Week 4- Christ in film

For this week’s post I was originally going to focus on the ideas of Dr. Christopher Deacy and his views on Christ-figures in cinema for the most part however I will now briefly discuss him towards the end as I have found myself thoroughly engaged in the ideas raised in this morning’s tutorial. Today Sylvie discussed issues concerning the various portrayals of Jesus Christ in the media. The first issued rose which I found to be quite interesting is, why is Jesus white? After giving that question significant thought I concluded that Jesus is primarily white due to the fact that Jesus is a representation of God; and if man is created in God’s image or vice versa then he must reflect those that follow him. As a significant image associated to Christianity, the face of Jesus needs to be relatable to the people that respond to him, thus if he appeared as per historical perceptions as a middle eastern man with strong features, olive skin and dark hair, he would appear less approachable and relatable to the prime followers on Europe and the rest of the western world.

Early famous art depictions of Christ and God have come from Europeans and in particular Italian artists such as Michelangelo with his portrayal of the two Christian figures clearly evident in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Given that the birthplace of Jesus is in the Middle East, and furthermore that the dominant religion is Islam there was never a great push to have Jesus portrayed in a particular fashion similar to that of what is probably true to history. When people follow a religion they want to feel like they belong and that they are in the right place, and by having a representation of Jesus that looks just like them, the majority of Christians are able to feel comfortable knowing in their minds and perceptions at least that Jesus was like them.

Interpretations of the Bible have always occurred but this very year a miniseries called the Bible allows audiences to engage with the stories like they have never had the opportunity to before. The producers have chosen to take a very literal interpretation of the Bible and attempt to convey the stories of the Bible in a humanised way that tries to allow for interpretation that illustrates how gritty and raw the events would have been. It is one thing to read that there were many battles over land in the Bible or any sacrifices made, but until it is visually represented on a screen some people don’t understand the great scale of what Jesus and his followers were up against.

Deacy stated that the “person of Christ is believed to transcend the pages of the New Testament, in the respect that, for the believer at any rate, Jesus of Nazareth possesses more than mere historical interest but continues to inspire, create and affirm belief and worship in the present day, so film characters–including so-called Christ-figures–must transcend the cinematic text if they are to carry and contain any significance for a film audience” (Deacy, 2006). Evidently throughout the years many interprettaions of the story and life of Jesus have been created and still the messages are relevant and appreciated. Despite claims that Christianity is becoming less popular, it remains a fact that with the “epic miniseries having been seen by more than 68 million people in just 15 days” (Lightworkers Media, 2013)that The Bible miniseries illustrates that great interest remains in the study and belief of Christianity and the ideologies that it represents.

 

References:

Deacy, C. (2006). Reflections on the Uncritical Appropriation of Cinematic Christ-Figures: Holy Other or Wholly Inadequate? Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 13(1).

Lightworkers Media. (2013). Pressroom. Retrieved March 20, 2013, from The Bible: http://bibleseriesresources.com/pressroom-movie-clips

Video clip courtesy of youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wir4fH6hUxw

Week 3- If Pain Persists: The power of perception

If nothing else, the trip to UQ’s beautiful Art Museum to see Linde Ivimey’s If Pain Persists Sculpture exhibit taught me a valuable life lesson; not to judge things based on the first glance. I admittedly had not done any previous research into what the exhibit was that we were going to be engaging with, so to my shock I found her artworks initially to be incredibly confronting and at times a little overwhelming. The concepts in my mind did not seem to add up. How could you have something so disgusting as bones and human hair representing yourself as a child? But as our wonderful guide for the day explained the stories behind the sculptures, the pieces and bits of information in my head began to fit together. What was initially a very confronting exhibit full of odd bits and pieces ended up being a very well thought through exhibition that illustrated great craftsmanship and detailing.

Above I mentioned that I learnt very specifically from this instance at the exhibit that perception is so incredibly important in terms of how different people view one particular piece of artwork. With a class full of people witnessing the same exhibit, everyone’s worldview influenced how they were to perceive the artwork in front of them. Some people were really into it, whilst others were rather cautious and viewed from a distance.

What I found to be most curious of all was when we initially looked at the large sculpture of twelve small figures lined up, without faces, wearing rags for clothing and linking themselves together. Before looking at the title I did an initial brainstorm as to what I thought the piece of art was about. In this initial brainstorm I came up with ideas such as the blind following the blind, prisoners, poor strugglers, slaves, all of which were rather negative ideas. When it was revealed that the sculpture was depicting the Twelve Apostles I was initially shocked and for some reason felt a little disrespected. To me, those prior thoughts of what I had in mind for the sculpture prior to knowing the title were not traits that I would ever associate with Jesus’ most loyal followers. In fact, the term blind following the blind, or even, blind leading the blind made me wonder what Linde’s religious background was. Did she dislike Christianity? Did she think that the Apostles were clueless? I found myself in a state of disequilibrium not knowing or understanding where she was going with the idea.

Since seeing the exhibit I have read her online resource that states that she “had an opportunity to explore spirituality and a grouping whose blind faith fascinated her”. I believe it strongly comes down to the individual world view that a person comes with when they look at a piece of art. For an initial brainstorm can tell you one thing, but the moment a title or label is given to it, the perspective instantly shifts and as long term memory allows points of relevance to be connected to the new artwork, you can no longer see it in the exact same way that you did before.   

To me it is absolutely astonishing at how some pieces of information can drastically change the way a person perceives and interprets something. The moment I was told the name of the piece my perspective instantly flipped and drastically changes as I brought together a heap of prior knowledge in regards to that topic and began to work out the little nuances that the artist had created within the artwork. That for me was very confronting. I have never before experiences such a drastic and rapid change in how I have perceived something before. Yet, even in reflection I still understand how I thought the way I did when I initially saw the piece, and again, what I see now.

Image Reference: Courtesy of The University of Queensland's Art Museum Online Resources

Week 3- Facing the Sacred and Finding a Personal Representation

David Morgan’s chapter on Facing the Sacred raised some very interesting points in regards to how important visual interpretations can be towards the process of meaning making and establishing a certain perspective in regards to religion. Prior to reading this chapter I understood visuals to be an addition to enhance a belief, however, after having read this chapter I now understand that to a great extent an image that is relevant and relatable to the audience can either strengthen a faith or leave people wondering aimlessly in discontent. It is through the examples of Christianity and that of the face of Jesus Christ that Morgan has used to illustrate his ideas on the importance of visual representations.

A nineteenth century photographer from Philadelphia, Marcus Aurelius Root was quoted by Morgan saying that according to Root, the human face is "the most perfect of all mediums of expression . . . the index of the soul” (Morgan, 2007, 199). Thus the face of Christ had to be one that could reflect all of his teachings as well as having the ability to allow millions of people to have faith in the stories of this man. Having faith is one thing but having the ability to put a visual figure to the belief makes it somehow more concrete. Root’s thoughts of having a face as the index to the soul is a very daunting statement when it comes to having the right image represent Jesus Christ and furthermore, Christianity.

According to Morgan, psychologist G. Stanley Hall stated that the “psychological Jesus was more important than the historical Jesus” (Morgan, 2007, 201) this idea is similar to an idea that UQ lecturer in religious studies Rick Strelan supports, in that Strelan believes that the myth is more important than the fact. People have the ability to connect with the myth, to allow themselves to be a part of the journey, whereas the fact is concrete and difficult to make personal. This is a similar thought to that of Hall, the psychological Jesus is so important because that is your personal Jesus; the Jesus that you connect with and share experiences with. The historical Jesus is merely a historical figure that cannot be contacted or confided in or related to.

This chapter has truly allowed me to understand visual representations of religion a lot greater than what I previously had. It has become apparent that despite some people needing a great visual representation as Root suggests in regards to the importance of a face that help to reinforce people's beliefs through visual engagement; some other perspectives such as that of Hall only need the comfort that they have their own personal representation that remains unchaged by outside influences.

 

References:

Morgan, D. (2007). Facing the sacred : image and charisma . In D. Morgan, Lure of images : a history of religion and visual media in America (pp. 199-229). New York: Routledge.

Image: Courtesy of pixabay.com http://pixabay.com/en/cross-jesus-wood-church-christ-77999/

Week 2- Looking at Hjarvard to better understand the Mediatisation of Religion

No longer is it that to experience religion you have to attend a local service or personally take yourself into a sacred space; with the vapid rise of social media and the greater population using internet sites for general everyday use, religion amongst many different topics is easily accessible through many forms of media. The mediatisation of religion is not limited to newspaper articles and television but is commonly seen throughout blog posts, twitter, Facebook and other social media sites.

A positive thing about the mediatisation of religion is that now more people are able to gain a more in depth knowledge about a wider variety of topics than they would have been able to without mediatisation and the wide exposure that comes with it. The mediatisation of religion allows for exposure of certain religions that otherwise people would have not known about. This enables people to become more tolerant and understanding of religions that are not their own as they are able to be invited into the knowledge without having to be in person asking questions. Rather, people can discreetly educate themselves on the beliefs and practices of other religions without having to step too far out of their comfort zone.

Stig Hjarvard commented on the quite significant role that the media has within today’s society in terms of making comments on religious issues in a public domain and furthermore the great influence that the media plays on how the audience would perceive such issues or discussions if they haven’t had much previous knowledge about the topic being portrayed. The example Hjarvard used were the Muhammad cartoons published by the daily newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which through effect illustrated the prominent role that papers have in the public circulation of religious representations and the framing of religious controversy (Hjarvard, 2006). Newspapers particularly get seen by many people and can therefore have the potential to shift a group of people’s perception on an issue through something as simple as a carton. The mediatisation of religion and especially communication surrounding religion is especially evident in online forums for “the Internet has become a prominent platform for the dissemination and discussion of religious ideas”(Højsgaard and Warburg 2005), what some people regard as a safe place to openly discuss their ideas about both newly formed  and personalised religions but also those that are more long standing. Therefore it is critical not to underestimate the influence that the mediatisation of religion has on the way people perceive it.

Finally, a great point that Hjarvard makes is that it is important to understand that the “media works as agents of religious change”(Hjarvard, 2008). People through the media are exposed to much more about much more. This enables people the freedom to learn about other religions that they may not have known before. Through social interaction with other’s on the internet or by participating in forums or even through printed media such as magazines or newpaper articles, people in general are coming to better understand each other and furthermore, how to be more tolerant and understanding people as it allows people to much more easily connect with one another.

 

References:

Hjarvard, S. (2008). Mediatisation of religion : a theory of the media as agents of religious change. Northern lights : film and media studies yearbook, 6(1), 9-26.

Hjarvard, S. (2006), ‘Religion og politik i mediernes offentlighed’ (‘Religion and Politics in the Public Sphere of the Media’), in L. Christoffersen (ed.), Gudebilleder: Ytringsfrihed og religion i en globaliseret verden (Images of the Gods: Freedom of Speech and Religion in a Globalized World), Copenhagen: Tiderne Skifter, pp. 44–71.

 Højsgaard, M.T. and Warburg, M. (eds) (2005), Religion and Cyberspace, London: Routledge.

Image: Courtesy of Shutterstock http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?language=en&id=106636133