Readings Week 9 - little mosque on the prairie

by Laura Green

I found Sandra Canas’ article very interesting. I agree with her that the bulk of Muslim representations in media are based on orientalist ideals, and they have been for a long time. However, in modernity, particularly since 9/11, there has been an increasing prevalence of shows that aim to show Islam in a different light, particularly the lives of Muslims who live in the West.

I have not seen the Canadian show “little mosque on the prairie” that Canas uses as an example of these new criticisms on the stereotypes reinforced by traditional media. However, there are other shows that highlight the realities of Islam in the West in a similar way to what Canas describes. The UK TV show “skins” stars a Muslim character called Anwar for the first 2 series. His story addresses many of the things Canas talks about, such as the struggle for parents to raise their children to respect their religion, but also to adapt to Western culture. Skins also uses humour to portray these ideas, like the Canadian show does. Canas seems to suggest this is a limited way to attack stereotypes. I do see the basis of her argument, as having to address issues humorously does limit the topics that can be portrayed in a show. However, even with these limitations, I think addressing the stereotypes, of any religious groups, through a sitcom is a great way to ease society into thinking differently, as it is entertaining and not overtly offensive or likely to make the viewer feel that they are being preached to.

References:

Sandra Canas, “Little Mosque on the Prairie: Examining (Multi) Cultural Spaces of Nation and Religion,” Cultural Dynamics 20, (2008): 195 – 211.

Readings Week 8: C. Klassen: Avatar, Dark Green Relgion and the Technological Construction of Nature.

By Laura Green

The technologically created "natural" world of Pandora. 

I found Klassen’s article, which examines the spirituality of nature, with particular reference to the theme embedded in the film Avatar, extremely interesting. I believe the spiritual aspect of nature is quite clearly illustrated in many ways; the most significant to me is the connection many people feel to certain places. I grew up in the UK and often feel such a connection with the places of my childhood, when I go back for visits. In particular, the walking trails in the countryside that I remember walking with my parents. Due to this I can understand why some people feel such a strong pull from all forms of nature and want to practice what Klassen calls “dark green religion”, which promotes that humans are part of the natural world and nature is seen as sacred. The need for humans to live in harmony with the natural world and the sacredness of nature was a common belief in many ancient cultures, however, over time some of these cultures began to assert the prominence of the human race over nature and their right to dominate it. This idea has remained prominent in our western culture for centuries. Recently though, with the advent of growing environmental concern, many people are going back to a “dark green” spirituality, and reasserting the sacredness of nature (Carolyn Egri, 1997). 

Many individuals saw Avatar as a promotion of such dark green religion and environmental activism. This idea was not new to me; however, Klassen proposes a different view of the film and I found his argument extremely interesting. He believes that the technologically created natural world of Avatar can negatively affect people’s view of the real natural world. Klassen argues that this is the reason some viewers have plunged into what is referred to as ‘post-pandoran depression’ after watching Avatar. This is where viewers are unable to reconcile their natural world with the technologically mastered world of Pandora, which has made their real natural world seem “second best”. Klassen suggests that in some ways the natural world that is presented in Avatar is actually promoting the complete opposite of dark green religion. He argues that it invites viewers to marvel at technologically created nature over real-world nature.  Hence, this is not a demonstration of seeing the sacredness of nature but of admiring at human technological advancement, which again promotes the prominence of humanity over all else in the world.

References:

Carolyn Egri (1997) “Spiritual Connections with the Natural Environment”, Organisation and Environment 10, no. 4: 407-431

Chris Klassen (2012) “Avatar, Dark Green Religion, and the Technological Construction of Nature”, Cultural Studies Review 18, no. 2: 74-86.

Image: 

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTgwMTg4NDkyNF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjc4MTUzNA@@._V1._SX640_SY360_.jpg 

Readings Week 7 - "God Mobs: Virtually Religious Community"

by Laura Green

I found Wagner’s research into online communities and how they interact with religion quite interesting. As a 21 year old in 2013 I use all the forms of technology discussed by Wagner, never without my phone, always on facebook. However, I have not been a part of an online community, the only people I converse with online are the friends I already have, and so I used to find the idea that someone could become so attached to a person or a group that they had never met, quite strange. As Wagner points out this is the view many scholars take, seeing online relationships and communities as not really connecting us with anyone and pretty much value-less (128).

However, recently I have been watching a show on MTV called “catfish”, a documentary series that profiles young Americans who have met people online and formed romantic relationships with them, without meeting. This has opened my eyes to how intense such online communication can be.

I have not really thought about online religion before, but I can see from research that it is a huge trend. The amount of online religious communities that are based on traditional religions was interesting to me. Many religious authorities are against the growth of such communities for various reasons, particularly that they believe online religion requires less effort than face-to-face religion and that virtual contact shouldn’t be able to replace human contact. However, there are others who see that online religious communities are valuable to those in places where they perhaps cannot attend services or read scripture themselves. I tend to agree with this sentiment. Diane Winston, from the University of Southern California, also states that research indicates people who participate in online religion are often also involved in real-world places of worship and use the online world to further develop their faith (Gina Ryder, 2011). The many different uses of online religion make me think that it can be a very beneficial thing.

References:

Gina Ryder, “Will Online Communities Replace Church”, The Christian Post 12/09/2011.

http://global.christianpost.com/news/will-online-communities-replace-church-55457/. 

Rachel Wagner, "God Mobs: Virtually Religious community" in Godwired: Religion, Ritual and Virtual Reality (Abingdon: Routledge, 2011). 

Week 6 Reflection, religion and consumption

by Laura Green

  

I found this week’s lecture very interesting. The mention of the readings such as the Adorno and Horkheimer chapter, pointing out things about society which are true, but that we don’t necessarily want to acknowledge, was particularly stimulating. These readings suggest that the media dictates us; our likes and dislikes are all controlled by what is presented in the media. I have, myself, often felt that this type of view was quite pessimistic about society and ignores the individuality of each person. In our society, individuality is very celebrated, so it is hard to accept that our individuality is perhaps not as unique as we may think, and that the media may have had some input.

However, I can see that in our society we use the media is a great influencing factor in creating ourselves, particularly our religious self. It is now quite common and popular for celebrities to express their religiosity publically; considering how prominent celebrities are in our culture the assumption can be made that they do inspire their fans to follow the same beliefs as them. Taylor swift, who is quite vocal about her Christian beliefs suggests, “every singer out there with songs on the radio is raising the next generation (in Ann Oldenburg, 2011).” It is also evident that religion can be used to further enhance a celebs image. In places like America, when a pop-star expresses Christian values, they become very parent friendly and so reach a wider demographic.

Although this sort of transference could be thought of as a type of manipulation, I actually think there are many positives in it. The main demographic who idolise celebrities are teenagers, and they are usually searching for themselves and for meaning to their lives. Celebrities promoting their beliefs gives their fans a chance to explore religion when they may not have done so; whether its through Taylor Swift expressing her Christian morals or Madonna publically practicing Kabbalah.

References:

Ann Oldenburg, “Taylor Swift: Every Singer is ‘raising the next generation’”, USA Today, 17/11/2011.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/11/taylor-swift-happy-to-be-raising-the-next-generation/1#.UWp2ob-fQlI

readings week 6: Maya Einstein, The Evolution of Religious Branding

by Laura Green

In her Article, Einstein evaluates how religion has become commercialized. She argues that the consumer society of Western cultures has created a society of consumers who are able to choose the best option for them from a range of products and so expect this from all aspects of life. This has impacted upon how religion is viewed. With modern technology and media, people are more knowledgeable about different varieties of religion and so are free to pick which spirituality they believe will suit them best. This fits with some of the ideas of Adorno and Horkhiemer’s article “The Culture Industry”(1944), but Einstein does not see this phenomenon as particularly negative.

Einstein goes on to explain how this commoditised aspect of religion has led to an increased occurrence of what she calls “religious branding”. I found her examples of the marketing campaigns of the Church of Scientology and the Methodist Church very interesting as in Australia marketing campaigns to promote religious observance are not so common, which I am quite glad of. Although I can see the use of such campaigns and think religion interacting with all forms of popular culture is quite beneficial to both religious and secular people, I find that the idea of advertising religion in this way a bit too suggestive of coercion.  

I also found the idea that the Church of Scientology’s advert was probably a better example of profitable marketing quite interesting. Einstein argues that the Methodist Church was trying to advertise their denomination, but they still promoted Christianity of any kind as good in their advertisement. Whereas the goal was much clearer and more forcefully pro-Scientology in the Church of Scientology’s campaign.

References:

Adorno T. and M. Horkheimer. 1944. The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception. In Dialectic of Enlightenment. Andy Blumden, transl. New York: Continuum