteness’. Her fate is sealed however by western appropriation of Aboriginal beliefs as she is the wrong skin for Marbuk and the two die falling off a cliff. This highlights for non-aboriginals and aboriginals the so-called safety of assimilation, or traditional cultural purity, and that the two cannot mix. This is another form of racism as again non-aboriginals force and maintain a certain aboriginal social identity on aboriginal through film.

However, filmmaking which highlights the blending of both Aboriginal and non-aboriginal relations is the work of Tracy Moffatt. Langton (1993: 25) argues that
Moffatt’s film Night Cries makes an important social intervention, and helps to form views surrounding the problems of cultural relationships. She suggests that Night Cries gives an Aboriginal perspective on the problems of representation and that Moffatt explores, “the impact of the past on the present ― they explore the present on past inter-racial happenings in cultural codes of today” (Langton 1993:25).

Granted, as Bourdieu suggests social values and practices are not shaped with in a vacuum but are shaped by the world. To say that there is a traditional or untainted form of Aboriginality, or even an untainted form of Non Aboriginality is ignorant as both Bourdieu and Baudrillard suggest we create our own identities through dominant practices and values that are given to us by media. If Aboriginals had an opportunity to create their own relationship with society and to present their own commentary on the nature of Aboriginality it would be one way to help change
the representation of Aboriginality in film to something else, or broaden the representation and values non-Aboriginals create to include Aboriginal values. The Australian Film Commission and other government film agencies and Indigenous media associations have functioned to help form Indigenous media. Barron (Gallasch 2007: v) argues that since the beginning of 2000 and till today the range of quality and diversity in Aboriginal filmmaking has not only improved but also seen growth within local and international regard. The key to this success is found in the adoption of Indigenous Strategic Framework, which recognises the rights of Aboriginals to build
their own culture through media.

Aboriginal filmmaker Rachel Perkins’ Bran Nue Dae and Warwick Thornton’s Samson and Delilah are two recent films, which help to build Aboriginal identities through an Aboriginal perspective and representation. Samson and Delilah, works to change the representation of Aboriginality formed by Non-Aboriginals. The movie is similar to Jedda; However, Sampson and Delilah are the “right skin”(Thornton 2009) for each other, and instead of falling off a cliff, the future of the two remains undefined by the movie and so it can be assumed that they are the agents of their own destiny, and identity. Bran Nue Dae explores the relationships between non-aboriginal representations of Aboriginal Spirituality and Aboriginal identifications of identity. Tadpole, played by Ernie Dingo says when asked where he comes from that he “was born in the midst of the Dreamtime” (Perkins 2010) and when threatened to be kicked out of the Comby van both Willie and Tadpole appropriate Non-Aboriginal stereotypes of Aboriginals in order to stay in the van. It is the assumed knowledge and comedic use of Aboriginal representations by an Aboriginal that helps the relationship between Non-Aboriginals and Aboriginals. Both these films had a wide release and work to view aboriginality from an aboriginal perspective rather than a non-aboriginal perspective.

The past discussions of Aboriginal spirituality by Tylor and Durkheim are perhaps dominant western views and in a way redundant to the representations of
Aboriginality in film today. As Bourdieu and Baudrillard suggest a person’s identity and practices are formed by dominant social practices and signs, which the individual can acknowledge, accept or resist. Subverting media messages and giving a form of agency to Aboriginals as well as the chance to improve skills in filmmaking is perhaps key in transforming Aboriginal representations, and understanding Aboriginality from a non-dominant view. Although, it is clear that whatever worldview is presented western capitalistic society and globalisation, also play a part in forming it.

Works Cited.

Chauvel, Charles. Dir. Jedda. 1955. ‘Jedda Dreaming Again’. 2010. Australian Screen. 2 Nov 2010. http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/jedda/clip2/

Clelland-Stokes, Sacha. Representing Aboriginality: A post-colonial analysis of the Key Trends of Representing Aboriginality in South African, Australian and Aotearoa/New Zealand Film. Denmark: Intervention P, 2007.

Gallasch, Keith. Ed. Dreaming in Motion; Celebrating Australia’s Indigenous Filmmakers. Sydney: Australian Film Commission, 2007.

Jennings, Karen. Sites of Difference: Cinematic Representations of Aboriginality and gender. Melbourne: Australian Film Institute, 1993

Kellner, Douglas. Ed. Baudrillard: A critical Reader. Massachusetts: Blackwell, 1994.

Langton, Marcia. ‘Well, I Heard it on the Radio and I Saw it on the Television…’ an Essay for the Australian Film Commission on the Politics and Aesthetics of Filmmaking by and About Aboriginal People and Things. Sydney: Australian Film Commission, 1993.

Pals, Daniel L. Seven Theories of Religion. New York: Oxford UP, 1996.

Perkins, Rachel. Dir. Bran Nue Dae. Robyn Kershaw, Mayfan. 2009. DVD. Screen Australia. 14 Jan 2010.

Sita, Frank. Aboriginal Rituals: Approaches and Interpretation. Victoria: Spectrum, 1996.

Thornton, Warwick. Dir. Samson and Delilah. CAAMA. 2009. Madman. DVD. 7 May 2009.

Valtanen, Markku. Identity, Structure and Ideology - Manuel Castells’ Contribution to the Identity Policy Discussion. 28 Sep 2007. Inter-Disciplinary.Net. 2010. 31 Oct 2010. http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/ati/diversity/multiculturalism/mcb1/Valtanen%20paper.pdf

Webb, Jen, Tony Schirato, and Geoff Danaher. Understanding Bourdieu. New South Wales: Allen and Unwin, 2002.

Weir, Peter, Dir. The Last Wave. 1977. ‘I take You Now!’ 2010. Australian Screen. 2 Nov 2010. http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/the-last-wave/clip3/

Shinto Perspectives in Miyazaki’s Anime Film “Spirited Away”

2010-11-02T00:33:00.001+10:00

Article Summary by G. A-D.

This article provides a discussion of the Shrine Shinto elements present in the English-release version of the film “Spirited Away”. It provides a very brief introduction to the some of the fundamental aspects of Shinto, as well as an explanation of Miyazaki’s personal intentions of the film and his background in Shinto, relating it back through his ancestry.

The article is concerned with Shrine Shinto. It explains the basis of Shinto as the acknowledgement of the power of creation, held by humans and nature itself. It explains that while nature is seen as a creative force, it is not deterministic, and allows for great variation in its creations. These variations can take on the superior forms of ‘kami’(which can be literally anything/one).

After relating the Shinto concept of cleansing and the bath-house setting of the film, the article goes on to detail the overall plot. It highlights various elements of a spiritual nature however does not directly relate them to a specific Shinto concept, for example, the significance of Chihiro’s (the protagonist) parents detachment from their spirituality. At this point the article turns into a critique of modern Japanese values (or lack thereof), and the globalisation, industrialisation and commercialisation of Japan. They claim the movie to be Miyazaki’s reminder to the Japanese people to return to more traditional values.

It is not explained why the article focuses on the English-release version instead of the original Japanese one as it is discussing the film’s value specifically to the Japanese audience. Though the major difference between the two versions is in a single line explaining that Chihiro does remember her spiritual journey (in the Japanese version she does not), the significance of this line as related to the Shinto concept of ‘kami-kakushi’ - to be missing for some time in the spirit (kami) world is integral to her character development.

The explanation of Shrine Shinto gives the reader an adequate background for a working understanding of the Shinto concepts present in ‘Spirited Away’. Linking them with their manifestations in the film is a simple task, and the article’s length gives the impression that a more in-depth approach could have been taken to the symbolism in the film.

References

Boyd JW and T Nisimura. 2004. Shinto Perspectives in Miyizaki's Anime Film 'Spirited Away’. Journal of Religion and Film. 8, 2.

God in the Movies: When Banal Religion is Disguised by Humour

2010-10-28T16:43:00.005+10:00

by Christine Barton

Religion plays such a large role in today’s society that it is not surprising that it finds its way into films (Hesion, 1947). But when we talk about religion in film, what exactly do we mean? Are we referring to films that are formally about religion or that tell stories of the Bible? Are we talking about films that discuss people’s religious beliefs and how they are tested? Does a religious film have to delve into philosophical discussions over the existence and meaning of God? Or, can a religious film simply have themes that relate to religion and spirituality in both direct and indirect ways? The cinema is a source of revelation about our place in the world. Movies reveal our hopes, our fears and what we value as human beings (Stone, 2000). Film offers us a creative and imaginative language that can bridge the gap between the rational and the aesthetic, the sacred and the secular, the church and the world, and thereby provide a refreshing take on old and often sad narratives (Stone, 2000).

Mahan (2002) describes “the effort to transform the written gospel accounts of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus into a compelling film” as one “full of challenges”. The visual representation of Jesus has changed over the course of time, yet in the 6th century the portrayal of Jesus as Pantocrator, with long dark hair and a trimmed beard, became standard (Bakker, 2009). Over time the colour of his hair changed to blonde, but his beard was retained (Bakker, 2009). Long, loose hair was regarded as a symbol of divinity (Bakker, 2009), so it was only natural that this visual depiction was also used in the representation of Jesus in film. Critics argued that because Jesus was a man, he could be depicted in film, but a God who could not be depicted in words certainly could not be reflected in images (Bakker, 2009). So perhaps, as Bergesen and Greeley (2000) suggest, it is the representation of God on the big screen that is a challenge for Hollywood to undertake. Could this be because of Hollywood’s purported hostility to religion (Bergesen and Greeley, 2000) or does it simply boil down to difficulty in presenting a visual depiction of the divine, the transcendent and the almighty

Films about Jesus, God, or religion in general, face the same aesthetic and commercial challenges as any other movie, because as Mahan (2002) suggests, a significant subject does not necessarily always produce a compelling film. Mahan (2002) also argues that the attempt to portray on film the central narrative of religious communities has always been met with suspicion by believers and non-believers alike. Depicting God in film raises issues of whether any visual representation of divinity is acceptable and how this divine God should be interpreted, depicted and represented. Filmmakers attempt this task with their own assumptions and questions of faith in mind (Bakker, 2009; Mahan, 2002), yet through the process of mediatization, the representation of these religious images has become more oriented towards entertainment and the consumer (Hjarvard, 2008).

The media work as agents for religious change through the process of mediatization (Hjarvard, 2008). In fact, the media have become the primary source of religious ideas, by moulding religious imagination in accordance with the genres of popular culture (Hjarvard, 2008). The media have taken over many of the social functions that used to be performed by religious institutions and this is particularly evident through film. This has also led to a gradual secularization and has transformed a society that once had a close identification with religious values and institutions, to a visual culture that turns to the media for all aspects of social life and interpretations of reality.

The media are distributors of religious representations of various kinds and these representations are produced, edited and delivered through genres like film and television. This inevitably leads the media to begin distributing what Hjarvard (2008) refers to as “banal religion”. Holy texts and iconography contribute to the accumulation of banal religious elements that are open to religious interpretation (Hjarvard, 2008). The power relationship between banal religious representations and institutionalized religion may vary, but the increasing role of media in society seems to make more room for the former. As conduits of communication, the media have become the primary source of imagery and texts about magic, spiritualism and religion (Hjarvard, 2008). Consequently, institutionalized religion in modern, western societies plays a less prominent role in the communication of religious beliefs and instead, banal religious elements emphasised by the media move to the fore of society’s religious imagination (Hjarvard, 2008).

In contemporary society, watching movies has become as normal as eating, sleeping or using the computer (Johnston, 2006). Film is now one of the primary sources for telling stories and interpreting reality, with the power of the movie resting on each individual’s gaze (Johnston, 2006). Movies help viewers understand and critique culture, while also allowing them to form perceptions of themselves, their values and their social world (Johnston, 2006). Many also find cinema a rich depository of images that celebrate the human spirit and put us in touch with the divine (Leonard, 2006). While movies themselves are not scriptures, they have the ability to project scripture in a new light in terms of culture and medium (Aichele and Walsh, 2002). They also provide us with much of the imagery that we have previously associated religion with, and this occurs in both over-simplified and over-the-top fashions.

However, many critics have argued that the visual representation of God in film is “futile, indeed false” and that these images “obscure God’s glory and convey false ideas about God”, while also arguing that “God communicates best through word, not symbols” (Johnston, 2006). Reinhartz (2007) further argues that God’s presence in the narrative and his role as Jesus’ father can be shown only indirectly. However, cultural expressions, like films, function as important resources for theological reflection (Johnston, 2006), so it appears to make sense that stories of God are told through the medium of film; a medium that is engaged in by millions. Given the power of the media, becoming conversant with its mixed messages is an essential tool for Christian life, involving a process of inculturation in which viewers can discover where Christ is already active within a given culture (Leonard, 2006).

Instead of trying to catch the miraculous and unmediated light for the screen, filmmakers in more recent times have begun to take a different approach, one more complex, demanding and cogent (Mitchell and Plate, 2007). These filmmakers have chosen to focus on chronicling and analysing the encounter of ordinary people with the divine (Mitchell and Plate, 2007). Right on the cusp of the new millennium, a new kind of religious film began to emerge. This new breed of film steered away from traditional Biblical epics and instead took a more modern approach, incorporating the use of clever humour in order to achieve box office success. Instead of portraying stereotypical Christ-like figures, several films began to take these representations one step further and start portraying the Christian God in human form. Two such films to accomplish this are Bruce Almighty (2003) and Dogma (1999). Both of these films depict a God that has rarely been seen in film before; God as a black man and God as a woman, respectively. These films break out of the traditional pattern and in doing so mount a fundamental and explicit challenge to the links between scripture, history and faith (Exum, 2006). From the very beginning of these films we know we are in for a non-traditional glimpse of God. However, the films do not throw out God’s supreme power and transcendence altogether, but rather focus on how God’s divine presence effects those it strikes (Mitchell and Plate, 2007).

The theologically complex, Bruce Almighty, humourously wrestles with the interface of divine power and human freedom. In a highly entertaining fashion, this film appeals to popular culture by depicting aspects of truth, beauty and goodness (Johnston, 2006). The film portrays Bruce (Jim Carrey) as a man consumed by self-importance and insensitivity, especially to God. This flawed protagonist has the ability to make viewers repulsed, especially by his attitude to his (cleverly named), estranged girlfriend, Grace (Jennifer Aniston). Bruce is a television news reporter who wants to be a local news anchor and blames God for not producing this miracle. In the film he takes on the role of God, acting out humanity’s most ancient desire; to be God (Leonard, 2006).

Unlike many other religious films that have merely depicted God as a shining white light, or simply a voice, God in Bruce Almighty is portrayed in human form, visually depicted as an African-American, played by Morgan Freeman. Yet looking past this non-traditional visual representation, Bruce Almighty suggests that God operated on two fundamental principles: “You can’t mess with free will” and “you can’t do everything” (Leonard, 2006). Christian theology teaches that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving (Leonard, 2006). Bruce Almighty gives this a contemporary spin. Rather than positing God deficient in power, it suggests God has a self-imposed limit on the exercise of power (Leonard, 2006). The film raises interesting images and issues, attempting to ask the most basic religious questions in a modern context, with humour. But what the movie really is about is God’s argument that, “The problem is that people keep looking up, when they should look inside…you want to see a miracle – then be a miracle” (Johnston, 2006).

If religious ideas or experience can be put into an irreverent or interesting package, so much the better. This is the appeal of Kevin Smith’s edgy but God-affirming movie, Dogma (Johnston, 2006). Met with much criticism, this movie affirms the existence of God and tells the story of a woman’s recovery of faith, while at the same time mocking organised Christianity and questioning theology (Johnston, 2006). This movie steers away from everything deemed traditional about religious films, presenting images of a 13th apostle and a statue of the “Buddy Christ”, winking and giving the thumbs up (Johnston, 2006). While the movie was regarded as somewhat of a joke, it does affirm the importance of faith, the benevolence of God and the divinity of Christ (Johnston, 2006), in a way that keeps viewers in their seats and entertained.

Described as a “zany, daffy, sometimes crude and tasteless, over-the-top movie” (Greeley, 1999, p. 22), Dogma portrayed God as a woman; a woman who also performed cartwheels. Technically speaking, since divine-figures need only resemble or resonate with the behavioural characteristics and life events of the historical divine, female divine-figures can just as easily fit this functional definition (Kozlovic, 2005). While many critics described Dogma and this representation of God as a woman, as blasphemous, what they failed to remember was that blasphemy involves the intention to do harm to God, religion, faith or the church (Greeley, 1999). Dogma did not intend to do this, but merely represented God as a comedian, who in the end is seen as loving and gracious. This humour is in fact a prelude to making some very serious, and funny, theological points.

While these films are highly entertaining and clear in their messages, we still must question whether they are truly religious or if they simply represent elements of Hajarvard’s (2008) notion of banal religion. Products which are tailored for consumption by masses, and which to a great extent determine the nature of that consumption, are manufactured more or less according to plan (Adorno and Rabinbach, 1975). The masses are not primary, but secondary, and are always an object of calculation and of the culture industry (Adorno and Rabinbach, 1975). The practices of the culture industry rest almost solely on profit, and through the distribution of discourse and ideology to the masses, a profit is almost always made. Cultural commodities are formed because of their value (Adorno and Rabinbach, 1975) and this statement rings true of the film industry. According to Walsh (2003) cinematic images of the divine perpetuate an ideology of triumphant individualism, and Kozlovic (2005) further argues that these images are a legitimate pop-culture phenomenon. More than just media inundation, we have come to live in a “media-mediated” culture, where our understanding of life, reality and our own experience is filtered through film (Kozlovic, 2005). In fact, many people within today’s society, especially the young, believe that popular culture is culture, and so theology must begin to take such cultural expressions seriously (Kozlovic, 2005).

Films that reach out and break down barriers (like Dogma and Bruce Almighty) tend to elicit positive responses, while also allowing viewers to recognise the significance of religion in today’s society and culture. Religious films that fall into the comedy genre effectively portray stories that can be related to by non-believers and those uninterested in religion. These films make religion more accessible to people who normally regard religion as irrelevant, by framing stories of the divine and religious elements in a way that is entertaining and relatable.

Popular cinema has moved forward in its cultural interpretations of the divine, by making them appealing to a wider ranging audience. The movie industry has recognised the secularization of society and has transformed religious values, practices and beliefs into visually pleasing and often humourous films that society has come to rely on for interpreting reality. There is no single person, entity, organisation, institution or power in our society today that even comes close to rivaling the power of film and television to shape our faith, values and behavior (Stone, 2000).

The media, as Hjarvard (2008) suggests, have taken on the role of religious institutions in shaping our religious imaginations, particularly through the use of religious films, and by doing this have provided both moral and spiritual guidance and a sense of community. However, the banal religious elements that these films tend to portray, move into the fore of society’s imagination and have resulted in a society in which individuals can no longer tell the difference between fiction and reality. However, putting the banality of the religion in films aside, the cinema remains an important tool to illicit interest in the religious world and to encourage the youth of today to recognise its importance in today’s society.

References

Adorno, T. W. and Rabinback, A. G. (1975). Culture Industry Reconsidered. New German Critique, 6, 12-19

Aichele, G & Walsh, R. (2002). Screening Scripture: Intertextual Connections Between Scripture and Film. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Trinity Press International.

Bakker. F. L. (2009). The Challenge of the Silver Screen: An Analysis of the Cinematic Portraits of Jesus, Rama, Buddha and Muhammad. Boston: Leidon.

Bergesen, A. J. and Greeley, A. M. (2000). God in the Movies. New Brunswick, N.J: Transaction Publishers.
Exum, J. C. (2006). The Bible in Film – The Bible and Film. Leidon, Boston: Brill.
Greeley, A. M. (1999). The Catholic Imagination of ‘Dogma’. National Catholic Reporter, 36(8), 22.

Hession, Brian, the Rev. (1947. Religion in films versus religious films. Sight and Sound, 16(62), p. 53.

Hjarvard, S. (2008) The Mediatization of Religion: A Theory of the Media as Agents of Religious Change. Northern Lights, 6(1), 9-26.

Johnston, R. K. (2006). Reel Spirituality: Theology and Film in Dialogue. Second Edition – revised and expanded. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic.

Kozlovic, A. K. (2005). Jesus covered in a secular wrapper: The Christ-figure in popular films. Kinema: A Journal of History, Theory and Aesthetics of Film and Audiovisual Media, 24, 33-54.

Reinhartz, A. (2007). Jesus of Hollywood. New York: Oxford University Press

Leonard, S. J. (2006). Movies That Matter: Reading Film Through the Lens of Faith. Chicago, Illinois: Loyola Press.

Mahan, J. H. (2002). Celluloid Saviour: Jesus in the Movies. Journal of Religion and Film, 6(1)

Mitchell, J. & Plate, S. B. (2007). The Religion and Film Reader. New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group.

Stone, B. P. (2000). Faith and Film: Theological themes at the cinema. St Louis, MO: Chalice Press.

Walsh, R. (2003). Reading the Gospels in the Dark: Portrayals of Jesus in Film. Harrisburg, PA and London: Trinity Press International.

Bibliography

Kozlovic, A. K. (2008). Cecil B. DeMille: Hollywood Macho Man and the Theme of Masculinity within His Biblical (and Other) Cinema. Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality, 2(2), 116-138.

Forshey, G. (1988). Jesus on Film. The Christian Century, 105(26), 801.

Gilmour, P. (2005). Text and Context: The Passion of the Christ and other Jesus Films. Religious Education, 100(3), 311.

Greeley, A. M. (1997). Images of God in the Movies. The Journal of Religion and Film, 1(1).

Mel Gibson’s Lethal Passion. (2006). In Beal, T. K. and Linafelt, T. (Eds.) Mel Gibson’s Bible. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Stout, D. A. and Buddenbaum, J. M.(2003). Media, Religion, and "Framing". Journal of Media and Religion, 2(1), 1 - 3

Films Cited

Bostick, M., Brubaker, J. D., Koren, S., Carrey, J., O’Keefe, M., Shadyac, T., & Shadyac, T. (Director). (2003). Bruce Almighty. United States: Universal Pictures,

Mosier, S. & Smith K. (1999). Dogma. United States: Miramax Films

Super-Jesus: Finding Religion's Superhero's in Film

2010-10-23T15:37:00.004+10:00

The word superhero is one which can be heard in a multitude of contexts throughout modern society. From an early age children learn about superheroes, which come to save the world from impending doom. As time progresses and adulthood approaches, it is now expected that aspirations of learning to fly and obtaining super-strength are grown out of and have moved towards the notion of superhero which describes someone to admire and model their moral and ethical standards. Society presents a wide range of superheros which take into account modern concerns of age, culture, gender and religion.The superheroes of the modern world can consist of anyone from a great religious leader (Moses, Muhammad, Buddha, Jesus etc.), or icons of pop culture (sports-stars, pop idols, movie celebrities), as well as including those that belong to our films, cartoons and literature: and while they are all vastly different there are also many unifying factors.

Superheroes are most commonly accessed through film and television, with a large number of heroes being religious figures or displaying religious characteristics. The purpose of this essay will be to explore the notion of the superhero, paying particular attention to the ways in which religious heroes are represented in film. In order to do this I will first explore the mythical construct of the superhero before contextualizing the role which is played by religion in the film industry. From here the notion of the religious superhero portrayed through film will be analysed drawing upon the film The Last Temptation of Christ before moving to religious themes and attitudes represented by cinematic hero’s such as ‘Neo’ the main Character from The Matrix.

As was briefly mentioned earlier, there are many observable characteristics held in common by the various types of superhero that modern society glorifies. Significant and well known to those interested in the notion of hero is mythologist Joseph Campbell, whose works cover the mythic superhero in great detail. His view is that the mythological journeys and stories carried out by the ‘hero’ tend to follow a structural pattern which he calls the “nuclear unit of the monomyth”. (Campbell, 1968, p.30) According to Campbell it doesn’t matter what religion or civilization a hero myth comes from, they will all follow this pattern of the nuclear unit: “a separation from the world, a penetration to some source of power, and a life enhancing return.” (Campbell, 1968, p.35) In outlining the structural monomyth Campbell further divides these three overarching facets into smaller components, however, for the purposes of this paper the three are sufficient.

As the notion of the monomyth is only a framework the themes presented appear in a variety of guises throughout mythical history. Other similarities also lie in the hero’s mission in that the world which the hero is entering is always suffering from a “symbolic deficiency” (Campbell, 1968, p.37) which the hero must deliver it from. This deficiency could be the presence of a distressed damsel, impending doom, or that the world as a whole has fallen away and reduced itself to evil. Along with Campbell, Norman also acknowledges that in order to be successful in redeeming the world the hero must undergo a transformation where he/she discovers the hidden potential that will lead to victory. For Norman this transformation requires the hero to “abandon all and be abandoned,” (Norman, 1969, p.5) By this she is saying that the hero will enter into the space where evil lurks so as to emerge from it liberated – much like Friedrich Nietzsche’s well used saying “Whatever does not kill me makes me stronger.” (Nietzsche, p.5) The hero and his/her actions provide warning and advice, as well as encouraging the everyday being to live full and productive lives. They provide a hope that all people have great potential and that the key to satisfaction is to unlock and harness that potential, putting it to good use. Campbell reiterates this in saying, “the hero is symbolic of that divine creative and redemptive image which is hidden within us all, only wating to be known and rendered into life” (Campbell, 1968, p.39).

Campbell’s work in both the areas of mythology and religion makes easy work of transferring his notion of the monomyth to religious figures and their cinematic representations. The transcendent nature of the language used in the previously mentioned quotation from Campbell also serves as an example of the close link between the notion of hero and religion. This relationship is best observed in the medium of modern filmmaking, which has maintained its popularity since its emergence in the late 19th Century. Films and their content are designed to captivate their audience, temporarily transporting them into the make believe and instilling in them a wide range ideas about the world in which we live. Because of the integral part that religion and spirituality play in a large portion of human lives, it is not surprising that it features heavily in the films produced. In their commentary on the relationship between film and religion, Pope and Johnston agree that in today’s largely secular world, questions which were traditionally considered to be religious (i.e. Those concerning origin, meaning and purpose in life) have been shifted from religious institutions to the secular world. “The questions are still being asked,” says Pope (2007, p.8) “but in different ways and in different places from those traditionally held to be appropriate.”

Johnston provides two ways of examining the theological content embedded in cinematic productions. In talking about the religious issues raised by films he states, “They affect the heart, then the head.” (Johnston, 2006, p.250) In greater detail this refers to “experiential” and “critical” axis of analysis. The “experiential” refers to the immediate experience of receiving the film, the thoughts that are provoked and discussion that follows. The “critical” axis of deconstructing what has been seen comes with reflection on what has been experienced in a critical manner in order to create an understanding of what these initial reactions mean. In summary, his view is that theological and religious themes are intertwined into the fabric of film – all that has to be done is to approach them with a ‘religion lens’ and examples of theological reasoning will be found.

Now that the relationship between religion and film has been explored, along with the notion of the heroic monomyth, the attention of this paper may turn to applying these theories to cinematic examples. There are two main ways that religion can be observed in film: 1) Films which depict the lives and tales of religious superheroes. 2) Films whose characters and storylines resemble those of religious myths and events. Each one of these categories will now be discussed beginning with the former.

One of the best ways that religion, and its superheroes, can be discovered through the world of film is in those films which retell the narratives and events from a given religion. Films such as The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Passion of the Christ (2004), Little Buddha (1993) and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) all tell the stories of religious superheroes which are derived from the myths and stories of their respective religions. The representation of religious characters such as Jesus, the Buddha and Moses in popular film builds their image to celebrity status much like society’s other superheroes – pop stars, sports man and alike. The Last Temptation of Christ (1998) directed by Martin Scorcese, is a prime example of the way that film has been used to elevate the position of the religious superhero. In order to demonstrate the level to which Scorcese’s portrayal of the life of Christianity’s Jesus lives up to the superhero, a deconstruction using Campbells theory of the heroic monomyth will be conducted.

Flesher and Torry, in their book Film and Religion (2007), provide a critical deconstruction of the film The Last Temptation of Christ, focusing on the positioning of the audience to experience the well known story of Jesus in a confronting and unexpected way. As outlined in the book, Martin Scorcese’s – the director of the film, intention for this film was to attempt to capture the human image of Jesus as conflicting with the divine, by portraying human weakness within him. The film depicts Jesus as lustful towards women, uncaring and often selfish. It also portrays a confused, God denying Jesus who is reconsidering the mission he was to carry out. By employing Campbell’s framework of the classic hero myth and applying it to the narrative context of the Last Temptation of Christ, as deconstructed by Flesher and Torry, many similarities arise between the figure of Jesus and Campbell’s ‘hero.’ In its entirety, Martin Scorcese has effectively produced a hero myth in accordance to Joseph Campbells structure of the “nuclear unit of the monomyth” (Campbell, 1968, p.35)

Campbell suggests that there are a number of essential features within the concept of monomyth beginning with the Separation (1968, p.35). Using Jesus as the hero of Scorcese’s film, two separations can be extracted from the narrative. Firstly, Jesus is separated from God the Father in being born into the world; however he is also separated from the world because of his dual nature as both human and divine.

Campbell’s second aspect of the monomyth is the initiation, whereby the hero enters a discovery process of both potential, reason and mission. (1968, p.35) Throughout the movie, Jesus is portrayed as struggling to develop his mission and purpose on earth and battles with his dual nature. According to Flesher and Torry’s analysis, Jesus comes to a gradual understanding of his mission, through a staged “discovery process” (Flesher & Torry, 2007, p.144). which incorporates various “turning points of Jesus’ development..[through which] his character also changes”(p.145). Campbell also refers to the sacrificial nature of the hero stating,

“The really creative acts are represented as those deriving from some sort of dying to the world; and what happens with the interval of the heroes nonentity, so that he comes back as one reborn, made great and filled with creative power.” (1968, p.36)
In reference to the movie’s reflection of the Jesus story this would be considered to be the point where Jesus acquires “access to the power of his divine character and begins to perform miracles.”(Flesher & Torry, 2007, p.145) Also referring to this part of the monomyth is Jesus’ decision to make the ultimate sacrifice for humanity with his life. Flesher and Torry also reiterate this in saying, “Christianity’s mission of salvation is to rescue all human beings from the punishment that their sins deserve, and to give them the heavenly rewards of which sin had deprived them.”(Flesher & Torry, 2007, p.145) This epitomizes the redemptive power of the hero to restore peace and hope to the world. And finally, no great story would be complete without knowing the hero didn’t die for good which Campbell describes as the “Life enhancing return” (1968, p.35) which is for the Christian story, the resurrection of Jesus and his conquering of death.

Finally, examination will now turn to the way in which filmmakers extract and manipulate religious themes, concepts, stories and histories in order to create their superhero’s and the narratives which they enact. Flesher and Torry (2007) also expressed the view that films often draw on religious symbols and motifs in order to enhance the message of their hero making it more emotional and personal. (Flesher & Torry, 2007, p.3) There are many different films which express religious views explicitly and others more implicitly. Ford (2000) offers that myths are a form of human expression and are constantly evolving, while being adapted and re-contextualised to create meaning for a wider variety of audiences. Attention will now be transferred to Lana and Andy Wachowski’s film, The Matrix (1999), in order to gain an understanding of how both Buddhist and Christian themes have been adapted for this film.

The Matrix is a well known film that is often recognised as carrying strong Christian themes and as representing the messianic story of Christianity. Ford acknowledges that while this is certainly a strong narrative basis for the film there is also strong parallels with Buddhist philosophy. To understand his position Laurie Honko’s definition of myth, as cited in Ford’s article, is helpful:

There are “Four criteria of myth with respect to form (narrative of sacred origin), content (cosmogonic in terms of cultural origin or existential condition), function (model for human activity), and context (in the sense that myth provides the ideological content for a sacred form of behaviour.)” (Ford, 2000.)
Ford believes that the Christian over-tones within The Matrix do not meet these criteria of myth. His view is that in order for The Matrix to be considered mythic it must meet all the criteria, as defined by Honko, and so fails resoresenting the content aspect of Honko’s definitionof myth. It is however, fulfilled by existing themes of Buddhist philosophy.

A brief description, in the table below, of the Christian influence present in The Matrix will be provided before focusing on the newly exposed ideas of Buddhist revelation also operating within the film.

Neo (main Character): Represents the redemptive figure of Jesus. He is the ‘Chosen One’ who will deliver the world from the hands of the enemy. He sacrifices himself and is later resurrected transforming him into a more divine figure who has the full power to defeat evil ascending into the sky at the end.(Christian story of Jesus’ ascension.)
Morpheus: Seen as being John the Baptist – preparing the way for the ‘Chosen One’. Could also represent God the Father who guides Jesus and shows him the way.
Trinity: While having a clearly Christian theological name, she is similar in many ways to Mary Magdalene – slight hint of possible love interest – but cares for and helps Neo.
Cypher: Represents Judas. He is the trusted friend who betrays the team handing them over to the forces of evil, death and destruction.
Oracle: Holy Spirit – Revelatory powers, also empowers them and gives guidance.
Agent: Devil/Roman soldiers – try to inhibit Neo’s mission/beats and tortures Neo. Neo eventually conquers both.
Intelligent Technology: Satan/Sin. Morpheus says, “The world (the matrix) has been pulled over your eyes to blind you to the truth...that you are a slave. Have been born into bondage.” (Wachowski, 1999)

While Christianity seems to fill the film with plenty of thematic detail, Ford insists that the problem/existential question offered from Buddhist philosophy is essential. This problem is, “our ignorance of existential reality. If we could perceive the true nature of reality and the path to enlightenment...then we could overcome our ignorant state and achieve the insight of a Buddha.” (Ford, 2000) This is a quote used by ford which can be found in two verses of the Dhammapada (a Buddhist text) and relates closely to the quote from the movie by Morpheus which was included in the last cell of the table above. The Mahayana notion that the world which we perceive as our reality is merely a production of our own minds is also inextricably linked to the themes which are presented throughout The Matrix. Ford also suggests links to Buddhist practice in that the training that Neo and his associates undertake is a form of meditation and that the cycle of Samsara, which Buddhist believe humanity is born into is similar to the way in which the participants are programmed into their lives in the matrix.

“A movie can devote not only words but also active visual expression – extended expression at that – to its perspective.”(Flesher & Torry, 2007, p.1) For this reason, film becomes a powerful medium through which filmmakers can manipulate religion in order to serve a variety of purposes. Throughout this essay it has been demonstrated how the filmic and mythic construct of the superhero can be and is readily adapted to portray religion and its ideals to audience members. This is achieved by not only portraying events in religious history, but also in reflecting the values, attitudes and beliefs within the secular superhero. In doing so, many believe that the once traditional expression of religion – through organised institutions – has now been carried to the secular world and is enhanced by cinematic attendance and discussion.
By Kelly Freyling

Review on Peter Beyer’s article ‘Religion and Globalization’

2010-10-12T19:08:00.000+10:00

By Mele Halaufia

Religion and Globalization play an important part of society, not only to those interested in these two issues, but those who are witnessed to culture and change. Peter Beyer’s ‘Religion and Globalization’ sees to allow a thoughtful and in-depth analysis of the place of religion in worldwide culture, and the phenomenon that has been a result of it.

In Beyer’s article, he contextualises and outlines specific definitions and ideas while supporting his arguments by providing his audience with three major ‘manifestations’ (2006) in reference to the international spread of the present-day religion. The first describes the importance of transnational migration, the second exemplifies the movements or religious organizations around the globe and what has resulted as such, and the third sees how the social and political movements have affected its country and what affect they have on each other.

Deliberately, Beyer also presents underlying queries to the readers while providing substantial examples and ideas that formulate the reader’s questions. A specific inquisition, which was most obvious, involved the establishment of globalization, particularly determining whether it started in the rise of the 1980’s or the start of civilization.

The article is very thorough; giving examples of worldwide experiences describing the cause and effects that religion has played in a number of countries, including Islam, Thailand and Iran. Moreover, he describes the religiosity of a country and the growth of religious institutions due to migrants detailing how they have adapted over time to be major religions such as Islamic, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist and Sikh.

Through Peter Beyer’s succinct ideas, terminology and life examples, he has successfully provided a detailed analysis of the relation between religion and globalization. Referring to these two issues individually and collectively, Beyer’s argument is not to be disregarded, but to be studied and understood for religion and globalization will forever be apart of society.

Works referenced:
Beyer Peter, 2006, Religion and Globalization, in George Ritzer, Ed, THe Blackwell Companion to Globalization. Malden. MA: Blackwell Publishing.

“Us” vs. “Them”: A Review of Tara Magdalinski and Timothy J.L. Chandler’s article: “With God on their side”: An Introduction

2010-10-06T22:46:00.002+10:00

By Elizabeth Bailey

In a world, where the media influences of the lives of millions daily, sport is considered by many to be a religion. While there are many similarities between religious and athletic devotion Tara Magdalinski and Timothy Chandler argue in their article, “With God on their side” that there is a relationship between religion and sport, but popular culture takes it too far. The authors argue that it is more important to examine the interaction between sport and religion and recognize the influence sport has over a religious community and the promotion of their beliefs.

Creating a definition for religion is the first hurtle these authors overcome. Religion as defined by Magdalinski and Chandler is when a group of individuals consider themselves linked to others through faith and shared cultural practices. From this definition, the authors agree that it is acceptable for a community to define cultural practices, faith, and rituals as a religion. Religion has the power to influence a community socially, as well as spiritually. This article examines how religion impacts a group’s and an individual’s identity. Distinguishing one religion from another is key to understanding the role religion plays in one’s life. Every religion has clearly defined: initiation rites, dogmas, prescribed moralities, authoritative teachings, texts, and traditions, clear social structures, and organized authority structures. These differences provide individuals with a sense of belonging in ritualized and cultural activities.

Religion and sport both provide a framework for individuals to define themselves, sports fans and religion are both created from an “us” and “them” mentality. By defining one’s self as a Red Sox fan or a Baptist, one is given an identity and place within the social structure of the community. Sport is one of the driving factors behind self-identification, within a religious context. With this in mind, the authors explore various relationships between religion and sport, ranging from sport in the Jewish Women’s Settlement Houses in America to the development of rugby unions: Muslim clubs versus non-Muslims clubs in Cape Town. Though athletes are not the gods media makes them out to be and stadiums are not a place of religious worship, there is a real relationship between religion and sport. Both institutions exist because individuals are able to define themselves as part of the community; an “us” rather than an “other”.

Works Cited
Magdalinski, Tara, and Timothy J.L. Chandler. "With God on their side: An
Introduction." Introduction. With God on their Side: Sport in the service
of religion. London: Routledge, 2002. 1-19. Print.

Why Not?: David Chidester on the Role of Religion in American Popular Culture

2010-10-06T12:32:00.002+10:00

By: Elise Burgett

While the idea of considering baseball, Coca-Cola, and rock music as religions is unsettling to some people, there is no denying that many Americans do worship these elements of popular culture, at least at some level. In his article “The Church of Baseball, the Fetish of Coca-Cola, and the Potlatch of Rock ‘n’ Roll: Theoretical Models for the Study of Religion in American Popular Culture,” David Chidester explores the complexity of defining religion and the role it plays in American popular culture. He does this using three theoretical models: the institution of the “Church of Baseball,” the system of symbols involved in the fetish of Coca-Cola, and the ritualized gift-giving of the Native American potlatch present in the rock ‘n’ roll song “Louie, Louie.” Throughout the article Chidester explains the ways in which each model acts as a religion in everyday American life, followed by evidence to refute potential arguments from “non-believers.”

Focusing on Chidester’s “Church of Baseball” concept, he offers four ways in which baseball behaves like the institutionalized church: it ensures continuity through tradition, it creates a sense of uniformity and belonging, it involves a sacred space, and it engages with sacred time through ritual and revelation. He makes his argument even more convincing by discussing theories on religion as a relationship with supernatural or superhuman beings (we revere athletes in this manner) and as centred around a sacred focus (one’s favourite sports team, for example). Chidester further emphasizes the validity of the similarities between baseball and the institution of the church towards the end of the article as he explains that, just as Europeans extended familiar religious metaphors to the indigenous, apparently religion-less populations they encountered in order to better understand their practices, we can extend our own religious metaphors to areas of popular culture. This effectively re-contextualizes baseball, Coca-Cola, and rock ‘n’ roll as religions in themselves. Though many readers may be left skeptical regarding this re-contextualization, Chidester uses his three theoretical models successfully to make us think about his central question: why should these elements of American popular culture not be considered forms of religion?

Works Referenced

Chidester, David. “The Church of Baseball, the Fetish of Coca-Cola, & the Potlatch of Rock ‘n’ Roll: Theoretical Models for the Study of Religion in American Popular Culture.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion LXIV/4 (1996): 743-765. Web. 6 Oct. 2010.

Bridging the gap between journalists' beliefs and attitudes, and their professional work: A commentary

2010-09-22T09:26:00.005+10:00

My commentary is on the articles, ‘I will show you my faith by what I do: a survey of the religious beliefs of journalists and journalists' faith put into action’ and ‘The framing of Islam on network news following the September 11th attacks’.

The first article by Underwood is based on a 1998 study in the US and Canada to examine the inter-relationship between journalism and religion, in light of the news coverage on religion that seemed to focus only on ‘contentiousness, scandal, or the offbeat’. Conservative critics claimed that journalists were secular and irreligious, and the researchers of the study hypothesised that journalists were not irreligious as they seemed to be.

Although there were earlier studies that examined journalists’ religious beliefs and attitudes, the questions centred mainly on the frequency of the journalists’ church attendance and affiliation to any religious institution. In Underwood’s study, the researchers delved deeper into understanding the role of religion in the journalists’ value systems and how their beliefs were translated into their professional work. The analysis of the survey was done in three steps, as shown in the following diagram:

From the survey, the results showed that journalists were not irreligious as the critics claimed to be. With regard to the treatment of religion in news coverage, a high percentage of journalists responded positively to the statements that ‘Journalists should have good knowledge of religion’ and ‘Journalists bear responsibility for public discourse on the role of religion in society’. To ascertain whether these beliefs are translated into their professional work, the second article by Ibrahim examines this, in light of the September 11th attacks in the US.

According to Ibrahim, the representations of Islam in the news coverage following the September 11th attacks range from Islam being represented as a violent religion to it being a peaceful one. One of these misrepresentations stems from the unbalanced reports done by journalists, who would interview Islamic extremists such as bin Laden and present their views without balancing them with alternative Muslim perspectives, especially from the Islamic scholars’ point of view. Another misrepresentation of Islam is present in news coverage in which the focus would be on angry Muslim men who carry rifles, or wear ski masks. Whether on reel or real life, Muslim men are depicted in a negative light.

The rampant misrepresentations only serve to reinforce the American non-Muslims’ skewed opinion of Islam. Baudrillard’s theory on hyperreality explains this conflation of truth/reality and simulacra. Even Kees Brants (2008) questions about the objectivity of truth:
Is there such a thing as a real picture of reality? Are we talking about a redefinition of truth itself? No, not a redefinition of truth, but being clear that objectivity and truth are an impossibility.

In view of this, journalists need to consider multiple perspectives when reporting stories about religion, and be aware of cultural or religious sensitivities that could arise from the coverage. They also need to practise discretion when interviewing Islamic extremists such as bin Laden so that the public does not have a misconception of Islam. They also need to have a sense of ethical responsibility and accountability to ensure that the events covered do not trigger civil unrest or hatred among different faith groups.

References:

Baudrillard, J. The precession of simulacra. In Durham, M. G. & Kellner, D.M. (Eds), Media and cultural studies, (pp. 453-481). UK: Blackwell Publishing.

Ibrahim, D. 2010. The framing of Islam on network news following the September 11th attacks. International Communication Gazette. 72, 1, 111-125.

Underwood, D. 2002. I will show you my faith by what I do: a survey of the religious beliefs of journalists and journalists' faith put into action. In from Yahweh to Yahoo! the religious roots of the secular press, 130-147, Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

Rituals and Pixels - A Review

2010-09-09T00:26:00.000+10:00

Review of “Rituals and Pixels: Experiments in Online Church” By Simon Jenkins

The invention of the world wide web has offered society a highly accessible, highly efficient, and very fast way of accessing literally thousands of pages varying from encyclopaedias to virtual worlds. In these worlds we are able to connect to thousands of people from all over the world who have interests in pretending to be a colourful penguin (see club penguin), to attending a church service online. In the article “Rituals and Pixels: Experiments in Online Church”, Simon Jenkins sets out to explore the possibility of genuine online church services, and the pros and cons associated with a virtual church – dubbed “the church of fools”.

The “Church of Fools” was established to create a non-denominational, global, Christian community. The church itself was made to be easily recognisable as church, complete with soaring arcs, stained glass windows and an altar. However, the main issue explored by the creators was whether the experience and community of a virtual church could be as genuine and close as a “real” one. In order to achieve this goal, the creators employed real people of the clergy to conduct the services and gave the many online users the option to visually demonstrate their prayer through gestures such as blessing, crossing and kneeling. Overall, virtual church was a success for those using it for the reasons the creators intended, with many individuals stating that it was just as moving, if not more moving than their “real life” church services.

Despite this, Simon Jenkins also noted that there were many issues with the online church. Firstly, the anonymity of the users was abused, with some using derogatory terms or directing worship towards inappropriate areas of the church (e.g. other users, vending machines). Secondly, there were many attempts made to hack the “Church of Fools” to plant viruses or otherwise shut down the church. Finally, although the church proved to be very popular, due to limited computer capacity there had to be a cap placed on the number of people allowed to enter the church at one time to avoid the systems crashing.

In conclusion, it has been found that a virtual church can provide the same spiritually moving experience and community bond as a “real church”. However, due to the limits of technology and the anonymity of the internet communities such as the “Church of Fools” may be abused by users.

Jenkins, Simon. "Rituals and Pixels: Experiments in Online Church." Online - Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet 3, no. 1 (2008).

SPIRITNET

2010-09-08T11:12:00.003+10:00

Can authentic religious expression be found in a digital medium?

While it can be argued that modern cultural obsessions such as celebrity worship, sport or political fanaticism, or fantasising about Edward Cullen are expressions of religion in some regard; today I plan to focus on the traditionally understood definition of religion to see how religious rituals developed before the technological age can be adapted into a digital medium.

Looking at virtual worlds, it is important to understand that watching an avatar which represents the viewer can provide a compelling experience. Rizzolatti’s discovery that brain activity while watching a task is similar to brain activity while performing the task, shows that 3D worlds like second life should be able to trigger a similar experience to participating in the physical ritual.

I have observed several religious sites in the Second Life world, each of them intricately designed and programmed to allow users to participate in ritual by-proxy. While each of these sites has suffered with the decreased popularity of Second Life, at one time they were all bustling spiritual centres of worship. Large groups of people were able to worship together and build social capital through virtual interactions. While Second Life was full of people exploring the world, these churches received a lot of first time visitors and retained a few regular members. With the reduced popularity of Second Life, there were fewer new visitors and consequently the appeal to the regular members of massive corporate worship was reduced. The social appeal of the church dried up and eventually even the loyal members moved on. These deserted sites stand as quiet monuments to the revival that could have been.

Another approach to online religion is the browser based church. By making the service as accessible as clicking a link, these sites guarantee high numbers of first time visitors, which allows the regular members to feel part of a large corporate experience. This is a more maintainable illusion, but still an illusion.

For the social capital earned in these sites to have a lasting value, the disposable nature must be replaced. Developers of online community games such as World of Warcraft have found that having users work together towards goals can build very strong personal ties while gaining in-world prestige over several years of commitment. Churches wanting to encourage loyalty in both their online and offline congregations need to provide tangible goals for users to work toward in small community groups with internal trust and companionship rewards and progressive external rewards in acknowledgement of successful task completion. These tasks could include activities ranging from raising a set monetary goal for the church, to developing a new online forum or collaborating in gathering signatures for a petition to recognise online churches.

I have only seen limited expressions of this in online churches, but I expect that when religious leaders begin adapting game theory and digital media to promote religious expression the real extent of the potential benefits of digital media for religion will begin to be understood.

Bibliography

Camerer Colin F. Behavioral Game Theory: Experiments in Strategic Interaction [Journal]. - Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2003.

Campbell Spiritualising the Internet [Journal] // Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet. - online : [s.n.], 2005. - 1 : Vol. 1.

Gallese, V; Fadiga, L; Fogassi, L; Rizzolatti, G Action recognition in the Prmotor Cortex [Journal] // Brain. - Oxford : [s.n.], 1991.

Hagström C Playing with Names: Gaming and Naming in World of Warcraft [Journal] // Digital Culture, Play, and Identity. - Massachusetts : Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008.

Helland C Online Religion as Lived Religion [Journal] // Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet. - online : [s.n.], 2005. - 1 : Vol. 1.

Can I wrap that for you? Consumerism and celebrity worship in Rojek's 'Celebrity and Religion'

2010-09-01T22:05:00.009+10:00

By Jessica Hudepohl

Rojek C. 2007. Celebrity and Religion. In S Redmond and S Holmes. Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Celebrity and Religion explores the relationship between fan and celebrity. Rojek investigates what attracts a person to a certain star and offers reasons as to why they begin to worship them. He continues to draw connections between religion and the culture of celebrity through applying Emile Durkheim’s theory of ‘collective effervescence’. Unlike Durkheim, Rojek believes that the importance of religion has not been surpassed by science and an emphasis on rationality, and has instead been restructured around nature and culture. He argues that a similar religious experience can be felt through participation in spectator sports, animal rights, and ecological movements. It is also suggested that “celebrity culture is secular society’s rejoinder to the decline of religion and magic” (173).

Within the first half of this work, Rojek focuses on the mass consumerism of celebrity culture. He discusses the market of celebrity belongings and compares them to the belief in religious relics. Rojek argues that for a fan, these reliquaries reduce the distance between their celebrity and themselves, with some willing to spend large sums of money; auctions regarding President Kennedy’s possessions fetched upwards of $450,000 each item. However, it seems the real money is made after a star dies. Celebrity cemeteries are major tourist attractions, and the owners of these sites have cashed in on this, charging entry fees and offering funeral packages for burial near one’s idol. The homes such as Graceland have become the centre of pilgrimages for the more dedicated fans, and those who owned them reaching supernatural or divine status.

The second half of Celebrity and Religion deals with the religious and/or divine attributes given to the rise, fall, and redemption of celebrities in general. Rojek discusses aspects such as elevation, magic and immortality in relation to the rise of mass media and the influence of the silver screen. Various examples are given surrounding the descent of celebrities and how both the media and star in question were responsible for their downfall. Lastly, Rojek explores the ritualised attempts of celebrity redemption. He argues this process is not always successful, and that the celebrity may never regain the same level of elevation they once experienced.

While recognising that celebrity culture is no substitute for religion, the idea that celebrity idolism maintains aspects of religiosity is successfully explored within this work. Rojek offers an insight into the world of fandom and attempts to explain the social phenomenon that is celebrity worship.

Article Review

2010-08-29T02:01:00.003+10:00

G. A-D.

Mormon Vampires: The Twilight Saga and Religious Literacy by Edwin B. Arnaudin (2008)

This reading is two excerpts from a Master’s thesis. The Literature Review discusses the origins of the Twilight book series and a background of Stephanie Meyer, focussing on her Mormonism. It explains how it is a tenet of Mormonism that creative productions of Mormons reflect Mormon ideals, and it is for this reason that when Meyer denies propagating Mormonism in her text, she is either being naïve and ignorant, or simply lying. Further research into the links between ‘Twilight’s themes and Mormon beliefs present the saga as almost propagandist, actively encouraging abstinence and vilifying sexual women, denying women agency and supporting female submission to their males in frighteningly unequal and disrespectful heterosexual relationships, for example between ‘Bella’ and ‘Edward’.

Arnaudin draws on personal interviews with Meyer, and discusses her upbringing in a Mormon community, making connections from these experiences with Twilight’s ‘Bella’s, such as getting married as a teenager, a common occurrence in Mormon communities.

The Discussion section is on Religious and Mormon Literacy. It discusses the very few explicit references to religious themes, for example when ‘Edward’ claims he “cannot accept evolution”. Arnaudin merely lists the references however fails to contextualise them. For example, vampires in the world of ‘Twilight’ are meant to be the wisest of creatures due to their age, and it is this supremacy that gives Edward the authority to deny evolution, meaning that Meyer is making a very strong statement for creationism, a Mormon belief. However, Arnaudin does make the very legitimate claim that only through a solid knowledge of religious, Mormon literacy, can the series be interpreted for what it really is.

Arnaudin states that it is important that the books be seen for their true nature – propagations of Mormon doctrine. However this statement is left on its own, and would have been much more poignant if supported with a reason as to why. Throughout his thesis, Arnaudin tiptoes around the social damage that he warns against in his conclusion. Perhaps it is a subject for another thesis; however he does himself a disservice by introducing the potential threat so late in the piece, and then failing to support it with theoretical evidence.

The Mediatization of Religion: A theory of the media as agents of religious change, by Stig Hjarvard (2008)

This journal article is a theoretical framework behind how media work as agents of religious change. Hjarvard uses the term ‘mediatization’ to describe the process by which social change subsumes social or cultural fields into the logic of the media. He states that media as a cultural institution becomes a prominent producer of various religious imaginations, as opposed to mere conveyors of presupposed messages of religious institutions.

His general argument is that media work as agents of religious change, not the other way around. He bases this argument on Meyrowitz’s 1993 model: The 3 metaphors of media, which are “media as conduits”: the manner in which media presents messages between senders and receivers, and how media are distributors of religious representation, “media as languages”: the format of the messages sent, and the way they frame the relationship between the sender, the content, and the receiver. As a consequence, the media adjust and mould religious representations to various mediums and genres, and “media as environments”: how media institutions facilitate and structure human interaction and communication.

Hjarvard uses a quantitative survey conducted in Denmark to assess the manner in which people engage with the media in religious contexts, and found that there is a growing majority of people for whom media consumption is their primary engagement with religion or spirituality. There is a marked decrease in participating in institutionalised activities such as attending church.

Hjarvard also explores what he calls ‘banal religion’. It is essentially the symbols and elements of religion that we are exposed to regularly yet have a degree of detachment from their original contexts, for example, the Christian cross is as much a fashion statement as a faith statement in Western couture. This means that we are in a way subliminally exposed to religion constantly which means that when we are overtly exposed to it we may be more accepting of it as our ‘defences are down’ so to speak.

The entire article is very western-centric, something which Hjarvard fails to identify himself as a limitation. It fails to define what particular religious or spiritual material it refers to under the broad term of ‘religion’, leaving one to assume, due to generally western focus that it means the Abrahamic religions. He also, in discussing the survey results, failed to explain what ‘spiritual issues’ the questions referred to. This ambiguity detracts from the validity of the conclusions drawn on peoples’ religious engagement with the media.

Celluloid Savior: Jesus in the Movies, by Jeffrey H. Mahan (2002)

This article discusses the portrayals of Jesus in four films: “The Last Temptation of Christ” (1988), “The Gospel According to St. Matthew” (1966), “The Ten Commandments” (1956) and “King of Kings” (1961), with brief references to other films that also depict Jesus. He compares their different approaches to Jesus, primarily how they explore his ‘humanity’, and the effect of this on the success of the film.

Mahan focuses on “The Last Temptation” as it was the most controversial for Christians of the four films, and says this is because it presented an alternate reality in which Jesus was not the son of God. It was in a kind of dream sequence in which Jesus was given a choice between a ‘normal’ life and living out his divine purpose. He ultimately chooses the latter, which one would have thought an empowering message for Christians, but Mahan fails to explain why this is not the case.

Mahan discusses the problematic nature of interpreting such a well known yet divisive character. He states that merely having a significant subject does not beget a compelling film. To add difficulty, the film also has to be accessible by those with no personal investment in the subject, yet still appeal to those who do; essentially the film must appeal to both believers and non-believers. This is especially difficult to do, he says, with a Protestant audience, who are usually among the most virulent protestors of movies depicting images as it goes against the Biblical teaching regarding graven images.

Mahan points out other difficulties in portraying Jesus, such as the need for ‘harmonising the gospels’, that is, condensing the different books that mention Jesus into one narrative, as well as translating the stories into a narrative that would be enjoyed by modern audiences, who are apparently much more interested in the motivations behind characters than the audience the gospels were originally written for. The claims made by Mahan are superficial and he provides little to no evidence for his assertions of the qualities of a ‘modern audience’, and makes no allowance for cultural difference among them.

Comparison

The Twilight and the Jesus articles both explore the difficulty and divisive nature when presenting religious stories. It is a volatile topic to address through film or text, and is invariably going to insult somebody. However, it also is the recipe for a wildly successful franchise when done in a manner that is “banal” enough to appeal to the masses while offending the least amount of people; a point embodied by the runaway success of the Twilight franchise, especially with the release of the feature films (which occurred after the writing of the article).

This success is also explored in the Mediatization article, when in the results of the survey it discusses the most popular religious or spirituality themed films, such as Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, both of which are increasingly lucrative book to film franchises. It is making religion accessible, while not proselytising to or strongarming audiences that is supporting a consistent and profitable interest in religion in the media.

References
Arnaudin EB. 2008. Mormon Vampires: The Twilight Saga and Religious Literacy. A Master's Paper for the MSc in Library Science, School of Information and Library Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, April, 2008. http://www.ils.unc.edu/MSpapers/3348.pdf (accessed 23rd August, 2010).
Hjarvard S. 2008. The Mediatization of Religion: A Theory of the Media as Agents of Religious Change. Northern Lights. 6,1, 9-16. http://blackboard.elearning.uq.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_/ group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_110412_1%26url%3D (accessed 23rd August, 2010).
Mahan J. 2002. Celluloid Savior: Jesus in the Movies. Journal of Religion and Film, 6, 1, http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/celluloid.htm (accessed 23rd August, 2010).

Critical Essay: Reading Analysis

2010-08-26T20:06:00.000+10:00

Jessica Duncan

The following is a critical examination of three different readings from the first four weeks of the course. I aim to overview each of them, as well as compare them based on their content of information, the clarity of their argument, and the usefulness they provide into understanding more about media, film and religion.

Constructing a Distinct Other: Harry Potter and the Enchantment of the Future
by Ph.D. Pierre Wiktorin

In his article Construction a Distinct Other: Harry Potter and the Enchantment of the Future, Wiktorin aims to prove that “the Harry Potter series could function as a critique or commentary to the ordinary contemporary society.”(Page 1) He continues, “Rowling’s construction of the Wizard world bears resemblance to a distinct Other, which is frequently used by the tourist industry and various religious traditions.” Wiktorin uses the tourist industry as an analogy to discuss the distinct Other early in the article. However, I could not completely understand what was meant by it. As I understand it, he argues that the tourist industry offers the same kind of escape to the fantastical Other that Rowling does in her books. Wiktorin also demonstrates (using various examples from the series) Rowling’s attempt to “hold a mirror up” to British society, highlighting its falsities, hypocrisies and short-comings. Rowling demonstrates her beliefs on society and the Other by portraying characters’ interaction with each other and society. How these characters are represented is key to how Rowling feels about the issues addressed. For example, Lord Voldemort and his allies (Death Eaters) act out the same craving for a pure-blood society (a society that contains witches and wizards with all magical blood) as the Nazis did. The kindest and most highly thought of characters are those who strive for morality, equality and the knowledge of what is right. Because of these representations, Wiktorin argues that the Harry Potter series highlights the plight of the Other, encouraging mutual understanding between race, religion and ethnicity. It also demonstrates correct and valuable moral consistent with, but not exclusive to, religion. Wiktorin provides the least informative article on the media and religion. Whilst Harry Potter is a useful example to use to construct an image of society and the Other, it does not look in depth the series’ religious or spiritual aspects. This article is useful as a groundwork for further exploration into the construct of the Other in society, be it a religious or cultural one.

Culture Industry Reconsidered
by Theodor W. Adorno

In his article, Culture Industry Reconsidered, Adorno offers a clear and concise articulation of the workings of mass media, and how it influences and infiltrates society. Adorno argues that media has an immense power to control the way people think and respond to social issues. The commodification of media leads to an unthinking and uncritical society. One is often feel that Adorno has overestimated the “brainwashing” power of media. He does not take into account the many other influences that construct one’s beliefs and opinions on social (and religious) issues. His article is the only work (in this comparison) not using popular culture to demonstrate its arguments. It does not require this, though refererances to incidences would be helpful (though they would now be somewhat dated). Though this article speaks nothing of religion and its representation in the media, it does effectively give views on how culture is nothing more than a commodity when it comes to the production of mass media. Adorno provides a useful look at the construction of mass media and its interaction with society. Knowing Adorno’s opinions on the various facets of media, one has the ability to form an understanding of religion’s place in a world of media. A correct understanding of the media is essential in order to appropriately assess its role in the representation of religion.

Religion, Philosophy, and convergence culture online: ABC’s Lost as a study of the process of mediatization
by Lynn Schofield Clark

Schofield Clark’s aim in this article is further prove Henry Jenkins’ argument “that online fan discussions contribute to ‘collective intelligence’ that then feeds into the creative processes of the media industries”(Page 143) using Lost as an example. According to Schofield Clark, mediatization “refers to both the process by which social organization, structures or industries take on the form of the media, and the processes by which genres of popular culture become central to the narratives of social phenomena.”(Page 146) A television programme with as many religious, spiritual and philosophical references as Lost warrants analysis, though can be quite an overwhelming task. Some may argue, as Schofield Clark does, that these references, and the discussion stemming from them, create not only knowledge of religion and philosophy, but tolerance and understanding also. This programme also an efficient example of the new styles of mediatization. Once, slight religious references and doctrines were found in children’s fantasy novels like Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia. Now, religion and philosophy is invading the online world, encourage people to discuss and share their knowledge of religion. Lost perfectly promotes this through the religious subtext of the programme. Schofield Clark does well at attempting to provide simple arguments and explanations to a subject (Lost) which is often incredibly confusing. Although I have never watched Lost, it did give me an understanding of the religious aspects of the programme, as well as its attempt to bring religion, spirituality and philosophy to the masses through media.

Religious Reviews of "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

2010-08-26T19:20:00.004+10:00

by Olivia Nowland

Introduction
Although it is not always apparent, religious and spiritual discourses are frequently being marketed, and thus constantly permeate, pop-culture (Lynch, 2005). Film is no exception to this saturation of religious content, in fact, religion quite often shapes or features aspects of the storyline and the characters. The following essay will review two films that have major religious influences: Adamson’s (2005) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and Jennings’ (2005) The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It will review these films under the threefold model presented by Martin (1995) to examine religion in film: theological critique, mythological critique and ideological critique. In order to put the films into context, first, a brief overview will be given of the storylines.

Synopses
The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe (Adamson, 2005) follows the story of four children; Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy during the second World War. The children are moved to the country for their safety and whilst they are there, they find a doorway into another world, ruled by the ‘evil’ white witch. Edmund betrays his siblings in support of the white witch, but eventually realises he has made a mistake. Aslan (a lion and creator of Narnia) offers himself in place of Edmund for sacrifice. However, he comes back to life and eventually defeats the white witch.
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (Jennings, 2005) tells the story of Arthur Dent who, after the Earth is destroyed, literally hitchhikes his way around the galaxy with alien companions. The movie focuses around the group finding the answer to “life, the universe and everything”, and the strange encounters they have along the way. It is important to note that The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is socially satirical in nature, and while it provides the writer’s attitudes towards religion, it was not designed to educate (Gee, 2005).

Theological Critique
The theological critique stems from the writers/directors want to position the audience to uncover a specific theological schema such as; the battle of good and evil, redemption or peace (Martin, 1995; Nolan, 2003). Furthermore, by examining a film using the theological critique, the audience is also encouraged to extrapolate religious stories (Nolan, 2003).
The battle of good and evil, and theme of redemption are particularly prevalent themes in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. The obvious battle is between the children and Aslan against the white witch. However, this movie also presents the more subtle battle between calm (represented by the return of regular seasons and peace between creatures) and chaos (where Narnia is winter all the time “but never Christmas”(Adamson, 2005), and all the animals are suspicious of one another), a theme which is consistent throughout Judeo-Christian theology (e.g. Joshua 3). Redemption is explored through Edmund, after he has gained Aslan’s forgiveness and Aslan sacrifices himself in Edmunds place.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy does note lend itself to theological criticism. In fact, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy promotes an atheistic and satirical outlook on religion. Despite this, themes theological criticisms are still present. As in most movies, there is the theme of good vs. evil. As well as this, a creation narrative also makes an appearance, the movie stating that: in the beginning the universe as created, however, “this was regarded by many as a bad move”. Although The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy casts an unbelief over religion, it still communicates theological messages in order to make its point.

Mythological Critique
Mythological critique is used to examine the use of religious myth and/or epic journey’s of the characters. Martin (1995) argues that the mythology of a culture reveals their foundational beliefs, he also recognises three major stages in the mythological storyline; the separation, the initiation and the return.
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is no exception the mythological critique. The characters of this story go on an epic journey, where they are separated from their own world, initiated as kings and queens in the new world, and then return home when they have done their jobs as heroines/heroes. The myth of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe draws a direct parallel to the story of Jesus, revealing the belief system and message of the original story teller, C.S. Lewis (Christian-Fandom, 2006).
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, also follows the pattern of separation, initiation and return. The adventurers go on the quest for the meaning of life, and are given the answer ‘42’. After encountering many obstacles, they discover that the answer is within them and are then able to continue their lives, somewhat, normally.

Ideological Critique
The ideological critique focuses on the way religion shapes how the storyline continues/character acts, ultimately working towards “ideological ends”(Martin, 1995, p. 11).
Both movies work towards ideological ends, ultimately letting the character’s realise what they are capable of, as well as what they should work towards. The characters in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe work towards a peaceful Narnia using Christian values (such as selflessness and forgiveness) to aid them.
Despite The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, atheistic undertones, the characters are ultimately working toward ideological ends as well. On top of this, they are also working towards the goal of many religions, the meaning of life. Following Martin’s (1995, p. 10) argument, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy both shapes and is shaped by religion.

Conclusion
In summary, it has been found that aspects of religion permeate film, even in circumstances where the film does not attempt to relay the message of a particular religion. By using Martin’s (1995) model for analysing film and religion, these influences can be extrapolated and categorised into three distinct groups; theological, mythological and ideological. Through an understanding of religion’s influence on film and film’s influence on religion a deeper understanding can be gained about the storylines and character’s influences in Hollywood.

Reference List

Adamson, A. (Writer). (2005). The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. In A. Adamson (Producer). USA/UK: Walt Disney Pictures.

Christian-Fandom. (2006, November 2006). The Lion the Witch and the Wardobe (2005), 2010, from http://www.christian-fandom.org/fantasy/wardrobe05.html

Gee, H. (2005). Proof of Faith? Nature News. doi: 0.1038/news050425-7

Jennings, G. (Writer). (2005). The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In D. Adams, T. Arnow, G. Barber, R. Birnbaum, D. Evans, J. Glickman, N. Goldsmith, C. Hewitt, J. Roach, R. Rudd & R. Stamp (Producer). USA/UK: Touchstone Pictures.

Joshua(?). (N.A.). Joshua The Holy Bible. N.A.

Lynch, G. (2005). Understanding Theology and Popular Culture. Carlton: Blackwell Publishing.

Martin, J. W. (1995). Screening the Sacred: Religion, Myth and Ideology in Popular American Film. Boulder.

Nolan, S. (2003). Towards a New Religious Film Criticism: Film to Undestand Religious Identity Rather than Locate Cinematic Analogue. In J. Mitchell & S. Marriage (Eds.), Mediating Religion: Conversations in Media, Reigion and Culture. London: T & T Clark.

Mediatisation in Religion

2010-08-26T13:44:00.001+10:00

Nidean Dickson

Media and popular culture have a significant influence on contemporary society. This essay will address the unification of religion and media that has formulated a causal shift towards ‘lived religion’ that correlates a binding relationship between the sacred and the secular, evident in the religiosity of the television series Lost. By converging the media and religious culture, individuals are able to actively engage in collective intelligence allowing the public to form a religious identity through mediatisation. The incorporation of texts, symbolism and practices within popular mediums allows for the audience to understand and relate to religious culture. Furthermore, the ideology of human agency explicitly identifies the interconnectedness between religion and the media. Integrating religion within the media transforms the sacred to the profane through isolated encounters in everyday experiences.

Lived religion in conjunction with mediatisation identifies the significance of the relationship between media and religion in social spheres through popular mediums. Firstly, Hoover (2006, p.55) defines lived religion “...that is, religion as experienced in everyday life, [that] offers a model for integrating the official, the popular, and the therapeutic modes of religious identity.” Religious identity is formed through popular mediums such as television which plays in inherent role in the collaboration of collective intelligence (Barna & Hatch, 2005). Clarke (2008, p.145) argues the impact of popular culture to the mediatisation of religion in the following extract:

Popular culture may contribute to the mediatisation of religion not only because religion and philosophy are increasingly represented in media or are increasingly discussed in our collective lives as a result of fan activities, but because through public online forums, people come to recognise and act within certain norms when it comes to religion or philosophy.

Thus, mediatisation of religion highlights the importance of the relationship between religion and culture regarding the oppositions of secularisation and the sacred. The emerging growth of technology from the 20th Century forward opened up the communication barrier that broke down the secular scope of society transforming the ideology of the public through several mediums such as the internet and television (Beckerlegge, 2001). This is corroborated by Hjarvard (2006) who states that “…the media facilitates changes in the amount, content and direction of religious messages in society, at the same time as they transform religious representations and challenge and replace the authority of the institutional religions.” The convergence of religion within the public sphere through mediatisation is explicitly represented through the identification of religious symbolism that develops a significant meaning for the audience which is exemplified through the television series Lost.

The incorporation of recognisable symbolism and religious connotations within Lost, encapsulates the essence of religious elements that are intrinsically taught through popular culture mediums. Religious undertones are evident either explicitly or implicitly in several aspects of society’s culture. Often this is due to the fact that “…religions strive to find adequate ways to represent (and also retain) in a symbolic form that which they hold to be a timeless, infinite and supernatural” (Beckerlegge, 2001, p.1). Lost includes several references to varying world religions inclusive of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism and Hinduism. Several religious references are inherent in Lost, from simple character analysis such as the names of characters, to the image of characters performing rituals including baptism and confession. Less specifically, numbers are used to highlight important elements of religions such as 108 as a depiction of the 108 mala beads Buddhists wear, and the number 23 as a relevant number to the scriptures in Christianity. Several explicit images are also incorporated into the series such as the wheel of Enlightenment in the Dharma Initiative, statues of Christian images and the placement of recognisable religious symbols at the forefront of various scenes. Clark (2008, p.159) highlights the significance of the inclusion of all these elements in the following statement:

First, programmes like Lost evoke religious symbolism and narratives within contexts that are outside the bounds of what is normally considered ‘religious’; by reframing traditional religious symbols and narratives within these new contexts, they create a means by which to understand religion through the lens of popular culture.

Hence, by incorporating religious undertones within Lost, the series provides an opportunity for the audience to develop an understanding of religion and religious diversity. It is argued that popular culture “…is indisputably the most extensive and influential theological training system in the world” (Mattingly, 2005, p. xxi).” As a result, the positive implications of incorporating religious connotations within a popular medium such as television, strongly influences the religious tolerance and understanding of the public sphere by breaking down the theoretical framework into a common ideology.

Human agency in conjunction with the internet allows audience members to actively engage with religious worlds as a derivative of the television series Lost. The coexistence of religion and popular culture provided by several mediums develops a relationship that forces religion to regulate popular culture evoking spiritual self determination (Possamai, 2005). This is inherent in human agency as Bandura (1989, p.1175) argues that “among the mechanisms of personal agency, none is more central or pervasive than people’s beliefs about their capabilities to exercise control over events.” By analysing the collective intelligence that emerged from Lost viewers, the impact of human agency is identified through internet forums and blogs that engage the audience in discussions surrounding the philosophical and religious content within the series, as well as playing a minor role in the outcome of future episodes. Newman (1996, p.6) identifies the impact of television in the mediatisation of religion by stating that “…television is beginning to usurp a role which until recently has been the role of the Church- to shape our system of values, embody our faith and express our cultural essence.” Due to the several religious references incorporated in Lost which contributed to the engagement through human agency by audience members, “…Lost was proclaimed a triumph of the Internet age…relying upon theories that suggest popular culture may provide common ground across differences of nature, culture, and religion” (Clark, 2008, p.157). As a result, human agency allows individuals to actively engage through popular culture in religious and philosophical worlds which significantly contributes to the mediatisation of religion by identifying the intimate relationship between religion and the media, representative of the collective intelligence of Lost via the internet.

In modernity, religion and popular culture are inherently interconnected through several mediums of media such as television and internet. This relationship transforms the secular and the sacred through the concept of lived religion that explicitly includes religious undertones in the everyday, instigating the influence of religion in popular culture and vice versa. As a derivative of this intimate relationship, several key elements in the television series Lost are vital to the breakdown of theoretical frameworks to develop a deeper understanding of religious ideologies for the public sphere by implementing identifiable symbols, texts and rituals within several religions. In turn, this allows audience members to actively engage with the series and religion through online blogs and forums that regulate discussions which develop both a tolerance and understanding of religions in society. By incorporating an interconnected relationship between religion and culture through a television series, it is evident that the impact of the series on the public sphere through the internet clearly identifies the emerging ideology of mediatisation in religion.

Bibliography

Bandura, A 1989, ‘Human Agency in Social Cognitive Theory’, American Psychologist, vol.44, no. 9, pp. 1175-1184.

Barna, A & Hatch, M 2005, Boiling Point: Monitoring Cultural Shifts in the 21st Century, Regal, California.

Beckerlegge, G (ed.) 2001, From Sacred to the Internet, The Open University, United Kingdom.

Clark, LS 2008, ‘Religion, Philosophy and Religious Convergence Online: ABC’s Lost as a Study of the Process of Medatisation’, Northern Lights, vol.6, pp. 143-163.

Hjarvard, S 2006, ‘The Mediatisation of Religion: A Theory of the Media as an Agent of Religious Change’, Paper presented at the 5th International Conference on Media, Religion and Culture, Uppsala, 6-8 July.

Hoover, SM 2006, Religion in the Media Age, Routledge, London.

Mattingly, T 2005, Pop Goes Religion: Faith in Popular Culture, W Publishing Group, Nashville.

Newman, J 1996, Religion Vs Television: Competitions in Cultural Context, Praeger, Westport.

Possamai, A 2005, Religion and Popular Culture, P.I.E Peter Lang, Belgium.

Jesus of Hollywood: Christ at the movies.

2010-08-26T12:45:00.004+10:00

By Tom Hinchliffe

In the late 1980s two films presented Jesus in ways that challenge traditional religious representations. The Last Temptation of Christ, directed by Martin Scorsese, attempted to show Jesus in an existential light, succumbing to earthly temptation. In Denys Arcand’s Jesus of Montreal, the narrative takes shape around a controversial passion play staged by its main Christ-like protagonist. Both movies steer clear of religious dogma and emphasize the humanity and anti-authoritarian message of Jesus. In different ways, both highlight the tension between religious authority and spiritual expression in the media. While Jesus of Montreal deals with the subject in its plot, the reaction from institutionalized religions to The Last Temptation of Christ testify to the power of media as popular presentations of religious imagery.

The treatment of Jesus on film must be understood in the context of a wider process of the mediatization of religion (Hjarvard 2008). Hjarvard identifies this process as the way in which traditional religious messages and representations are shaped by – and come to depend upon - modern media (2008: 13,24). Film has come to be a powerful medium in communicating the narrative of the gospels – as far back as the 1960s the Vatican acknowledged religious films “had taken on the former function of large frescoes and sculptures” (Grace 2009: 3). While the Vatican had considerable influence over the content of religious frescoes in the past, it is powerless to control modern cinematic representations of religion. Instead, it is up to filmmakers to negotiate the difficulties in adapting the narrative and symbolism of biblical texts to the structural, cultural and symbolic contexts of modern cinema (Mahan 2002). Religious authorities are left only to praise or condemn.

From the beginning, the biggest dilemma filmmakers have faced is balancing the divine and human aspects of Jesus (2002). Early depictions in cinema tended to “focus on Jesus’ divinity at the expense of his humanity” (Mahan 2002: 5). However, this perspective was increasingly challenged by the genre demands of film. Audiences look for motivation and empathy and from the 1960s, increasingly found it as directors sought to inject more humanity into their presentations of Jesus. Scorsese’s Jesus, played by Willem Dafoe, constantly displays his human weaknesses, and shows self-doubt about his divinity.

The release of The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988 was the realisation of Martin Scorsese’s decade long attempt to bring Nikos Kazantzaki’s novel to the screen. Kazantzaki portrays Jesus struggling, as did Kazantzaki himself, “between the spirit and the flesh” (Kazantzaki, quoted in Taubeneck 2007: 111). Scorsese continues this dualism in the film. Jesus is constantly torn between worldly and spiritual concerns, oscillating between a message of love and that of the axe. Scorsese uses cinematic devices to alternatively invite intimacy between the protagonist and the viewer, and suggest a more reverential perspective (Snee 2003: 53). In these moments of intimacy viewers are positioned by Scorsese’s manipulation of the medium to experience the spiritual struggle of Jesus (Snee 2003: 60).

Religious organizations were quick to condemn The Last Temptation of Christ, and protestations began years before the film was released (Bakker 2009: 37). Although Scorsese himself was a practising Christian and described making the film as “my way of worshiping”, conservative Christians saw his vision as blasphemous and distressing. Despite the disclaimer at the beginning of the film that the plot is not based on the gospels, The Last Temptation of Christ appears to have been judged on its departures from the Bible. The reaction attests to the anxiety of religious institutions – and many religious practitioners - towards the mediatization of religious narratives.
The conflict over popular depictions of biblical narrative is dealt with directly in Jesus of Montreal. Set in the urban landscape of Montreal, the plot revolves around the actor Daniel, asked to stage a modernised passion play by the local priest, Leclerc. Increasingly drawn to the immateriality, universal morality and humanity in the preaching of Jesus, Daniel creates a contemporary production that includes several controversial theories that emphasises Jesus’ human origins. Despite, or perhaps, because of the play’s success, Leclerc vehemently opposes the production, and tries in vain to stop the performances. As Daniel’s life becomes more interwoven with his subject, Father Leclerc and the ecclesiastical authorities come to resemble Jesus’ own hypocritical and materialistic accusers, the Romans. When they descend on the crucifixion scene in the third play, the tension explodes between the receptive audience and the censoring religious authorities. In the ensuing chaos, Daniel falls under the cross and suffers a fatal head injury.

Intentionally or not, Arcand parallels the censoring of the word of Jesus with that of the media. The spiritual freedom the group of actors experience through exploring the radical aspects of Jesus’ sermons allows the audience to empathise and identify with a demystified Jesus. In stark contrast, the rigid dogma and censorship of Leclerc shatters this personal connection to the religious material. Leclerc exemplifies the institutional anxiety to control religious representations in the media. By focusing on the radical humanism of Jesus, which rejects institutionalised authority in favour of personal salvation, Scorsese and Arcand “undermine the authority of institutionalised religion” (Taubeneck 2007: 24). At the same time, by contemporizing the spiritual struggle at the core of the message of Jesus, they “may further a re-sacrilization of society” (Taubeneck 2007: 24). They do so by using the medium of film to project radical but sympathetic portrayals of Jesus.

References.
Bakker, Freek L. 2009. The Challenge of the Silver Screen: An Analysis of the Cinematic Portraits of Jesus, Rama, Buddha, and Muhammad. Leiden: Brill.
Grace, Pamela. 2009. The Religious Film: Christianity and the Hagiopic. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Hjarvard, Stig. 2008. ‘The Mediatization of Religion: A theory of the media as agents of religious change’. In Northern Lights. Vol. 6: 9-26.
Mahan, Jeffrey H. 2002. ‘Celluloid Savior: Jesus in the Movies’. In Journal of Religion and Film. Vol. 6. No. 1: 1-39.
Taubeneck, Steven. 2007. ‘The Existential Turn: Refiguring Christ from Kazantzakis to Scorsese’. In Jesus in Twentieth Century Literature, Art, and Movies. Paul C. Burns, ed. New York: Continuum.

‘Lost’ in Translation: The Mediatisation of Religion in Television

2010-08-26T12:17:00.002+10:00

Nidean Dickson

The inherent nature of religion and philosophy within popular culture formulates the concept of mediatisation which Lynn Clark explicitly explores in ABC’s television series, Lost. Clark explores the mediatisation of religion by incorporating the ideology of collective intelligence to influence the way media and popular culture are affected by religious subtext. This is identified by exploring several elements within the show surrounding the plot lines, including character analysis, explicit and implicit symbolism and underlying religious themes. A vast amount of the religious and philosophical observations in the series were discussed at lengths in thousands of forums which encourages a common understanding of religious, cultural and spiritual awareness across towns, countries and continents as a direct influence from the media. Thus, the mediatisation of religion within Lost provides knowledge for difference highlighting certain ideologies that are easily accepted or known, as well as initiating the opportunity for other religious customs and rituals to be openly discussed by the public.

Clarke (2008, p.145) aims to “argue that popular culture may contribute to the mediatisation of religion not only because religion and philosophy are increasingly represented in media or are increasingly discussed in our collective lives as a result of fan activities, but because through public online forums, people come to recognise and act within certain norms when it comes to religion or philosophy.” This is corroborated by Hjarvard (2006, p.5) who states that “the media facilitates changes in the amount, content and direction of religious messages in society, at the same time as they transform religious representations and challenge and replace the authority of the institutional religions.” Evidently, a simple search within the internet database around Lost provides a variety of blogs, forums and discussion boards based around the theories and evolutions, discoveries and themes interpreted by the audience members.
The article identifies several symbolic gestures in regards to various world religions that are evident in the show. The majority of the article comprises of direct examples taken from Lost which strongly reiterates the religious symbolism within context. Amongst the many religious references are several others which bloggers discussed, however, the closing scenes of the series subtly summarised the incorporation of religion within Lost through the imagery of recognisable religious symbols.

It is evident, that this article clearly identifies the significance of the intimate relationship between religion and popular culture. Popular culture in Lost developed an understanding and awareness for various religions evoking recognisable symbolism by incorporating historical religious events into a modern context. This allows religion to seep into society outside fundamental institutions and groups, therefore exemplifying the mediatisation of religion.

Reference List
Clark, LS 2008, ‘Religion, philosophy and religious convergence online: ABC’s Lost as a study of the process of mediatisation’, Northern Lights, vol.6, pp.143-160.
Hjarvard, S, 2006,’The Mediatisation of Religion: A theory of the media as an agent of religious change’, paper presented to the 5th International Conference on Media, Religion and Culture, Uppsala, 6-8 July.

Film Review on Le Grand Voyage and The Kite Runner

2010-08-26T08:47:00.002+10:00

A film review on Le Grand Voyage and The Kite Runner

This film review examines how Islam is portrayed in Le Grand Voyage and The Kite Runner, against the backdrop of increasing globalisation, namely through the process of migration and modernisation.

Le Grand Voyage is a French film chronicling the journey undertaken by a father and his son, Reda, to the Muslim holy city of Mecca. Reda has to drive his father from the south of France, where they live, to Mecca. Although most people would travel by air to go for their pilgrimage to Mecca, Reda’s father insists that they travel by car, because it will be purer and more blessed, as seen in the following exchange:

Reda: Why didn't you fly to Mecca? It's a lot simpler.
Father: When the waters of the ocean rise to the heavens, they lose their bitterness to become pure again...
Reda: What?
Father: The ocean waters evaporate as they rise to the clouds. And as they evaporate they become fresh. That's why it's better to go on your pilgrimage on foot than on horseback, better on horseback than by car, better by car than by boat, better by boat than by plane.

The story in The Kite Runner, on the other hand, unfolds through the eyes of Amir, an established writer in San Francisco, originally from Afghanistan. Through flashbacks, the story spans the lives of two boys, Amir and Hassan, who live in Afghanistan in the late 1970’s. Amir lives with his father, who is a rich merchant, and Hassan is the son of the house servant, Ali. The relationship between Amir and his father is close, and they are portrayed as the upper-class family in Afghanistan. Hassan and his father, Ali, are also close, but are portrayed as more religious than Amir and his father. In both families, the absence of their mothers only intensifies the strong father figure that is central not only in the movie, but also in Islam, where the males take on leadership roles and family responsibilities.

Both films explore the father-son relationship, amidst the political, social, or economic changes that surround them. In Le Grand Voyage, the relationship between Reda and his father is strained due to the generation gap and the modernity that envelops Reda. Being exposed to Western culture and thinking–– he is in jeans and shirt, is irreligious, and has a non-Muslim girlfriend, Reda is contrasted sharply with his father, through their dressing and their differing thoughts and ideas. The relationship is cold at first, but just like the thawing of the snow in the picturesque landscape that spans the film, their relationship improves with Reda understanding more about his father and his religious beliefs.
The clash in personalities between Reda and his father can be attributed to the concept of mass migration that results in identity creation. This is best summed up by Butt and Wohlmut (2006):

Mass migrations and the resulting diaspora are not new, but the ability to maintain a cohesive cultural identity detached from place (as fostered by the new media) is.

This explains why Reda, having raised in southern France, finds it difficult to understand his traditional father, who refuses to speak to Reda in French but Moroccan-Arabic. He later finds out that his father, in fact, can speak fluent French and realises that he converses in Arabic to Reda in order to preserve the culture. In The Kite Runner, despite living in San Francisco for many years, Amir converses with his father in Dari, the language spoken in Afghanistan. Amir shows much reverence and respect to his father, compared to Reda, who does not understand why his father has to speak in Arabic.

With regard to the issue of mass migration and its effects, as explored in both films, Appadurai (1996) highlights that ‘story of mass migrations (voluntary and forced) is hardly a new feature of human history. But when it is juxtaposed with the rapid flow of mass-mediated images, scripts, and sensation, we have a new order of instability in the production of modern subjectivities.’ From this, we see how the world is no longer confined to homogenised societies. The public spheres are no longer limited to a homogenised group of people living in one particular country, but extends to communities of people who were originally from other countries. In effect, the newly-formed communities ‘create diasporic public spheres, phenomena that confound theories that depend on the continued salience of the nation-state as the key arbiter of important social changes’ (Appadurai, 1996).

Similarly, according to Butt and Wohlmut (1996), ‘the increasing rate of disappearance of real world cultures appears to leave room for the formation of imagined cultures. As increasing globalisation puts the pressure of a certain degree of conformity on all cultures, questions of the construction of identity arise’.

Based on Butt and Wohlmut’s ‘construction of identity’, the concept of Islamic identity is also explored in both films. In Le Grand Voyage, Reda’s father is depicted as a strong, paternal figure, who is stately and religious. He is always seen performing the salah or prayer, while Reda looks on with apathy. In contrast, Amir, in The Kite Runner, is seen praying at the mosque while his father is not portrayed as the religious type. Hassan and his father, on the other hand, pray together, showing how vastly different they are from Amir and his father. This highlights how modernisation can affect one’s lifestyle––Amir’s father puts on coat and tie, drinks liquor, and has an American-made car.

From these two films, we see how secularisation affects the migrant Muslim communities in the world. With secularisation, Islamic culture and religion are affected, and the construction of identity takes on a different course as the communities, especially the younger generations, try to embrace the secular nature of the nation-state (for example, Turkey and France) and at the same time, maintain their religious obligations. Whatever form secularisation assumes, the fundamentals of Islam are clearly spelt out––especially the five pillars of practice in Islam.

Out of the five pillars of practice in Islam, both films highlight different practices in Islam, and what is prohibited in Islam. In Le Grand Voyage, three out of the five pillars are shown - prayer, almsgiving, and pilgrimage. In The Kite Runner, the Taliban are seen as fundamentalists, with their draconian way of punishing those who are caught committing adultery. In one scene, a man and a woman are pelted to death by the Taliban. This scene might be perceived as unreal by many, but in fact, resonates truth in certain countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan, where syariah or Muslim laws are upheld. Stoning the adulterer does portray Islam in an unfavourable light––and it makes people question, ‘If Allah is All-forgiving and All-merciful, why then is this inhumane and terrible punishment necessary?’

In both films, the issue of alcohol drinking in Islam is explored. Le Grand Voyage portrays how Mustapha, a character who helps them at the Syrian-Turkish border and hitches a ride with them to Mecca, convinces Reda that drinking beer is acceptable, as long as his good deeds are enough to cloud this little ‘sin’. Mustapha quotes a Sufism saying:

Let me tell you a story. Someone asked a Sufi master who drank wine whether alcohol is forbidden in Islam. The Sufi master answered, ‘It depends on the greatness of your soul. Pour a glass of wine into a basin of water, and the water changes colour. But pour the same glass of wine into the sea, the sea’s appearance remains unchanged.

Those viewers who are not well-versed with Islam would think that this is true, but in truth, it is not. While once upon a time, drinking wine was permitted in Islam, it is no longer permissible now. Such misrepresentation of Islam might lead to misinterpretation, but the reliability of Mustapha is questioned when he supposedly scoots off with their money.

In The Kite Runner, Amir points out to his father that drinking alcohol is a sin, as taught by the mullahs, Islamic religious teachers. His father vehemently replies that the only sin is theft and explains how other transgressions are ‘a variation of theft’ by giving examples such as these––When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness. What these two scenes reflect is how certain individuals distort the truth by rationalising their acts with all sorts of excuses.

Islamic symbols are also presented in both films in the form of the tasbih, which comprises 99 rosary beads, the mosque, the prayer book, and the taqiyah, a short rounded cap used by Muslim men, while lesser-known rituals such as the tayammum (using sand, instead of water for ablution), and bathing the dead are also shown. In Le Grand Voyage, the Hagia Sophia is briefly mentioned, but what it symbolises is the historical journey from being a church to a mosque, and then a museum now.

In both films, the concept of the journey or voyage is presented in a symbolic ways––the journey transcends the geographical terrain as it embodies the journey within, which is of spirituality. The protagonists of both films develop their character and learns a powerful lesson about the power of faith. Reda finally gives alms to an old beggar woman on the street, and Amir redeems his guilt by going back to Afghanistan and facing the Taliban to rescue Hassan’s son.

In terms of complexity of themes, The Kite Runner explores a whole range of issues, be it political, social, or historical. It juxtaposes the binaries in the real world – rich versus poor, religious versus irreligious, cowardice versus bravery, traditional versus modern, and many more. It is also more emotionally charged because it explores the oppression of the Hazaras, the effects of childhood trauma, and the blind but endearing loyalty of Hassan to Amir.

In conclusion, both films have managed to successfully present the current challenges faced by the Muslim communities around the world, especially those 80% which are found outside of Saudi Arabia. Globalisation, mass migration, and modernisation have indeed affected how Muslims lead their lives in the Western world, reflecting the constant struggle to maintain the Islamic identity, and at the same time, embracing the secularised world.

References

Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization: University of Minnesota Press.

Butt, M., & Wohlmut, K. (2006). The Thousand Faces of Xena: Transculturality through Multi-Identity. In Gentz, N and Kramer,S. Eds, Globalization, Cultural Identities and Media Representation. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Ferroukhi, I. (Director). (2004). Le Grand Voyage [Motion picture]. Pyramide Distribution.

Forster, M. (Director). (2007). The Kite Runner [Motion picture]. Paramount Home Entertainment.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural: Confronting the Inherent Evil?

2010-08-26T00:06:00.000+10:00

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural are two highly successful television shows that have embraced the supernatural, both use representations of flesh and blood demons to answer questions about good and evil and the inner struggle of right versus wrong. The supernatural is no longer confined to the metaphysical world, rather vampires, werewolves and demons, through the use of highly sophisticated media products are as tangible and alive as human beings, the “supernatural [now] appear[s] natural” (Hjarvard, 2008, p9). Each show demonstrates at different points that within the black and white good versus evil fight, there are also shades of grey which are expressed in the re evaluation of specific vampire characters in episodes ‘Potential’ and ‘Bloodlust’

Buffy the Vampire Slayer follows the story of Buffy Summers, a school aged Californian blonde who has a sacred calling, as the one and only chosen one, to slay vampires and demons. Vampires in ‘Buffy’ are constructed as “soulless demons devoid of goodness and humanity” (Stevens, nd, online), they have no conscience and simply are incapable of caring for the worth of human life or feeling remorse. This generalized representation of an evil soulless vampire is directly juxtaposed against two vampire characters who, over the course of the series, gain their human souls back. This antithesis is a common theme throughout the series, and is consistently re-evaluated in terms of the embodiment that evil presents, and the inherent goodness predisposed in a character with a soul. Angel starts the series as an anomaly in the vampire world, he has a soul and feels the pain of remorse and deep irrevocable shame of the atrocities he committed whilst his inner demon was in control. Spike however actively seeks to regain his soul, battles to have it returned to make him the man he was. It is in season seven in the episode titled ‘ Beneath You’ that Buffy learns that Spike has regained his soul and with that knowledge comes a reevaluation of Spike’s vampire character. This becomes evident in the episode ‘Potential’ in season seven when Giles returns to find the Spike has been given free unsupervised reign amongst young girls, to which Buffy replies;
“It’s different now, he has a soul.” (Season Seven, Episode: Potential).
Buffy believes that the presence of Spike’s soul is cause for a total reevaluation of his character, that his actions now are a result of an ensouled being consciously choosing right over wrong. Whereas previously, he was a creature who had no hold on humanity and whilst inherently evil was also not responsible for his actions as he had no agency to choose another path of action.

The TV show Supernatural is constructed differently to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy has a sacred calling in which vampires feature predominantly as the enemy evil, whereas Supernatural follows two brothers who hunt different evils in every episode, or ‘town’ they visit, that borrow from religions, lore, legends and urban myths from across the globe (Engstrom & Valenzano, 2010, online). Dean and Sam Winchester travel in Dean’s black Chevy Impala across North America seeking the supernatural and eradicating it. In season two they come across a vampire nest in a small American town in the episode ‘Bloodlust’. Dean meets another hunter, Gordon and they both revel in a ‘devil may care’ attitude towards the things they hunt. A quote from Gordon in the episode sums it up quite well as he talks to Dean about why he loves the hunting life;
“It's all black and white. There's no maybe. Find the bad thing, kill it. You see, most people spend their lives in shades of gray. "Is this right, is that wrong?" Not us.” (Season Two, Episode: Bloodlust).
In this episode Dean learns his assumptions and his life aren’t always right and is forced to question some of his convictions in regards to his black and white perceptions of good and evil. The following dialogue between brothers Sam and Dean demonstrates this conflict;
“Dean: What part of "vampires" don’t you understand, Sam? If it’s supernatural, we kill it. End of story. That’s our job.
Sam: No, Dean, that’s not our job. Our job is hunting evil. And if these things aren’t killing people, then they’re not evil!” (Season Two, Episode: Bloodlust).
The vampires in question have chosen not to drink from and kill humans; rather they consume animals, not unlike the Twilight Saga’s famed ‘vegetarian’ diet of its main vampire family, the Cullens (Stevens, nd, online). The exploration of the embodiment of evil plays a significant role in this saga. Where one brother (Dean) may think that the physical character of a supernatural being defines its inherent good/evil, the other brother (Sam) forcefully opposes this view. This is contrasted directly with Sams’ need to regard the inner character as displayed by its respective actions. A similar view is echoed in Buffy, as aforementioned in her dealings with Spike, dependent on the presence of his soul.

Both ‘Potential’ of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and ‘Bloodlust’ of Supernatural question the concepts of what is inherently evil in the supernatural world. In ‘Potential’ Giles is aghast to learn that Buffy has released Spike, but she believes wholeheartedly in his soul and his redemption. In ‘Bloodlust’ Dean struggles with questioning his conviction in the inherent evil of vampires which shakes his world but he ultimately believes in the hard right versus the evil wrong and comes to a new understanding of evil. In both depictions choice is privileged, the soulless Spike didn’t possess any humanity which meant he lacked the agency to act in a humane way and therefore lacked choice. However when he regains his soul he is able to actively and consciously chooses good over and therefore loses the inherent concept of evil that comes with being a vampire. The vampire nest that Dean and Sam encounter choose not to prey on humans, instead finding their sustenance from the local livestock population and wildlife, therefore through choice these vampires also do not fit the stereotypical evilness inherent in vampires.

References:
Engstrom E and JM Valenzano III. 2010. Demon Hunters and Hegemony: Portrayal of Religion on the CW's Supernatural. Journal of Media and Religion. 9, 2, 67-83.

Hjarvard S. 2008. The Mediatization of Religion: A Theory of the Media as Agents of Religious Change. Northern Lights. 6,1, 9-16.

Stevens K. nd. Meet the Cullens: Family, Romance and Female Agency in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight. Slayage 8.1 (29). Online. Retrieved from: http://www.slayageonline.com/essays/slayage29/Stevens.htm