Just a pair of revolving doors, no more special than any others. Mundane, transparent glass cased in a metal embrace and once, only once will the doors land parallel to one another, giving one unsuspecting traveller entry to pass through them and transcend with ease. The doors swing, whine and spin all day, awaiting a parallel union. I'm walking towards them, only thoughts of the morrow bearing in my mind, all else oblivion. My hand rests upon the cool steel of the handle, but it needs no force. I continue through the opening and reach the next revolving door, only to find it parallel to its twin. I walk through the door with nonchalant ease. The clock suspends; at that moment, that precise moment, the universe rushes forth. Physicists theoretical formulas prevail, autotrophic truths, personal awareness, intergalactic intelligence and sacred geometry. This knowledge beams down upon me in an instant of profound consciousness. All questions have been remade statements, all is known, yet it all breaks down to the elementary. Instead of wailing for complexities and scribbling anomalies', we need only ask the simplest of questions. Is it love or fear? Is it for love of betterment or fear of failure? Is it for love of pleasure or fear of reality? Is it for love of stimulation or fear of being alone with ourselves? To meagre me, it all shines true, i choose my intangible path precisely and inwardly salute the chance of the two parallel, revolving doors. I step through the doorway and depart the metal embrace, walking on as though I never flinched.
A completely non-related video, but thought it was interesting as the lyrics are quite religious! Band: Fenech-Soler, Song: Stop and Stare.
There is much contention around 9/11 discourse and the representations of Muslim, but the representation of Westerners should also be noted. The media, as our keystone of information in instantaneous events, is dualistic, that is, it represents and shapes attitudes not singularly, but of both concerned groups (Middle East/West). Even moderate Westerners who acknowledge acts like 9/11 are not a truthful or blanket representation of Muslims, hesitate to think of media representation of Westerners in the Middle East that may lead to incorrect 'knowledge of "them" and "their" knowledge of us' (Hoover 2012, p. 75).
Another factor that needs to be considered is media as a religion, as a 'public ritual of commemoration and mourning' (Hoover 2012, p. 76). The 9/11 media frenzy is an example of that, as the images of the towers it etched in the minds of those exposed to technology. This public and instantaneous public mourning and imagery did create a feeling of community and it could be argued it further insulated the "us" group from the "them" group, through the very process of mourning. Through loss and sorrow, ratified and legitimized previous misconceptions were re-embraced. In fact, information and education about 'others can lead as readily to mistrust and misunderstanding as to trust and understanding' (Hoover 2012, p. 78). This is due to the fact that context, bias and representation of by the media occurs. A typical example would be the framing of Muslims as conservative, if not archaic, fundamentalists with an affinity for chemicals and also Westerners as immoral and sexually deviant.
The 9/11 event was a tragedy, however many other tragedies have occurred with less shock and less media coverage. Although in the article Hoover proposes it was more because of the unprecedented nature of the where the act took place, I think it was mainly due to the 'global media landscape [believing] not all human lives are of equal worth' (Hoover 2012, p. 77). The reason for a higher volume of coverage for this event is not because it was unprecedented or unusual, as most events such as Tsunami's or genocide's are to a certain degree unexpected. For instance, the world was in partial disbelief on the release of information about Pol Pot, the Khmer Rogue and the genocide which followed. Most large scale events like these are unexpected or generally action would be taken, or media reporting occurring.
It could be argued that because Western countries do contribute financially, numerically and geographically the most to media, via the myriad of frameworks, that so much reporting occurred as so much of modern media is caucasian or Western. The event could have shocked due to the very event being a target to Westerners, as targeted Western suffering may not be as prevalent on the media.
Reference
Hoover S. 2012. Religion, Media and 9/11. In Lynch G. and J. Mitchell with A. Strhan. Eds., Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. 75-88. London and New York: Routledge.
This week's lecture on representation made me think of the cult medias I collect and how they represent G-d, philosophy and spirituality.
There are two stand out cult media items that I think present a quite interesting view of the cosmos. The first is the animated movie Waking Life. The film follows the main character who keeps dreaming and wakes up to find he is in another dream and the perpetual state continues. The film shows the main character going through this cyclic lucid dreaming state and having conversations with some characters in his dreams about free will, dreams, consciousness, politics and existentialism. One scene depicts a man and woman in bed engaging in pillow talk. The man ponders the thought of dreams and describes how when someone falls asleep and wakes up, thinking they have slept for a long time only to find they have been asleep for ten minutes or so. This highlights how distorted and how much longer time is in our subconscious state. What if life was just a dream? Dream time is so much longer and fuller, we could just be in a long dream. I thought this point was interesting, as the current era is touted to be an era of rational thought, science and despite this, there is so much popularity with existentialism, dreams and the subconscious and spiritual states. As spoken by one of the characters in the film, 'the worst mistake you can make is to think you're alive, when you're really asleep in life's waiting room'.
The second cult media is a graphic novella called The Universe is a Dream by Alexander Marchand. The book also discusses the idea (in visual comic style) that the universe is a dream through the idea that our current lives are in duality (Marchand 2010). Duality between sacred and profane, conscious and unconscious, spiritual and rational. Therefore (the book posits) the universe is a dream, as reality is purely non-dualistic; it is pure oneness with no differences or binaries. The book further argues that G-d is a dualistic, he creates imperfect things, punishes, recognizes separation and so G-d must be a dream as well, that we project (Marchand 2010).
How does this tie into representation you say? Both these types of graphic novellas and cult films are exceedingly popular with the youth of today, so even though we talk about this era as an age of information, of empiricism, of rationale and science, the numinous and the intangible have proven (again) to be ever present, appealing and popular. However, for there to be a rise in popularity of philosophies (however mirthfully presented) that represent life as a dream, indicates to me, the ever present whimsical, spiritual or philosophical state of humankind. Inextricably and inescapably embedded in our mental process' is the yearning for transcendence, or to understand the spiritual or the intangible. The universe as a dream also indicates to me a quiet yet self-conscious apathy, an almost passive fear-ridden philosophy. 'Oh don't let's worry about G-d, the universe, our dreams and life after death, it's all a dream, it's all a dream'. Is this self-soothing for the new era?
Reference
Marchand, A 2010. The Universe is a Dream. Inspired Arts Press: Worldwide in Cyberspace.
Video
Waking Life- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk2DeTet98o
In Mecca Cola and Burqinis: Muslim Consumption and Religious Identities, Nabil Echchaibi discusses the growing and gigantic Islamic marketplace. Islam, as with most religious traditions today, have had to find new ways to reinvent, 'sell' or market their values and ideologies as the world has changed. For instance, last week we discussed religious communication and prayer through social media platforms and now we discuss consumption and religious products.
An at first seeming-paradox of some of these anti-Western sentiment products is that although they denounce and serve as a means for campaigning against said Western or American values, they use the very Western framework (capitalist consumer market, mimicked products) to achieve the success' of their products. Upon closer inspection these business practices may not be paradoxes at all as 'their creative inversion- not rejection- of the flow of global cultural products' and their aversion and denunciation of the secular or Western market really aides and reinforces their religious identities, which in themselves is anti-Western (Echchaibi 2012, p. 32). In fact it could be a genius and witty business and social move; to renounce disliked values or social systems by using the very same social system to renounce it. Such clever witticism. It's more than that, it's the king of all rebuttals in a wordless, consumeristic debate!
In the article Echchaobi discusses the Fulla barbie-esque doll, created for young Muslim girls. The Fulla does mimic the original Barbie but the big difference is obviously that it invests it with new values (Echchaibi 2012). I do partially disagree with the article when it seems to infer that the burqa and other aspects of the Fulla is an exemplification of patriarchy. By all means, of course this can be the case in some instances, but it is not the rule. In her book Barefoot in Baghdad, Manal Omar discusses as an American born Muslim working for an NGO in Iraq, she was belittled, laughed at and even insulted for wearing the burqa and traditional Muslim female attire. When her local compatriots found out she was American, the laughter reached a crescendo. In the area Manal was working, the women fancied themselves as fashionably progressive Muslims. They definitely were not wearing skimpy Western clothes and the women's fashion identity was still strongly Middle Eastern, but within Manal's working circle, the burqa was seen as terribly archaic.
I also had a close Muslim friend of mine whose husband is indifferent to the niqab, however she chooses to wear it as her interpretation is romantic. She told me the idea of a part of you being saved and only being seen by your love was the most beautiful idea she could have imagined. I cannot do her words justice, when she described it to me though, I thought wow! How beautifully poetic. In addition she did note that she also enjoyed not having the pressure of looks, figure and body. She said what better way to have control over your own sexual and romantic self, where your partner can only judge you on your true inner self and not be swayed by outwardly appearances, ultimate female control. She does have a point there. Besides the Muslims fashion industry for the burqa and niqab is amazing and growing very fast! My friend could be described as what I call an archaic modernist. The whole idea of people seeing an ancient or older tradition as being romantic, whimsical or tres chic. For instance, when young people decide to become a 'fashionable Buddhist' or New AGe. As in the romanticism of historical ritual, philosophy and orthopraxy is so appealing due to it's age. Even vintage clothing etc.
References
Echchaibi N. 2012 Mecca Cola and Burquinis: Muslim Consumption and Religious Identities. In Lynch G. and J. Mitchell with A. Strhan. Eds., Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. pp. 31-39. London and New York: Routledge.
Omar N. 2012 Barefoot in Baghdad: A story of Identity, My Own and What it Means to be a Woman in Chaos. Sourcebooks: Chicago
As discussed by Cheong in his article, faith tweets and online rituals are changing the way religion functions and forms connections. The internet has provided more ways to shape the blogosphere, and create new faith connections (Cheong 2010).
These online rituals and forms of sacred communication do not merely serve as an 'easy out', but provide congregation members ways to still connect in prayer or discussion during a physical absence from the church. This enables the believer to 'construct a connected presence and affirm their religious identities within an environment where wired communication is a significant part of everyday life' (Cheong 2010).
This new avenue of religiosity has created some friction also, as some church members may not approve of the tweeting during the sermon, or further see the social media platforms as devoutly secular and at odds with religiosity. However since the waning authority of the church, new modes and avenues to the transcendent will be deemed necessary.
Reference Cheong PH, 2010. Faith tweets: Ambient Religious Communication and Microblogging Rituals. M/C Journal: A Journal of Media and Culture.
Online religious experience. Online religious conversion. Online proselytizing. Online activism, or better known as 'slacktivism'. This week's lecture highlighted issues on the authenticity of online religiosity. The internet has connected the world, it enables us to not only communicate with others far away, but also serves as a platform for campaigning, conversion, activism.
Slacktivism, is the term coined for activists who operate exclusively on the internet. The colloquialisms came about from said activists seen to be lazy and not making any real difference from their armchairs. Are keyboard warriors completely useless though? I think not. In order to raise awareness and harness support for some issues, the internet can be a powerful tool and using the internet as a platform also engages the youth of today.
However what about situations like KONY2012, where Uganda has been in a state of peace for six years and the tyrant has long since fled? What does the 'tres chic' KONY movement accomplish, besides dredging up a dark past for the survivors of trauma? Clearly slacktivism needs to be examined on a case by case basis. Motives are a factor also. Money, power, politics.
Similar discourse occurs within online religion, with many believers who are purely online worshipers and preachers being labeled as lazy, inauthentic and phonies. I agree that believers who already have a strong physical peer group can enhance that with online tools as well, but what about pure online faith? I think the sense of community and physical atmosphere is a necessity for transcendence.
Below is a video I made for a course at UQ and to campaign against child labour. i call this 'vacktivism'. Video activism.
Today's lecture on fast and slow religion was most poignant. Slow religion being usurped by New Age spirtiualities and fast religion does hit a wistful nerve in me. I think the old religious 'marketplaces', rituals and orthopraxy are so beautiful and wonderfully collective. However as Australian society has become more fast paced with work, studying and generally a 'busy' connotation, fast religion is becoming more necessary. A believer can now use their iPhone or foxtel to catch the weeks sermon while on the bus, or walking to work. This individual experience meshes with the privatization of self that we see people exhibited in these age. When you catch a train or bus most people have their ear phones in, locked in their private world. It is a good thing that religion can adapt and change to meet societal needs.
In saying that, the religions that are categorized as 'slow' religions, may be incorrectly viewed as authocthontic, however they were once 'fast' religions. For example the rise of Christianity in the Hellenistic world. In that era Christianity was branching out, using different modes and methods of experiencing the (transcendent) and to gain followers. I think this shows us that in order to survive, history has already shown us that religion and spirituality needs to be adaptive and reflexive of the society.
