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

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/

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

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

V and Glee, Religious?

By Monica Leonard

Clark suggests that “entertainment media are one element of a culture that shapes and constrains religious identity”(794). The media can also provide social functions that are found within institutionalised religions, “providing both moral and spiritual guidance and a sense of community” (Hjarvard 9). Hjarvard argues that this can be done primarily through the use of supernatural phenomena within entertainment media (9). In particular the media of television. However, presenting moral and spiritual guidance is not restricted to only supernatural genres. Religious and spiritual ideas, representations, and symbology are present in most television genres. This leads audiences to consume (knowingly, or unknowingly, positively, or negatively) certain religious subtexts. This mediatisation of religion (Hjarvard 10) causes religion to be moulded and shaped by the media in a secularised and normalised way.

One way that television engages with religion is by constructing the concept of the ‘other’ with in shows. V and Glee are two examples of programmes which explore notions of the ‘other’. This relates to religion through representations of character and narrative structure. Both shows use the ‘us versus them’ approach to promote, or subvert the minority, or majority group of the ‘other’.

V portrays the arrival of an alien race to Earth; known only as the Vs (Visitors), who are constructed as the ‘other’ with in the series. They are presented as a close knit hive community controlled by one leader; that is their queen Anna, who uses a chemical called ‘bliss’ to induce a euphoric feeling which creates obedience in the hive. Arguably, if the Vs are seen in terms of a religious ‘other’ this ‘bliss’ chemical could be a representation of transcendence in experiential religions. However, this idea is problematic due to having negative links with a dictatorship, and perhaps the idea of ‘bliss’ is more political than religious within the show.

The Vs present themselves to humanity as a peaceful and helpful race, and do this through healing humans with their own technology. Ironically, in V the media is represented having a large role in promoting the Visitors to humanity. The character of Chad; a news reporter, is dependant on Anna for his own popularity, and personal gain within the news industry. While, Anna exploits his ambition, and promotes her own species. This parallels the way religion and media work together with in our own society. Arguably the show takes a negative view towards the ‘other’ as the audience is aware of Anna’s malicious ulterior motives towards the human race in the first season.

The ulterior motives of Anna in V causes the emergence of The Fifth Column. With in the show the media (which Anna influences) describe The Fifth Column as a terrorist cell bent on destroying the ‘peaceful’ relationship which the Vs have with humanity. Therefore, by using the ‘us versus them’ narrative framework in the television show, ideas of fundamentalism can be explored.

On one hand, The Fifth Column is portrayed by Anna through the media as a terrorist group. The fictional media attack on The Fifth Column is reminiscent of how religious fundamentals and extremists are negatively presented in most Western media. On the other hand, and ironically the Fifth Column is presented to the television viewer as a group of freedom fighters; Vs and humans working together to rid the Earth of Anna’s tyranny. It is through the representation of one religious member of The Fifth Column that religious morals and values are presented.

The character of Father Jack is representation of an American Catholic priest, and his views on the arrival of the Vs is, therefore, framed in a religious context. He preaches the importance of following God and not worshipping the Vs, as they are seen by him to be false prophets. However, after the mistaken bombing of a V shuttle, Father Jack is resolved in promoting non-violence as the answer to the Vs occupation of Earth. The priest who is head of Father Jack’s small congregation however, views the Vs as angels sent by God to be the saviours of humanity. In this case, religion is represented quite obviously through the views of Father Jack. Through the use of narrative structure and characterisation, the television show V presents ideas concerning religion and spirituality and secularises them using supernatural phenomena; aliens.

Glee was arguably one of the most successful television shows in Australia in 2009 with just under 1.7 million viewers for the final episode(Dyer). In Glee the main group represented as the ‘other’ are the members of Glee club. The members of the club are measured, and measure themselves against the hegemonic norms of McKinley Highs peer groups. In episode 8, Season 1 the members of Glee club are attacked by the ‘cooler’ kids with grape slushies. This also highlights the ‘us versus them’ framework present in V. However, in Glee the viewer is positioned to empathise with the Glee club members, or the ‘other’. In this way Glee challenges the hegemonic norm, as well as notions of collective intelligence, and its occasional use of violence against the ‘other’. Glee is, therefore, a medium which forms a negative commentary on how society can negatively treat the ‘other’, or rather other religions outside of hegemonic norms.
Attempts to conform to the norm within McKinley High, is carried out by most Glee club members. However, most episodes resolve, with the characters adhering to their own inner beliefs, and the guidance of Will Schuester; choir master, ‘to be themselves’.

Glee also provides the viewer with religious representations, messages, and morals via narrative structure and characterisation. One example of religious characterisation is that of Noah Puckerman (Puck) a gentile Jew. Arguably, the Jewish representations in episode 8, season 1 is a fairly stereotypical one. In this episode Puck has a dream (after watching Schindler‘s List) involving Rachel (the other Glee club member linked to Judaism) who is wearing the star of David. Puck later sings a song in the episode by Neil Diamond who is Jewish. In this case, Glee uses the Jewish stereotypes, and symbolism as a reference to Judaism, giving the religion a voice in the show, as a form of the ‘other’.

Lastly, Glee also includes within the storyline a chastity club; part of McKinley’s high school clubs, of which pregnant Quinn is president. This serves as another site for discussion over religious morals. It is not only the clubs existence, the promotion of chastity before marriage, but Quinn’s ultimate decision to carry her baby to full term, which is promoted in the show as the right action. Any ideas of abortion in the show are silenced, and pro-life is promoted. Quinn’s decision involves a highly contentious issue which is present in institutionalised religion. Therefore, Glee secularises religious views and popularises them, through the success of the series.

Religion is clearly present in popular television today. By using narrative structure and characterisation Glee and V, present the viewer with moral guidance and ways of viewing the ‘other’. As Hjarvard argues the media therefore performs a social function one previously exclusive to religion (9). Problematically however, the media usually fails to construct a holistic representation of religious groups and uses stereotypes. Nevertheless, an audience can consciously recognise a religious or spiritual presence with in a television show, however obvious or embedded they may be.

Works Cited
Clark, Lynn Schofield. “U.S. Adolescent Religious Identity, the Media, and the ‘funky’ Side of Religion” Journal of Communication. 52.4 (2002): 794- 811.

Dyer, Glenn. “MasterChef, Glee Assure Seven of a Poor Night.” Crikey. Ed. Sophie Black. 9 July 2010. Private Media. 23 July 2010. http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/07/09/masterchef-glee-assure-seven-of-a-poor-night/.

Hjarvard, Stig. “The Mediatization of Religion: A Theory of the Media as Agents of Religious Change.” Northern Lights. 6 (2008): 9-26.
　
Works Used
V. Dir. Yves Simoneau and Fred Toye. Writ. Kenneth Johnson. ABC. Nine, Brisbane. Mar. 2010.

Glee. Dir. Scott J., Murphy R., Falchuk B., Keene E., and Barclay P. Writ. Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk, and Ryan Murphy. FOX. 19 May 2009 Ten, Brisbane. 17 Sept. 2009.

Understanding Media and Religion

Review Article by Kellee Uhr

Hjarvard, media and religion
Stig Hjarvard’s article ‘The Mediatization of Religion’ (2008) explores religious change through media consumption and the ways social groups establish religious view and apply it into the everyday. Through the process of mediatization, western societies that have deregulated media industries subsume religious issues and representations into mass media. This process leads to ‘banal religion’, where the disempowering of recognised religious institutions leads to a dominance of a hybridised belief system that blends folk religions, tradition religious symbols and pop culture characterisation. Hjarvard uses the process of banal religion as way to translate the implications of media consumption leading to religious and spiritual guidance and a sense of community.

The increased presence of generalised religious themes in the media through social activities such as ritual, worship, mourning and celebration (2008, p. 10) are examples of the de-secularisation of media and a renegotiation of sacred activities that broaden the scope of meaning and interaction. The growth of supernatural themes in popular culture is assisting this change. The representations of the supernatural world have developed into a rich exploration of characters and narratives, making the supernatural appear natural (2008, p. 9). The seriality of weekly televised drama, computer games and film assist in making religious themes through the supernatural a familiar phenomenon. Media and pop culture have developed into its own institution in contemporary society and as a consequence, other institutions such as religion become dependent on these communication and representation tools and have to rely on them to communicate with the broader community. The media becomes the formal authority to provide information and moral orientation while still entertaining the community and exploring narrative about society itself (2008, p. 13).

Hjarvard’s uses three theoretical frameworks to explore media as an agent for religious change, media as conduit, media as language and media as environment. By reconceptualising Michael Billing’s ‘banal nationalism’, Hjarvard creates ‘banal religion’ as a way to explain the mediatised expression of belief through popular culture and entertainment. It is through this process that the repercussions of the media become relevant, where individual religious and spiritual concerns become consumer entertainment and original meaning becomes blurred. The entertainment agenda is of higher priority than spiritual expression. When considering the representation of institutionalised religion through the media, it is important to consider Hjarvard’s argument.

Hoover and understanding transition
Hoover’s chapter explores the dominance of media as a centralized and dominant social and cultural force and how this position has changed recently from a ‘mass’ phenomenon to a more fractured, specialist audience base. This has allowed media to diversify and commodify its marketplace to explore a variety of themes and narratives. The nature of religion is also undergoing a transition period, moving from unified systems to a more individualised, wholly spiritual condition. Hoover explores the media’s symbolic inventory and integration into large social and cultural themes and values (2006, p. 56).

Hoover explores four media contexts where religion is present: news and journalism, religious broadcasting and televangelism, religious publishing and entertainment media. By outlining these four areas, Hoover emphasises where religion exists in its own right in media. It is the convergence of media and religion that is the key argument in Hoover’s chapter. Contemporary religion doesn’t exist in media culture and social practice in a totalising term, the media is a more diverse, atomised and targeted medium of communication. This ‘new religious scholarship’ requires a fundamental shift in how we engage with entertainment media and religion itself (2006, p. 71). Hoover argues that the line between secular media and religious media is increasingly more blurred and it is the development of a new ‘religious/symbolic marketplace’ in the media that has gone relatively unnoticed by religious authorities and institutions (2006, pp 74-76).

Hoover argues that a ‘seeking’ sensibility of the audience is attuned to culture and therefore, media but also to one’s own individual life trajectory and history. By outlining key ‘personalities’ of contemporary religion (born-again Christians, mainstream believers, metaphysical believers and seekers, dogmatists and secularists) to outline an evolving religious culture Hoover emphasises the transitory nature of religion not only to media communication and consumption but also to community and society as a whole. The relationship between religion and spiritual belief, media communication and personal worldview is a constantly evolving concept with each element influencing the other.


Arnaudin and Mormon Vampires
Arnaudin critically analyses the popular culture phenomenon, The Twilight Saga and its links to Mormonism and Mormon literature. Author Stephanie Meyer is a devout Mormon, born and raised. Arnaudin argues that due to Meyer’s faith, and its inherent presence in her daily life, The Twilight Saga books and subsequent films all explore key elements of the religion while not being simply religious scripture or advertising. By never explicitly mentioning the faith, Meyer creates a world that is spiritual but not specifically institutionalised.

Arnaudlin takes keys aspects of the characters and makes comparisons to scripture and narratives from Mormon literature. Discussions between the vampires, the Cullen family, are filled with notions of redemption, souls and the meaning of life. Arnaudlin argues that regardless of characterisation, the central themes of the series are the existence of souls and the value of good deeds, agency, sex and marriage, family structure and conversion. Arnaudlin also argues that references to Meyers’ faith in The Twilight Saga are so subtle that it has allowed for the series to reach a broader audience that are unaware of her faith and simply view the phenomenon as entertainment with supernatural themes.

The use of supernatural characters overshadows the obvious themes of Mormonism in The Twilight Saga. To the audience, the supernatural and its relation to the natural are key point of interest. By placing questions of life and spirituality into the storylines, Meyer only fuels the mediatization of religion and acts as an inherent feature of Meyers writing style and faith.

Conclusion

Contemporary religion and spirituality is incorporated in everyday media, from popular culture, news coverage and entertainment. Through a rise in supernatural themes, media explore new concepts of religion and often use this as a way to disguise traditional religious institutional messages. Hoover and Hjarvard argue that media and popular culture can never be devoid of the spiritual as these mediums themselves brand religion and spirituality. Consumerism and consumption of media and culture are so linked to contemporary life that books and films such as Twilight are popular. The Twilight phenomenon is an example of the supernatural being used as a natural framework to explore and express religion and spirituality.  

Bibliography
Arnaudin, E.B. “Mormon Vampires: The Twilight Saga and Religious Literacy” Master’s paper. University of North Carolina, 2008.
Hjarvard, S. “The Mediatization of Religion: A Theory of the Media as Agents of Religious Change.” Northern Lights. 6.1 (2008): 9-16.
Hoover, S.M. “Media and Religion in Transition.” in Religion in the Media Age, London: Routledge, 2006.

The Press vs. The Pious:

Exploring the relationship between religion and the media.

The media, for the 21st Century, has become a heavily depended on resource for mass communication and information dispersion. For many people the public media is the only source from which they are able to obtain information about current affairs and other societal matters, devouring what is delivered to them, hanging on to every word. The immense power held by the media is therefore a concern to those who consume it, as those who create it have the opportunity to add their own twists and spins and present an obscured version of what the reality perhaps is. When it comes to religion, as portrayed by the media, it can be assured that the way it is treated will be no different to any other subject. The question there lies: What does the media, to which society subscribes, has to say on the religious front, and how does this affect the way audiences shape their beliefs and opinions about religion?

Probably the most explicit of media forms, the press, and the journalists creating it, are daring and often insensitive to the way in which they expose the public audience to issues involving various religious communities and their beliefs. Mark Silk, from Harvard’s Neiman Foundation of Journalism, says that journalists are, “either hostile to religion, or ignorant of it or (most likely) both.” (Silk, 2010)

A study conducted in the US, at the time of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games, helps to illustrate the power of the media and its portrayals of religion in the media. The state of Utah, where the games were held, has a significant Mormon population which dominates the area. Due to the religiosity of the state, it fought tremendous scrutiny from the hundreds of reporters who invaded the area. Chen, the conductor of the study, hoped to find that through his analysis of media produced at the time he would see a shift in the negative representation the Mormons were receiving through the press – one which they also hoped to change. His conclusions were that “The stereotype [created by media] suggests that Mormon culture is unduly conservative, rigid, and overbearing. Where a focus on the racialized priesthood, on feminism, or on doctrinal purity allowed... [leading audiences to believe that] fundamental problem is that normality cannot flourish in Utah” (Chen, 2010, p.45) The negative stigma such as this, which is produced by media personnel and fed to the general public, also swings a blow at other rapidly growing religious movements along with the Mormon Church, including: Islam, Hillsong Church (and other evangelical movements) etc. Chen also suggests that the reason that the press focus on religious movements such as these is due to their rapidly growing power and status and that they fear both infiltration and domination.

While it is often clearly obvious that religious groups are being marginalized through the attacks coming from journalists, there can often be a more subliminal negative connotation associated with being a person of faith which is presented through film. Move over Italian Mafia, the Muslim Terrorist is the new star of the show: the shift has been noticeable in action movies in recent times. The stigma surrounding the attacks on the USA in 2001 and the subsequent War on Terror, have conjured up a new image of the classic movie ‘bad guy’. An article from the UK Guardian in 2007 says that films such as this have “helped demonise Muslims as violent, dangerous and threatening, [which is] reinforcing prejudices,” (Ward, 2007) against followers. Teen movies also condemn Christianity creating a stereotype which negatively portrays the religion through character prejudices. Christian characters and the high moral standards they wear on their shoulders, are often nerdy, socially inept, and uncool as they do not participate or conform to the teenage rites of passage shown.

While the media avenues so far explored have focussed on the negative aspects of the relationship between media and religion, there are some who side with the media and essentially tell the world that they’re just overreacting. In 2001 Dalton, Mazur and Siems published a piece focussing on the reactions of audiences to the highly controversial television cartoon series, The Simpsons. Throughout the article they both acknowledge the fact the some of the negative attention that show’s such as The Simpsons pay to topics of religion, but also continue on to shed some more positive light on the subject. Expressed strongly, is the opinion that media outlets, while they may be employing religious figures and themes as elements comical relief, they are not doing so in order to attack a particular group, but rather are reflecting an image of societies current state. This model of viewing the way that religious groups are portrayed by media producers can be applied also to the areas that were mentioned previously. Unfortunately however, many individuals and groups, such as the Muslims interviewed for the Guardian do not feel this rather feel that, “the media failed to give enough opportunity to Muslims to represent themselves”.

Due to the large scale access the public audience has to a varying array of media, and the naivety of many concerned, media produces have a significant amount of power when it comes to shaping the beliefs and attitudes of society. The framing of information in certain ways allows audience to only see the perceptions of the reporters, publishers and other media personal as they are the ones creating it. Pertaining also to subjects of religion, the media have portrayed historical events in ways which often have a negative impact on the way the wider community view that particular group. Not only is this shaped by news and current affairs, but also through the characters in our favourite television programs, and the films we watch; and the attitudes that those characters hold towards their religious associates. Therefore, while the current relationship between the media and religion holds some tension, this has the opportunity for resolution through both a concerted effort by media to accurately represent religious groups, but also for religious groups to view the representations they receive as mirror images of society and not as targeted and purposeful attacks.


Bibliography:
Chen, C. (2003). '"Molympics"? Journalistic Discourse of Mormons in Relation to the 2002
Winter Olympic Games’. Journal of Media and Religion. 2(1)29- 47. DOI: 10.1207/S15328415JMR0201_3
Dalton, L., E, Mazur., & M, Siems. (2001) Homer the heretic and Charlie the church: Parody, piety and pluralism in The Simpsons. In E, Mazur., & K, McCarthy.(Ed.) God in the details :American religion in popular culture.(pp.231-247). New York: Routledge.
Silk, M. (2010) Religion and the press: Always complicated, now chaotic. Retrieved August 19, 2010, from http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reportsitem.aspx?id=101567.
Ward, L. (2007) From Aladin to the Lost Ark, Muslims get angry at ‘bad guy’ film images. Retrieved August 19, 2010, from http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jan/25/broadcasting.race.

Harry Potter and Religion

By Monica Leonard














In his article Constructing a Distinct Other, Harry potter and the Enchantment of the Future, Pierre Wiktorin suggests that consumer identity is not limited to merely items , “You could … consider yourself a Gryffindor … if you happen to be a member of those Harry potter related groups, or fandoms, that flourish on the internet. ”(2). The enchanting wizarding world of Harry Potter then becomes a place to escape from the everyday. Ironically, it is within this constructed world of Harry Potter , where J.K. Rowling makes a commentary on our own world and how it is constructed (Wiktorin 3).

In the case of Harry Potter, Wiktorin argues that by using the supernatural in her books Rowling constructs two binaries for religion (within an educational framework). Of course these binaries are of a certain bias within the book; in favour of causality ‘scientific’ orientation to the world, not performative ‘religious’ orientation (Wiktorin 14). He parallels this with four characters. Hermione Granger and Dumbledore represent causality based orientation, and are constructed favourably in the books (Wiktorin 8). While, Professor Sybil Trelawney and Lord Voldemort who are of a performative based orientation, are viewed unfavourably (Wiktorin 8- 13). Furthermore, Wiktorin concludes that the Harry Potter books are written in favour of certain causality based religions(14). Therefore, religions that place emphasis on rationality are favoured, as opposed to traditional, or experiential/emotional religions (Bouma 86 ).

I argue, however, that there are certain religions that have more elements than just rationality. In fact limiting his religious analysis of magical learning in Harry Potter to just two binaries is perhaps a mistake. There are characters in the Harry Potter series, which do not completely fit under either of the two binaries. Harry Potter, for example has powers which he has inherited from Voldemort, as well as the magical powers which he has learnt by rote. Wiktorin’s article paints a fair analysis of the Harry Potter series as a reflection of our world. However, there is always more than just two points of view, or two binary positions. It is perhaps by exploring the liminal space between binaries, that Wiktorin could form a more holistic analysis of religion and the Harry Potter series.

Works Cited

Bouma, Gary. Australian Soul. Melbourne: Cambridge P, 2006.

Wiktorin, Pierre. Constructing a Distinct Other, Harry Potter and the Enchantment of the Future. 17 May 2007 Anpere. 30 Jul. 2010. .

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.