Faith vs. Talent?

Katherine Meizel’s article ‘Idolized’ essentially discusses the idea that an overemphasis on personal faith is an asset when competing in American Idol. She points out that many of the ‘favorites’ in the show over the past 11 years have clearly stated their catholic faith, and praised god openly on the show. Is it simply a coincidence that the most talented and likable contestants are of good faith, or are viewers voting for a contestant with good, catholic values? Meizel eludes to this idea at the end of her article when she suggests that the word ‘Idol’ in the shows title is of very significant importance (108).

While some audience member and voters of the show deny that, in fact, christianess in contestants influenced their votes, they did, however, admit that if a contestant had bad morals and practices than this would effect their voting choices. Then again what is meant by ‘bad’ morals and practices comes down to the viewers individual opinion of what is ‘good’ and ‘bad’.

There seems to be, according to Meizel, a lot of supporting evidence to suggest that the catholic faith of a contestant influences the voting audience of American Idol. Therefore it could be asked whether this is PR tactic on behalf of the program in order to remain a popular program, or whether this is in fact coincidental? This leads us to the notion of packing and selling religion and faith as a commodity. While this may not be the intention of the program itself, there is no doubt that religion can be deciding factor in many areas of current consumer society, and therefore religion, faith and spirituality is marketed and sold for some gain.

Something else that interested me in this article were the numerous quotes that Meizel gave as evidence of the contestants and viewers connection to their faith. Statements such as, “my voice is a gift from God”, “I am apart of a divine plan” or “Let the God’s decide” are all clear examples (109-110). However, do we actually believe in these statements? Do they hold truth? Or have they become cliché pop culture expressions that lack depth? When we see these comments splashed all over popular reality television programs, and their corresponding online feeds it seems unlikely that they are being articulated with any great consideration.

This brings us to one final point that Meizel brings up that I find very fascinating. She explains that modern notions of the ‘church’ are no longer bound to a physical location (129). Through the power of the Internet followers of any faith are now able to communicate in an instantaneous manner that can reach across the world. Is this changing religion, as we know it? Or just the way practice religion?

 Meizel K. 2011. Idolized. Music, Media and Identity in American Idol. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Ch. 4, Idol Worship: Civil and Sacral Religion in American Idol. (RL)

Linde Ivimey - If Pain Persists

Despite yet being able to visit the Linde Ivimey exhibition ‘If Pain Persists’ at the UQ Art Museum, I’ve have been enjoying watching interviews with the artist and reading articles about her work. What I find really interesting about her current body of work is her use of bone as a medium for her sculptures. 

Firstly it’s a very original choice that stems away from the normality of clay, cardboard, brass or the like. But more significantly, I think that the use of bone has very spiritual and religious connotations. We are all aware of the significance of bone in the Adam and Eve story, when God creates Eve by carving her out of one of Adams ribs. And the use of bone is also highly significant in the practice of witchcraft. Bone essentially forms and upholds the human figure and therefore is important in many spritual and religious traditions throughout the world. To see it used strikingly in Linde’s sculpture creates a very powerful message.

Linde Ivimey - Thumper (Self portrait) 2009, Private Collection, Melbourne 

Reproduced courtesey of the artist

During one of the documentaries on Linde Ivimey she mentioned the use of rabbit imagery in her sculptures as being a connection to her childhood. She also referenced her recent trip to the Antarctic as inspiration for her current works. What I find fascinating is that while Linde’s works are very spiritual and ever religious in some aspects, she takes a very personal spin when creating these images. For me, it just goes to show that you don’t need commodified, popular culture, cliché symbolism of religion and spirituality in order for an audience to understand these messages. An intimate, personal experience is far more meaningful and original. I hope to make it into the Art Museum soon to look at these works first hand!

Linde Ivimey, Set In Bone, Youtube video, 2012

Linde Ivimey, Leave No Bone Unturned, Youtube video, 2012

Communication and Religious Preservation

After reading Peter Weibel’s ‘Religion as a medium – the media of religion’ I had a greater understanding about how important the relationship between religion and communication is. Many of the worlds most practiced religions, for example Catholicism and Buddhism, have their core teachings and philosophies rooted many millenniums ago. While many of us understand that this is the case, we somewhat take for granted how these teachings, stories and experiences have made it though out history somewhat unscathed. In other words, key religious values and messages have kept their meaning in the 21^st century, despite an initiation hundreds of years ago.

This is where Weibel stresses the importance of writing and language as the progression and continuation of religious tradition. He explains that, “writing allows the spoken word to leave the body, to be temporarily stored in a medium and then to be incorporated into another body”. At the beginning of Christianity, for example, Angels were said to be God’s messengers. As time went on, people would use the spoken word in order to retain a message or event. Gradually, as society evolved, the written word meant that people were able to communicate beyond a physical location and present time. All of these methods preserved the basis of the teachings over time, until the present day.

In the 21^st century, we are seeing a different generation of religious communication – one that Weibel alludes to briefly in his article. Technologies such as television and the Internet have emerged as new formats for disseminating religious messages, and inspiring religious communication. However, I think that, because these mediums provide a very different sense of religious communication and preservation, some are resistant to fully engage.

References:

Weibel, P. 1945. “Religion as a medium – the media of religion”. Medium Religion: Faith, geopolitics, art, pp. 30 - 43

A few thoughts about religion and the media...

So when I first sat down to write this blog, I found it all a bit overwhelming. Not because I didn’t have anything to write about on the topic of religion and media, but because I have so many thoughts that I didn’t know where to start. My two majors in my degree at UQ are religion and media studies. When I chose these two fields of study many questioned my decision as they deemed them to be an awkward fit. I have to admit; I also, at times, questioned how suited these two fields were to each other. However, throughout my three years of university life, not only have I realized that the media in the 21^st century is fascinating and important field of research that influences almost every aspect of life to some degree, but religion and the media have a very close, and significant relationship also. When these two phenomena coincide they either have the ability to create a wonderfully balanced and unified society that is educated on and open to difference, or on the other hand cause instances of intolerance and misdemeanor - it all depends how we use the media to the best of its ability. 

I think these are the ideas that fascinate me the most about the relationship between the media and religion. How can we as a society utilize the media for positive change in order to create unity and educate the masses about religion? This is why I really enjoyed reading Stig Hjarvard’s article about the mediatization of religion. He made several points that really resonated with me. He used an example of the Mohammad Cartoon incident in order to highlight that the media do play a deciding role in the framing of religious controversy. He also discussed ‘mediatization’ as the idea that “religion is increasingly being subsumed under the logic of the media” (Hjarvard, 2008). In other words, religion is being filtered through a media funnel and is gradually changing and adapting. For me, this is a fascinating progression to observe, and sometimes it feels as though some people are resisting the changes the religion is undertaking, because they are fearful of the unknown.

Hjarvard mentioned at several points during his piece that the media transform and build upon religious ideas. Certainly, at times, the media have a tendency to represent religion and religious issues in a bias or tarnished way. However, I think it is important to embrace change, and accept that the media is an integral part of modern society, and it has the potential to work with religion and the dissemination of religious messages in a positive and constructive way.