Response to "Disney: Rated T for Toddlers"

Original post: http://faithisourmedium.blogspot.ca/2012/04/disney-rated-t-for-toddlers.html

I did some research about "Sophia the First", and the Disney Wiki article stated that "Sofia learns that looking like a princess isn’t all that hard but behaving like one must come from the heart". A NY Daily News article also said that, “Sophia the First” will feature "plenty of pretty dresses and sparkly shoes," but with an emphasis on "what makes a real princess is what's inside, not what's outside." Perhaps it is good that Disney is trying to promote to toddlers that the inside is what matters, but I feel that by making her look like all the other princesses with her princess outfits, appearances still play an important role in this series.

It seems that most of Disney's stories are the typical "From rags to riches", and this show is no exception, as Sophia lived a normal life until her mom decided to marry the King. Maybe it's just me (especially after having watched Real Housewives of Vancouver), but it seems that this shows a sort of gold-digging. Of course this is not Disney's intention, but it struck me after I read about how she suddenly becomes royalty after being married into the royal family. To me, it seems like a possible lesson that could be taken from this show is that as long as you marry well, you won't have to work or struggle anymore. It could also teach children, as jlazaga says, that you need to be rich to be happy. 

I also feel that by Disney putting out a princess to cater to such young girls, they are trying to create brand loyalty at such a young age. Of course, I did watch Cinderella, Snow White, etc. when I was 3 years old and onwards and I was loyal to Disney, but I feel that, as jlazaga says, by having this series on television and for 30 minutes, it increases the chance of viewership and it could create an even closer bond with children 

There isn't too much information about the show yet so I can't speak for the plot, but it will be interesting to see how they narrate inner beauty over outer beauty at such a young age.

Toddlers and... Sexuality?

            After mentioning Toddlers and Tiaras in class, I knew I had to blog about this show. I watch TLC from time to time, and I have always seen advertisements for the show. I’ve never watched an episode because I’m a bit too creeped out by the whole idea. The previews usually show little girls acting like spoiled princesses, and act as if they were teenagers. The idea of having a young girl dressed up in piles of makeup and wigs is quite unsettling. 

            I remember seeing this preview before, and as I watched it again, I was reminded how shocked I was when I first saw this. The young girl, Karmen, is forced by her mother to do a spray tan at home. Her mom also had bought her “flippers”, which are fake teeth to have her teeth appear larger (as hers are still baby teeth – which they should be!).

            When they show clips of Karmen getting ready backstage, she narrates how the steps her mom takes when she does her makeup – eyelashes, eyebrows, eyeshadow – something a girl her age shouldn’t know so much about. She states, “My mom does my makeup because she wants me to look pretty”. That shows how Karmen has been raised to believe that appearances are very important; something that shouldn’t be set in one’s mind, especially at her age. It seems that not only has the media targeted young girls to think this way, but has reached out to mothers who believe their daughters should behave this way and thus encourage this behaviour.

            It is important to embrace children as youth, and not try and grow them up so quickly. As discussed in class, young girls are being targeted by the media with products that seem as though they should be sold to older, ‘hot’ women. It is with shows like Toddlers and Tiaras that show how corrupt our media has become, and the effects it has on younger generations.

Response to: The Real Monster

Original blog post can be found here: http://whatwouldchirstdo.blogspot.ca/2012/03/real-monster.html

Like ccandelario, I’m not a huge fan of monster movies. I am, too, a fan of “A Walk to Remember”. I was only 12 when the movie came out, so I never picked up on the real messages of the film until I watched it time after time over the years. As I grew up, I started realizing what the movie was truly about, and the messages really stood out to me.

Jamie deals with the realization of her death so calmly; I’m not sure I’d be able to do the same. It’s great to see a movie out there like this, to show a way in which death is dealt with tranquilly (as opposed to monster movies). Situations like this are very realistic, versus monster movies, which are not. Monster movies are more for entertainment; to put death in a different manner and to entertain the idea. “A Walk to Remember” shows the reality of death and perhaps how people should deal with their death. For people with terminal illnesses, they should be able to use the time they have left to do things they want to before it’s too late. For those of us who live regular lives, we should still use this lesson, and do the things you want to before it’s too late.

An important part of “A Walk to Remember” is religion, being that Mandy Moore is very devoted to her faith and her father is a reverend. The film shows that someone can be changed by the faith of someone else. Jamie influences Landon and it changes his life completely. All she does is live her life the way she wanted to, and through that, Landon falls in love with her and also changes himself. Because of her, he is given faith and something to believe in.

Eve: The Original Desperate Housewife?

I recently watched an older episode of my favorite TV show, Desperate Housewives. In the newer seasons, they do not have long opening credits like they did with the first few seasons. It is one of my favorite opening credits, as it is sort of like an art history tour. It begins with Adam and Eve, then to Egyptian civilization, Jan van Eyck’s “Arnolfini Wedding”, Grant Wood’s “American Gothic”, and a Roy Lichtenstein cartoon.

The opening credits (video shown below) begin with a parody of the story of Eve, the garden, forbidden fruit and snake. Adam is shown as well, and as a snake hands an apple to Eve, it gets bigger and crushes Adam. At the end of the credits, the four main housewives are shown in front of the garden (like a cycle), and apples fall into their open palms. The apple crushing Adam most likely denotes that men are not as important in this series, and that women have all the power (as the show IS called Desperate Housewives). It can also symbolize women being able to demasculinize men, with their manipulative ways. With Eve as the main character of this opening sequence, perhaps she is the representation of the original "Desperate Housewife", with her trickery tactics. 

Throughout these opening credits, the famous images depicted all show one thing: that women are devious, highly sexualized creatures with men as their prey. The use of these classic images show that men and women never change.

Many of promo shots for Desperate Housewives have something to do with apples, whether the women are lying on a bed of apples or standing and holding an apple. 

 

 

 I always knew Desperate Housewives had some religious influences, as one of the housewives, Bree, regularly attends Church and turns to her faith in times of need. There are also many episodes in which the housewives attend Church, attend confession or pray to God for help. However, it wasn't until just recently when I took a closer look at the opening credits and really noticed the Adam and Eve depictions. It is interesting to see the contrast in the show; how they use Adam and Eve as the premise for their credits, yet, the way these women usually act on the show are anything less than religious.

Response to: If Video Games Make You Violent...

You discussed how Christianity does and should look at violence with a critical eye, as well as how Christians have reacted negatively to violence in video games. In the article for this week’s class by Trothen, she discusses how hockey and Christianity both involve much violence. Even as Christians look at violence in video games as a horrible thing, shouldn’t they be worrying that they are teaching violence to believers as well? With the crucifixion discussed in such detail, shouldn’t people be worried that it is teaching people that violence is okay, because Jesus woke up even after being crucified?

Many people associate video games with violence, because those seem to be the most popular types. The Christian video game that we discussed in class, Left Behind, has the player shoot people with a laser which forces people to get down on their knees and pray, instead of being shot. However, as said in class, the game has been criticized by groups of progressive Christians who see it as a retrogressive game. This is because the idea of the game is that you convert or you kill; this means that you are still able to kill people, even though it points out that killing is the least successful way to win the game. This contradicts Christians’ idea of having non-violent video games, as this Christian video game allows killing. Even the promo picture looks violent, as there are men holding guns, with face masks or military gear. If I didn't know this was a Christian game, I would not have thought it was one by looking at the photo.

I agree with your point about how the relation between video games and violence should be studied more closely before people make such assumptions. As I mentioned in my post, people are exposed to violence in other aspects of life other than video games. I’m sure most of the violence people experience in their life is outside of a video game, so these games most likely do not have as big of an effect on children as people say they do.

Operation: Violence

I have a friend who is part of the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, and works as a consultant for films. His job is to make sure that military action scenes are depicted as realistically as possible. One of his more recent jobs was working on the set of the Call of Duty trailer for the mission "Operation Kingfish". Since he has military experience, he was hired as a consultant to make sure that all the action scenes were as realistic as possible. 

 

As violent as his job may be, he is not a violent guy at all. I asked him if he ever felt the need to be violent in his everyday life after playing violent games or having a violent job. He said if anything, it makes him less violent because as he has to deal with violence all the time, he does not want it a part of his normal life. He explained to me that some people find it entertaining because it’s something they would not normally do in real life, so being able to do it virtually satisfies their curiosities about violence. I should also mention that he grew up Christian – he still believes in the faith but does not attend Church regularly. He said that he was taught that violence is never the answer, and that his Christian faith taught him to use methods other than violence to deal with things. I’ve included the video that he worked on, titled “Call of Duty: Operation Kingfish”. 

The debate with this topic is whether violence is natural or cultural. I believe that most people have a violent side; it is just up to them whether or not they choose to explore it.  In class, we discussed ideas about whether or not these games provoke violence. While I believe that these games could potentially provoke some violent ideas, some people are simply naturally violent or learn violence in other aspects of life. Many people believe video games are the reason why their children are violent, but I believe that things you experience outside of your video games can influence you more violently.

Response to: "My take on GCB"

In an effort to continue procrastinating, I decided to watch GCB. A friend told me that it was like Mean Girls vs. Desperate Housewives (one of my favorite shows), so I knew I had to watch it. Personally, I don’t think it takes anything too far, however, I am not religious so I can see how this may offend some Christians.

I do see how the show can depict hypocrites, as there are many sexual references and innuendos. Amanda has to get a job and ends up working at a local restaurant that seems similar to Hooters, as she has to wear a low cut shirt and tight short shorts. With this job she is able to make quick money, but because of her scantily clad outfit. Then, there are also several scenes in which Amanda attends Church. This demonstrates the contrast in the show; how even though Amanda may be a devout Christian (and therefore should be relatively conservative), she does not follow her religion very closely, as many Christians do.

The girls often refer to the group leader as the “Queen Bitch”. Back in the day, the “Queen Bitch” was Amanda, but now Charlene has taken over. This “Queen” figure could be seen as the Christ figure in the group; the girls look up to her, envy her or see her as a role model and she has power and influence over everyone. One feature of Christ figures is blue eyes, which Charlene has. In Kozlovic’ article, he also mentions that Christ figures die and have a resurrection. I could see Charlene’s transformation from high school (in which she looked drab and was not fit) as her death, as well as her being tormented by Amanda. Her resurrection could be her, now, after having plastic surgery, and having the power over Amanda and everyone else. Cross associations are a vital part of this show, in which most of the ladies wear crosses. In the clip below, she is seen telling a girl that cleavage helps her cross hang straight.

I agree with Will when he says, “The show is simply an attempt to show the human side of Christians and reveals the flaws in a group of people who create a face of being perfect.” No one by any means is perfect, and there will always be those who do not follow Christianity closely. However, it is there for people to use as a guide; something to follow and believe in and give them a path in life. The show is just meant to show a humorous side of Christianity, and not to show it in a bad light.

Dare You To Move

This week in class, the topic was about Christianity and popular music. The title of the lecture, “It’s a faith, not a genre” simply means that Christian music is not necessarily a genre (as it is a faith), but it can be presented in all types of music. Immediately when thinking about artists that come from Christian backgrounds, Switchfoot comes to mind.

When I was in middle/high school, I remember being a big fan. They are often referred to as a Christian rock band, and are heavily involved with the Christian rock scene. When putting them into a category of Contemporary Christian Music as said by Brian Schills, Switchfoot definitely fits into the transformationist category. Transformationists are people who have some kind of Christian identity but their purpose is to be the best musician. In an interview with the Boston Globe in 2004, the band states,

"We've always been very open and honest about where the songs are coming from. For us, these songs are for everyone. Calling us 'Christian rock' tends to be a box that closes some people out and excludes them, and that's not what we're trying to do. Music has always opened my mind—and that's what we want".

They openly talk about their faith, but they do not want people to necessarily call them a Christian band as that leaves them with a smaller audience, whereas they want to reach out to everyone.

Their song, “Dare You To Move”, is arguably one of their most well-known songs. Here are the lyrics:

Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next
What happens next

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here
Tension is here
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be

[Chorus]

Maybe redemption has stories to tell
Maybe forgiveness is right where you fell
Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go?
Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here

This is quite an uplifting, encouraging song, saying that it’s time to change and to pick yourself up and move on. Even though there is no mention of God in this song, knowing that the band believes in the Christian faith, it is easy to put it in a religious context. The beginning of the song is saying that everyone is watching and waiting for you to do something. Then the lyrics, “dare you to move”, could be encouraging people to take a stand for Christ – stand up for what you believe in. The lyrics, “forgiveness is right where you fell” could be saying that God has forgiven your sins; the only escape from our sins is through the redemption of Jesus Christ. This is simply my interpretation of the lyrics, not necessarily how they are meant to be interpreted.

I’ve included the video below. I noticed that in the video that at the beginning, there are scenes where people are lying on the ground, in need of saving. At the end of the video when they sing the lyrics, “I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor”, the people in need of saviour wake up or are saved. 

What do you think about these lyrics and the video, and how they relate to Christianity? 

Response to: Reality TV.... Don't Believe Everything You See!

In your blog entry you discussed reality TV shows and how producers edit a certain way in order to portray a certain idea. In the Mesaros-Winckles article about 19 kids and counting, she discusses how the Duggar family obviously practices the Quiverfull way of living, but they do not mention it on the show or openly say they do. However, the way the show is edited, shows audiences that they do indeed follow it.

Trailers from shows are also strategically edited to trick audiences into thinking one thing, to lure them in to watch the show. However, when the episode is aired, many audiences are disappointed.

An example of this is the show Jersey Shore. During the fourth season, two of the cast members get into a fight. The preview shows one of the guys knocked out on the floor, and getting escorted out of the house on a stretcher. After seeing this preview, everyone assumed the other cast member had hit him and knocked him out.

However, you can see in this video, that he simply knocked his head on the wall. The producers edited it this way to lure people into watching the show, in hopes of seeing a crazy fight.

With the case of the Trading Spouses episode, I’m sure the way the show was edited put a very negative view on Christianity. The lady was already very forceful with her beliefs and the way she was acting definitely put a negative light on Christianity. The way the episode was edited no doubt showed a different, crazier side of the religion. Of course, most Christians are not like this, but it definitely shows that people can act this way. While shows like 19 Kids and Counting are not promoted as a Christian show, it is obvious that they want their message to be received by audiences and perhaps get people to follow as well.

Religious Cheerleaders

In this week's class, we focused on Christianity in television. A great example of a show that promotes Christianity is Hellcats. The show is based on a law student, Marti (played by Aly Michalka), who attends Lancer University. She has to join her university's cheerleading squad in order to get a scholarship so she can afford to stay in school. One of her teammates, Savannah (played by Ashley Tisdale) is a devout Christian who has moved out of her religious household because she left her Christian school to join a secular school.

Hellcats heavily promotes Christian values. Throughout the show, we are shown clips of Savannah and her family discussing their religious beliefs and what Savannah is doing is wrong and against their religion. They also talk about how her parents disapprove of her being a cheerleader at a secular school as it as seen as inappropriate. Savannah's younger sister gets pregnant in the show, and there are a lot of discussions about religious beliefs throughout these episodes.

At the beginning of the show, Savannah’s encounters with her family are very awkward, as she had left their household to live at the school dorm. Her parents almost refuse to talk to her, even though she still practices her religious beliefs. They eventually accept her, but they make their expectations of her very clear. One night Savannah brings a boy for dinner to meet her family, and her parents grill him about his religious beliefs. It is obvious they are not fond of the boy, and suggest Savannah go back to dating her very religious ex-boyfriend. 

Lancer’s rival school is Memphis Christian, who also has a cheerleading squad. However, their uniforms are much more conservative. They do not show any midriff, and their tops are full sleeved instead of sleeveless – clearly showing that you can still be a cheerleader without having to show off your skin.  

It is interesting to see the conflict in the show - having cheerleaders, who are usually portrayed very sexually, versus a highly Christian family, who look down upon secular schools and their cheerleading squad. 

Response to: The Socialogy of Jesus

I definitely agree with your post and how all Jesus characters are women, and demonic characters are usually portrayed by women. They are also usually dressed scantily clad - such as with Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman and Demi Moore as Madison Lee in Charlie's Angels. The sexy evil characters are usually in lingerie or a very tight, revealing body suit. These women are shown as powerful, sexy, but evil, luring in a sense of danger. They are also masters at the art of seduction - something contrary to what religious people may believe in.

There are, however, womanly Christ figures in movies - usually the angel or fairy godmother. Movies like this include Cinderella and Mama Odie in Disney's "The Princess and the Frog". They play God, making sure they help out the main character(s) when in need or to help save from disasters. They can always hear when help is needed and often appear from nowhere. The fairy godmother is the mentor, showing motherly actions and paving the right path for the character to follow.

As for your question, "Why is being a devil sexy?", perhaps it's because people like a sense of evil or danger. Instead of going for the good person or the hero, try something new. The devilish characters are most always very sexy and seductive, luring people to the evil side with their sexuality.

You said, "We see that a lot of social norms, customs, and culture is in someway a derivative of christianity. It is safe to assume that these same perspectives have found their way to dictating gender roles". If people are dictating gender roles, specifically through films, then does this mean people see women as evil, if they are potraying the devil?

Super Jesus

In this week's lecture, we discussed Jesus films and Christ figures in films. A great example of Christ figures in films are any superhero movies - Superman, Spiderman, Batman, etc. They are the saviours, the ones who try and do good deeds and save the town from the bad guys. With the example of "Superman Returns", Superman's father tells him he is going to send him to Earth because "humans lack the light to show the way". There is a clear biblical reference there, which is by no means accidental. At the end of the film, he is stabbed with a piece of kryptonite. This can be related to Jesus being stabbed during the crucifixion. After he throws Lex Luthor's continent into space, he falls back into the Earth into a pose that resembles Jesus on the cross. Superman wakes up from a coma three days later, like Jesus waking up three days after his crucifixion. Also, he is able to fly around and hear cries of help from people needing his assistance. This resembles God being able to hear our prayers in heaven. It seems the story in "Superman Returns" could be a sort of re-telling of Jesus' life; being sent to Earth by his father to do good, battling with Lex Luthor (who could very well be the devil figure), being crucified and then waking up three days later.

In class we talked about how films with Christ figures often have a covert missiological intention to try and convert people to becoming Christian. I believe Superman could be one of these movies, as there are so many obvious biblical references (as stated above). Some non-religious people may be offended by having Christ figures in films because it can offend their non religious beliefs. However, because Superman is such a widely popular figure in popular secular culture, the religious references shouldn't ward off mainstream viewers.

Response to Gianni's post, "Get Out of Hell Free Card"

Gianni,

I agree with your thoughts about how religion is portrayed in popular media -- that Jesus will always be around to save someone in their time of need. Another example of this is shown in one of my favorite TV shows, Desperate Housewives. One of the main characters on the show is a woman, Bree Van de Kamp, who is a devout Christian. Throughout the show, she has turned to Christianity in times of need; whether it was when her son told her he was gay, when he accidentally ran over a woman, or she had an affair, she always turned to God and hoped he would forgive her. She makes sure that people know Christianity is a big part of her life and any time she has done something wrong, she will repent her sins - contrary to what Homer Simpson said.

The line, "I'll recant when I'm on my deathbed", does prove very fitting in today's world. As I mentioned in my post, I grew up in a nondenominational household, so I can't necessarily relate to that line. However, I do have many Christian and Catholic friends, who, like you, have not been attending Church regularly but hope to do so in the future. I've noticed that most of my friends have never attended a confessional and have said to each other, that they will repent later in life. The trend I've noticed - and maybe it's just with the people I know - is that as the generations go on, the less they go to Church or stay with a religion. My grandma attends Church every Sunday and freaks out if she accidentally sleeps in or has to miss it because something came up. My dad used to attend Church when he was younger, but as he got older, he slowly stopped. Then come my brother and I, who do not follow a belief. My mom grew up in a nondenominational household and as my dad stopped attending Church, he never brought us up with a religion. This case is common in many of my friends as well - either they do not follow a belief, or they simply do not attend Church regularly.

I'm glad you posted the "Get Out of Jail Free Card" photo - I've seen it a couple times before but I've forgotten about it until now. It was really suiting for the theme of lecture!

Heaven and Hell

As neither of my parents are nondenominational, I was raised without a religion. I wouldn't say we are Atheist, but we simply do not follow a religion.  That being said, I respect and am open minded to those who follow a belief, and the choices they make based on their beliefs. Being in a class about Christianity is probably the most I will ever be exposed to religion. I'm interested in learning more about Christianity, as well as it's connection with popular culture.

At the beginning of class, we watched the music video to Kanye West's song, 'Jesus Walks'. When this song came out, I was about 14 years old. I remember the impact the song and video had on everyone. It was a very in-your-face song about religion, but in a good way. At first, I was surprised that a song about religion became such a great hit, especially being a rap song. Rap music generally deals with lyrics about sex, drugs, money, women, and the such. It's a powerful song that speaks out to a lot of people and to not to be afraid of religion.

The video has a few different stories going on, but they all evidently have a separation of black and white. For example, all of the prisoners are black, while the guards are white. Something else I noticed in the video was in one scene at the beginning, Kanye is rapping in what seems to be a narrow, wooden room. Behind him are flames shooting forward, perhaps representing hell. Above his head is a flickering light in the shape of a circle, perhaps to represent a halo. This to me seems like a representation of heaven and hell, and as he raps the lyrics "God show me the way because the Devil trying to break me down," the halo disappears and the flames shoot forward.

The Simpsons has long been one of my favorite TV shows, ever since I was in middle school. I remember watching it after school, before eating dinner.

In the episode we watched in class, 'Homer the Heretic', Homer decides not to go to Church one Sunday and has, what he says, is the best day of his life. His decision to stop attending Church bothers his wife, Marge, and soon he is paying the consequences as he begins having dreams about God and how angry God is at him for not attending Church.



Later in the episode, Homer falls asleep and a cigarette falls out of his mouth onto a pile of magazines, causing a fire. He is in such deep sleep he does not realize the house is ablaze, and Ned Flanders, his devout Christian neighbour, has to rush in and save Homer. The fire being set off could easily be a depiction of Homer being sent to hell as a punishment for not going to Church. Ned saving Homer from the fire proves that being religious is a positive thing, and he decides to start attending Church again.

This episode of the Simpsons is definitely trying to show viewers the importance of attending Church, and the consequences if you do not. However, as I am nondenominational, the message has little impact on me. I do understand the importance of attending Church when you are religious, and if I was, I definitely would remain faithful to my religion and try my best to attend every week.