Religion, globalisation and popular music

Presentation by Leah Aspinall

The article Introduction, Special issue on religion, globalisation and popular music, edited by Lynn Schofield Clark provides an introduction to the world of music, where it has come from, to where it is today, paying particular attention to religion, globalisation and music as a popular cultural form.

Music, Clark says is a cultural form that has a very unique role in the maintenance and change of religion across the world. The article suggests that music originally came from different cultures and traveled across distances to new locations giving those separated from their homeland a link through music that many religious acts couldn’t deliver. However as the article goes on this is no longer the case as music particularly cultural music is introduced not only to those who have a connection with it but to those who care to listen through the new technology of the internet, mp3’s, file-sharing and other platforms therefore changing music into a commodity rather than a cultural product. Because music has become this commodity, many scholars Clark included have wondered whether music being a popular cultural form when used in relation to religion may trivialise the experience.

An example of this the article points out, is purchasing Christian products within the US, Clark cites Hendershot who says that to purchase these products is like declaring one’s respectability in a country in which people are most often addressed by mass culture not as citizens but as consumers. However some scholars believe that many worshippers connect through music transcending through and connecting more deeply with their faith through song. This idea links quite easily with an original point the article made saying that music is evocative, affective and something deeply personal and emotionally connective, which is not always lost when music became what Clark and others believe to be a commodity.

The article concludes that music, media and religion are always going to be in a constant struggle over power and definition and will continue to do so as the lines between then keep blurring.

Clark LS, Ed., 2006. ‘Introduction. Special Issue on Religion, Globalization, and Popular Music,’ Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. 45, 475-479

Sexism and Misogyny: Who Takes the Rap? Misogyny, Gangsta Rap, and The Piano

Presentation by Andy Scott

In bell hooks' article she claims that the sexist and violent themes within rap can be traced back to white culture, thus our heavy criticism of rap without introspectively analyzing our own culture is hypocritical. For example these same themes can be found throughout white popular culture in films, music, literature, etc. From Dirty Harry to KISS, violence and misogyny is systemic to white culture.

The assumption here though is that even in white culture this behaviour is a form of deviance from the normal morals and attitudes of upstanding white citizens. Indeed if this behaviour did not develop in a vacuum amidst black neighbourhoods, then the same can be said of white people also displaying symptoms of ‘deviance’.

The popularization of rap has only been possible through exploitation. This exploitation occurs throughout the music industry, predominately occupied by older white males. Thus the tools of rebellion are mostly forged by those who symbolize the prime reason for rebellion in the first place. Especially as the number one consume group of rap and its related subculture are young suburban white males, who emulate black culture as a means of mutiny against white culture and the cycle continues.

However the musicians themselves are also responsible for exploiting black people who have nothing to do with this type of music or behaviours. They see that the record companies want to produce sexually aggressive, violent, misogynistic music and take advantage of that. Then again, if artistic integrity meant less to them than the balance of their bank accounts, who could blame them?

bell hooks feels that there are many parties responsible for these attitudes, but ultimately is lies with white males as they are the ones that dominate the rest of society with their capitalist white male supremacist beliefs.

References:

hooks b, 1994, ‘Sexism and Misogyny: Who Takes the Rap? Misogyny, Gangsta Rap, and The Piano’, ZMagazine, Feb.

bell hooks interview at Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xtoanes_L_g

The Hail Mary: Football as American Religion

By:Jack Weingart

He is on his knees. His hands are pressed together, trembling in the prayer position. His eyes and ears are glued to the prophet before him. Out of nowhere he jumps up, raising his eyes to the ceiling and thanking the lord above. The quarterback just completed a Hail Mary pass (the game winning touchdown), sealing the deal in the playoff game.

For many people in America, football has become a surrogate religion. A majority of the games take place on Sundays, a day in which many Christians today consider to be the Sabbath day--a holy day meant for worship and rest from work. Rather than attend church services, however, many people spend their entire Sundays glued to the television screen watching game after game. On a personal level, my father, a born and raised Catholic who went to Catholic school all his life and attended mass regularly until the mid 1990s, now spends his Sundays making his fantasy football picks and watching the games play out. His actions are described above.

In many instances, football has fit the place of religion in people’s lives. The sport provides meaning for many, and an escape and alternative from reality. There is a type of devotion in football to teams and athletes that is similar to people’s devotion to their sacred religion or God. There are also team songs, or hymns, that are sang, and sacred objects (the ball itself) that people respect and take very seriously. Furthermore, there is even apparel (jerseys, scarfs, towels) and colours that fans wear to demonstrate their faith and support (similar to a robe, burka, or hijab).

Like religion, football shapes people’s ideologies. Football has given people a code of conduct for everyday living. If a football game is a miniature rehearsal for the game of life, for instance, “it tells that life is a struggle between contesting forces in which there is a winning and losing side” (Price 2001: 35-36). The sport also teaches that “success [or winning] depends on teamwork and that in competition loyalty, fair play, and being a ‘good sport’ in losing are virtues” (Price 2001:36).

Another interesting aspect about football and sports in general are the religious experiences fans and players seem to endure. Both fans and players undergo what some could describe as a religious high, a transcendent experience. Take my father, for instance, who jumps around the living room like he is possessed and thanks or damns the lord at crucial plays during the game. Or look at players who cross themselves or kiss the sky when they score a touchdown. Furthermore, the national anthem that is sung before every game and the moment of silence that is held is reminiscent of an act of prayer (Price 2001:138).

Clifford Geertz describes this religious high that fans experience as “deep play,” or “the most intense involvement of a viewer in an event” (Real 2002:24). This so-called “deep play” includes both conscious motives and mythic goals and involves psychological and financial stakes. “Watching sports on television illustrates how ritual participation today occurs in a technological, fully commercialized wonderland” (Real 2002:24). Michael Real goes on to say that along with ‘deep play,’ ‘deep fans’ are a significant element of contemporary media sports. The intense emotional involvement that faithful, mediated football fans experience is due in large part to how football has been commercialised into a modern day religion (Real 2002: 25). Similar to a particularly religious individual, sports provide meaning and consume the lives of ‘deep fans.’

While football may not be religion in the Abrahamic sense, it is indisputable that the sport can be perceived as a religion. As sociologist Harry Edwards exclaimed, “If there is a universal popular religion in America, it is to be found within the institution of sport” (Price 2001:35). And this is not something new in America. In the 1980s, for example, “the popularity of Monday Night Football was featured in matchbook advertisements for the Church of Monday Night Football” (Price 2001:35). In many ways, American football has and continues to fulfil the same functions to its followers as a religion does. By providing consistency and tradition in a continuously evolving society, establishing a sense of belonging and community, and serving as a familiar and comforting space for sacred rituals, football is like any other recognized religion in the world (Chidester 1996).

Works Cited

Chidester, David. "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." Journal of the American Academy of Religion. LXIV.4 (1996): 743-765.

Price, Joseph L. “From Sabbath Proscriptions to Super Sunday Celebrations: Sports and Religion in America.” From Season to Season: Sports as American Religion. Ed. Joseph L. Price. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 2001. 15-38.

Price, Joseph L. “The Super Bowls as Religious Festival.” From Season to Season: Sports as American Religion. Ed. Joseph L. Price. Macon, Georgia: Mercer University Press, 2001.137-140.

Real, M. “MediaSport: Technology and the Commodification of Postmodern Sport.” MediaSport. Ed. L.A. Wenner. London: Routledge, 2002. 14-26.

MediaSport: Technology and the Commodification of Postmodern Sport

By Michael Astle.

In his article “MediaSport: Technology and the Commodification of Postmodern Sport”, Michael Real discusses the relationship between the social rituals embodied by and connected with various sporting events and activities, and the attempts of the media to create saleable commodities from and within this popular field of endeavour (Real, 2002).

Real examines how the media has created a postmodern sporting canvas using the “pastiche” style (Real, 2002, p. 21). By broadcasting an array of cultural options to prospective buyers, devotees may choose which wondrous elites they would rather have to impress them. Provided some degree of interest in a given sport is shared by a sufficient quantity of people within any local society the media excludes no sport, unless perhaps it is popular within a rival society. Just as each religion has its own creeds, symbols of faith and ritualistic practices, so too sporting codes and teams have followers who recite specific cheers, wear certain clothes and behave in predictable unison according to predetermined patterns which are rehearsed from one game, season or event to the next. As no fundamentalist within any religion would show signs of belonging to another, neither would a devout supporter of one sporting group pretend to champion another. The media has latched upon these external factors enjoyed by devoted fans, which may have no direct impact upon the sport, and hyperbolised their importance thereby creating a cult mentality within the sporting arena.

The article appears to discuss whether the media is a parasite for sport or if the two have a symbiotic relationship. However whilst Real repeatedly raises examples of how the original ideals of modern sports have been destroyed by the propaganda of interfering media entities, especially in the last fifty years, he duplicitously concludes by protecting the industry which would publish his findings and instead simply states that the relationship between the media and sport can “easily become unbalanced” (Real, 2002, p. 26). Although he mentions a few examples, such as the Super Bowl of American football, where sport and the media are able to benefit from one another, it is clear that the media did not enter into such an arrangement for the benefit of the sport or else sports dominated by female participation would be covered as often as those dominated by male participation (Kane, 1996).

As sport has traditionally been viewed as a masculine activity, the physically dramatic element thereof has a pivotal role. Of all the elements of “deep play”, drama has the most direct effect on the actual game which is of central importance to the “deep fan” (Real, 2002, pp. 24-25). The psychological effects of drama churn the cogs which draw all the other elements together in a moment of intensity. It is this intense emotional involvement of the faithful upon which the media has been able to feed and grow as sport was progressively built into a sophisticated commercialised modern religion from what was once a celebration of athletic ideals.

Works Cited

Kane, M. J. (1996). Media Coverage of the Post Title IX Female Athlete: A Feminist Analysis of Sport, Gender, and Power. Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy, 3(1), 95-127.

Real, M. (2002). MediaSport: Technology and the Commodification of Postmodern Sport. In L. A. Wenner (Ed.). Mediasport (pp. 14-26). London: Routledge.

Music and Religion

By Sarah Fallon

Music has always been a large part of religion; it is seen in ritual and prayer across faiths. Music is often considered spiritual in nature and is also commonly thought to pe a personal and emotional experience for the listener as well as the artist. It is therefore unsurprising that religion and spirituality is a common theme running through popular music today.

Cameron Marchant says there's a "growing presence of holiness in commercial Hip Hop." (15). This is true of most genres of popular music. System of a Down is the first band since the Beatles to have two consecutive number one albums in the same year. System of a Down's lyrics often feature religious motifs, such as Chop Suey, "I don't think you trust, in, my, self-righteous suicide... I, cry, when angels deserve to die... Father into your hands I commend my spirit... Why have you forsaken me,". These lyrics comment on Jesus's crucifixion. Many popular artists instil their songs with their own beliefs and opinions about religion and spirituality, such as Sam Sparro and his song Black and Gold, James Blunt and Wiseman, Sarah McLachlan and Angel, and many others.

Religion and popular music are strongly intertwined. You need only look at the thaank you speeches and music awards to see how many people connect God to, and thank God for their musical work. A popular muusic/religion hybrid is Christian Rock, and their have been specifically christian music radio stations for many years.

Religion and music are both integral parts of one another.



Works Consulted

Marchant, Cameron. The Emergence of Religion in Mainstream Hip Hop. www.arts.cornell.edu/kinght_institute/publicationsprizes/discoveries/discoveriesspring2006/02marchant.pdf. 22 September 2009.

James Blunt. Back to Bedlam. Atlantic Recording Corp, 2004.

Sam Sparro. Black and Gold. Island UK Records, 2008.

Sarah McLachlan. Surfacing. Pierre Marchand, 1997.

System of a Down. Toxicity. Rick Rubin & Daron Malakian, 2001.