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.