I believe in God, America and the Packers

            As I sat watching the Super Bowl on Sunday I couldn’t help but think of the millions of viewers across America glued to their screens watching ‘the big game’. In a statement released by Fox TV on Monday, this past Sunday’s Super Bowl drew an American TV audience of 111 million viewers (over 1/3 of their population!). This number of people watching a single televised event is recorded as being the highest in the past twenty years. This causes me to think, what does football mean to Americans? As discussed a while ago in class, Lynch mentions that sport is comparable to traditional forms of religion specifically in mentioning the essence of community it derives. Using the Super Bowl viewer numbers as an example, one can determine that the American religion is football.

            Joseph L. Price, an associate professor of religion at Whittier College in California also viewed the Super Bowl having a religious function in his article The Super Bowl as Religious Festival (1984). Price identifies American mythology surrounding the Super Bowl – the founding of a nation and providing hope for a nation. As seen in last Sunday’s pre-game presentation of The Journey with voice over by Michael Douglas, images and videos of American history blaze across the screen. He speaks of the American dream and that ‘through it all, generation after generation we never give up. How could we?’ He also questions ‘what life would be like if they (American soldiers in battle during WWII) did not show the world on our darkest day that our flag was still there’. Douglas mentions briefly the history of the two teams, one founded by the Indian packing company and the other ‘named after proud steel mills that forged this great nation’. However his overall message relies on the belief that the Super Bowl is one night ‘to dream, to believe, to remain united and celebrate their journey, and our journey’. I think that it is here in this video and voice over that the religiosity of football in America is encapsulated. Douglas is the voice for the nation, creating pride and providing hope for all and uses this event as a pinnacle of both pride and hope.

            I also wanted to touch upon one of my favourite shows Friday Night Lights that revolves around the drama surrounding a high school football team in the fictional Dillon, Texas. Briefly in last weeks episode one of the main characters, Vince, admits that football saved him from the streets, going to jail and possibly ending up dead. The passion and commitment that the boys have towards the game and the sense that if it weren’t for football, they wouldn’t have any chance at not just college, but a successful life, astonishes me. I think that overall we cannot just find American football religiosity in Michael Douglas’ words to inspire a nation, but more importantly, we find this deep belief in the power of the game in small towns throughout the United States and in the hearts of millions. 

'The Journey' Super Bowl 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdDNkh98XZE

Response to Georgia's "Thoughts on Marketing"

Please find Georgia's original post here.

Hi Georgia!

What a wonderful post!

            First off, I am so happy that you brought up Facebook. I too was surprised that no one mentioned it in class, so I wrote my post from last week on the future of social networks and not only our relationships with each other, but also God. I agree with your points regarding online advertising and Facebook. I have been ‘in a relationship’ for the past two years and have recently been getting ads pop up in my side bar for ‘Getting engaged? Wedding planner here!’ and ‘Diamonds rings for less!’ I also recently have been thinking of moving abroad to study and yet again, ads have been popping up asking me ‘Thinking of Studying Abroad? Look no further than the University of XXX’. I understand the marketing aspect of it and getting the product out there, however, it just is downright creepy. I remember last year during UTSU elections I logged on once and a candidates face was taking up my sidebar. The candidate ended up winning the election in a landslide and after talking to friends they said that they heard of them and their platform from the Facebook ad.

            Your mention of Nazi- related products hit home with me as well. My grandfather, who was in the navy during the war, could never understand why his Jewish Holocaust survivor neighbours had a fleet of Mercedes. He mentioned it to them one day and they blew him off saying that they liked the design and how it drove, not addressing what his point was in the first place.

Hitler and his Mercedes in the 1930s

           In speaking of the American Apparel fad, I understand the draw in wearing their clothing because of its ‘no sweatshop’ mentality, however I will never, ever, ever wear American Apparel. Not only is the quality atrocious, (my brother has a zip up hoodie that has already fallen apart from Christmas, while I am still wearing my Gap hoodie from grade nine), I just cannot stand the hipster mentality of the brand. I find the store incredibly irritating and have noticed that none of their products are unique. You know the nightmare of showing up to a party and wearing the same thing as twenty other people? Well, if you are an American Apparel fan… be ready for it. Speaking of which, I still cannot understand the fad of wearing a lace top with just a bra underneath from last summer, but that I will rant about on another blog.

            I too have seen the Hermes colouring book, however it was marketed as being ‘create your own Hermes art’ in Vogue. Other brands such as Louis Vuitton, Ugg Australia, Hugo Boss and Burberry (to name a few) have launched children’s lines with mini purses, boots and clothing to start little ones on the luxury good road early. 

Car companies such as Mercedes Benz sell mini foot peddled convertibles for toddlers to roll around in. My little cousin who is seven has a closet full of luxury clothing, a jewelry box full of Tiffany’s and a vintage 1960s Mercedes car that she can sit and drive. My aunt and uncle think it is ‘cute’ that she can match mummy and daddy. I keep thinking, just wait till she is sixteen and expects her own Mercedes to add to the family fleet. Maybe she’ll let me borrow it in exchange for my metropass. For some reason, I doubt it.

- K

Here is a blog of a very excited mother who recently found out that Saks carries Gucci for kids... exciting! 

Are you 'Friends' with God?

Last week as I took a break from some schoolwork and decided to check out few of blogs saved in my bookmark bar. One of my favourite blogs is from the University of Toronto Center for the Study of the Religion called The Religion Beat. Each week bloggers post a ‘Link Roundup’ of interesting articles, pictures, videos and journals that they find on the web. The journal primarily focus’ on the relation between religion and pop culture with links leading readers to articles about Priests rescheduling masses around football schedules, graphic novels depicting the end of days and most interestingly the Vatican on Facebook.

            Last week (January 25-January 31), ‘Link Roundup’ led me to an article on Canada.com addressing the Pope’s warning of social networks. He gave a ‘qualified blessing’ of social networks and spoke of their benefits but also warned of solely relying upon them for human interaction. He urged users to keep in mind that virtual relationships must and cannot replace real friendships.

            In this electronic world, we are constantly getting caught up on the internet, Facebook, YouTube, Google, iPhones and BlackBerrys (the list goes on and on). We are constantly connected. Upon reading Pope Benedict’s address, I thought of my younger brother (a child of the late 90s) who is always ‘connected’ with the world outside our home. In the middle of the night I hear his phone tinging with text messages, Skype calls and Facebook chat bleeps. I remember last year my grandfather said that he remembers when his family didn’t even have a telephone. My brother of course looked at him like he had seven heads. “But how did you talk to your friends Papa? And make plans?” my brother asked. “Well, we saw each other at school, played in the park, met at the corner store… we just talked when I say them face to face,” my grandfather responded. My brother still couldn’t grasp this idea.This begs me to ask the questions, what will our relationships with each other turn into? Will our children of the future be totally electronically dependent? More importantly, what will our relationship with God become?

            When I was very ill a few years ago in the hospital, a friend of my mother’s brought me a book called Emails from God. It was an entertaining read, with ‘God’ providing insight into almost any problem (‘Dealing with a break up? Turn to page 64’), but there was just a feeling that I couldn’t shake of this being wrong. I understand that the writers were attempting to create a ‘hip’ religious read for teens, but is the relationship one has with the Lord really supposed to come down to humanity looking for salvation in emails and text messages? Or are we, in our modern era, meant to find it on the Vatican's YouTube Channel, iPhone App and Facebook? Only God knows.

- K

ps. here are a few interesting articles from the Globe and Mail about social networking, the internet and friendships

The Great Disconnect: Using Facebook for Social Distance

In the age of social media, can we have some discourse?

Stop the internet, I want to get off!

Response to Riley's "Real Talk with Kanye West"

Please find Riley's original blog here http://jesusblawg.blogspot.com/2011/01/real-talk-with-kanye-west.html

Hi Riley!

         I am so happy that you posted on this topic! As we were watching the Jesus Walks video 2 classes ago, I could not help but think of how Kanye West is a type of Christian “poser”. Although West proclaims himself to be a follower of Christ, he seems to be ‘all talk and no do’. Some of his songs, as you reflect, evoke Christianity and he does talk openly about his faith, however other areas of his life do not reflect this.

         One of West’s most popular stints of his career is saying on international television that “George W. Bush hates black people” while hosting a telethon for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Bush responded to West’s accusations were one of his lowest points in office. His other more recent faux pas was at the 2009 Video Music Awards when he grabbed the mic from Taylor Swift’s hands and told the world that Beyonce should have won. When I see these types of actions, I really say to myself: “are you serious?? Who is this guy? And WHY am I buying his music and seeing him in concert?” Just this past November, West brought up these two incidents yet again after a performance in New York City citing that Swift should have come to his defense in an interview and that she “rode the wave”. West then brought up Bush’s response to him saying ""If you look at the interview, he said, 'It's one of his lowest moments,' and he said it about 10 different things… but because the popularity of me, they [the media] exploited that to make you watch the interview and make you feel that he was stupider than ever...It shows you the way they try to villainize." Here we see West’s not too subtle approach at criticizing the media. But really, do you think the media are going to stop criticizing you if you continue to do the wrong thing? It's funny, because just two weeks before his performance, he cancelled an interview with the Today Show over Twitter saying that he was not going to make it in 'tweets'. 

         In brief mention of Dustin Kidd’s argument of normalcy and establishing social change, is Kanye West (and his entire persona, rapping, etc) an example of social change that really is beneficial to society? Is his outspoken nature going to influence young people that view him as being a role model? Who will he offend next? Will he continue to praise God? Will he ever really feel bad for what he did to Taylor Swift or George W.? Personally, I think when it comes to celebrities and their unpredictable nature there is only one answer we can ponder: “who knows”.

- kathleen

Kanye West 'tweet's' the Today Show his cancellation

http://ca.eonline.com/uberblog/b210986_mr_bitter_twitter_kanye_tweets_in_his.html

Taylor Swift Should've Stuck Up for Me!

http://ca.eonline.com/uberblog/b213088_kanye_west_taylor_swift_shouldve_stuck.html

Video of Kanye West speaking of Bush and Swift in New York, November 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LcnE_SM6x0

Sex & the City: A Pop Culture Phenomenon

            Upon reading Dustin Kidd’s article Harry Potter and the Functions of Popular Culture, and then speaking of the levels of popular culture (such as creating norms, maintain boundaries, developing rituals, innovation and social change) during class, I couldn’t help but think of the popular television series Sex & the City. After reading my colleague Elona’s post on Jersey Shore and thinking of how the characters actions influence and affect the youth of today, again, my mind wandered to the girls of Sex & the City.  Beginning in 1998 and running until 2004, the series followed the lives of four best friends Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. Throughout the show, characters got married, had children, worked, traveled, and partied (to name a few), however, the most prevalent theme on the show lies in the title – sex. Sex & the City opened new doors for women and sexuality. It has been argued that the show is an example of the progress in women’s rights (as the characters frankly talk of their sexual exploits) and that is has positively raised awareness about sexually transmitted diseases and safe sex. However, the real issue lies not in the characters promiscuity (really, they are all adults and can make their own decisions), but rather the young audience that view the series. According to a 2008 study by the American Journal of Pediatrics, “Teens who were exposed to high levels of television sexual content (90th percentile) were twice as likely to experience a pregnancy in the subsequent 3 years, compared with those with lower levels of exposure (10th percentile)”. Sitcoms such as Sex & the City glamorize sex and belittle important issues such (the obvious) sex, promiscuity and, most frightfully, abortions (please see link below). Also in 2008, ABC covered a story on a girl who believes that Sex & the City caused her to have sex at 14. Has Sex & the City developed norms, boundaries, rituals, innovation and social change? The answers to all are yes. Cosmopolitans are one of the most popular drinks to be ordered, women compare their relationships to those of the Carrie & Co., the term ‘Mr. Big’ and calling someone a ‘Samantha’ are understood without explanation, fashion has been influenced tremendously and women are not afraid to be open about their sexuality, and as Samantha would put it ‘have sex like a man’. However, can the show be deemed a positive popular culture innovation? Does it really push the boundaries of women’s rights and promote healthy sexuality? What do you think?

- K

American Journal of Pediatrics: Does Watching Sex on Television Predict Teen Pregnancy?

'Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda' Sex & the City, s. 4, ep. 11 (please start at 2:32)

'Sex & the City' fiend: Show Turned Me Into Samantha

Sex & the City Bad Influence on Lohan

"Sex and the City" Charity Auction Criticized for Abortion Donation

my other online adventures!

hi all!

check out my other blog at:

killin the kanvas

and my website at:

kathleenkillin.com

thanks!

K

Response to "Jersey Shore and Dustin Kidd" on Elona's Blog

Please find below my response to Elona's blog post located here:
http://ekhoy.blogspot.com/


     I really like your idea of using Jersey Shore (JS) as an example for Dustin Kidd’s arguments. When a fellow classmate mentioned that people claim to watch reality TV ironically, but not actually ‘like’ it and continue to watch it, this is the first program that I thought of. I know a lot of people who also watch reality TV, specifically Jersey Shore (including my little brother as well), and say that they only watch it because the characters are ‘so ridiculous’.  However, each week they continue to watch it. In response to your breakdown of Kidd’s steps and their relation to JS, I have a few comments particularly on creating norms, rituals and social change.

            

    In looking at a cultural artifact such as Jersey Shore, the characters, as you outline, develop a set of norms that we see reflected in the lives of the viewers. Terms such as ‘GTL’ (gym, tanning, laundry) and calling yourself ‘The Situation’ have become mantras for young men who watch the show, while female viewers see the female characters acting and dressing promiscuously with skin tones that come close to the colour orange.

            

      In speaking of rituals and social change, the rituals of the cast on Jersey Shore have formed rituals for the viewers and inspired a change of societal views. As mentioned previously, the development of what can be considered normal on the show is emphasized in the rituals of the individuals and directly influences the viewers perception of how one should act, dress, etc. You mention particular rituals of the housemates, however I think of the group of young people who collect on the couch every Thursday night (I think it is on Thursdays?) to watch the program and follow their every move.

            

    Coming from an Italian background that I am very proud of, I feel that these individuals are making a bad name for the rest of us and do not reflect what it is to be a young person of Italian descent. Although this reflection is only about Jersey Shore, many other programs on television promote a similar type of life style. For example, Sex and the City sparked a revolution in the 1990s with elements of the series falling under all of Kidd’s steps. However, I will save that analysis for my own blog posting.

Thanks for the post!

- K