The Superman Epidemic: A Feminist Reading

Will analyze Eminem's "Superman", the Superman comic books, and the Spider Man film franchise - and what it says about the male-female dynamic in relation to Christianity.

Apocalyptic Movies

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Thoughts on Abortion

 

"Am I going to hell if I have an abortion?"

So. After watching the episode of Friday Night Lights in Professor Harris' lecture on abortion, I was struck with two thoughts: first, Tim Riggins is incredibly sexy (though I already knew this as I am an FNL fanatic) and second, our obsession with teenage - or "underage" - abortion is extremely puzzling.

I understand that Becki is only a sophomore in high school (grade ten? do the math - fifteen years old) and being knocked up so young isn't the greatest position to find yourself in. I understand that it's particularly shameful in such a small Christian town as Dillon, Texas, though any community, city, town, or otherwise would likely have the same reaction. I understand teen pregnancy is one of the greatest fears for any mother or father. I get that it's looked down upon in our society but to be frank, I think our dependence on abortion and the frenzy over rising levels of teen pregnancy reflect far more an issue with society than with our youth, the media that affects them, or any other external factors.

Biologically, women are built for pregnancy in their teenage years. According to our biological clocks we are supposed to be getting pregnant and bearing children during our teenage years. Males and females alike are raging with hormones during these years and, in fact, these are the years we produce the healthiest children. How can you possibly blame teens for having sex? And consequently, how can you possibly blame them for getting pregnant?

Oh, no, no, my mistake - we aren't blaming teenage girls for getting pregnant - we're blaming them for having abortions. The set-up of our society sets them up for failure - and then blames them for choosing the alternative. In condemning abortions, we are indeed absolutely blaming young women for getting pregnant. We are judging them, criticizing them, making them feel as though they are wrong and stupid and naive for having got "knocked up" - no of course you can't have an abortion - that's wrong - you shouldn't have been having sex so young - now you have to deal with the consequences of your actions! Read between the lines of  pro-lifer material and the Pope's statements on abortion and that is exactly the message.


The effects of this are wrong on a number of levels. We are making girls feel shame about something natural. Pregnancy at a young age was glorified in past eras; today it is mocked, ridiculed, shamed, swept under the carpet and hidden behind closed doors. With that kind of condescending attitude towards teen pregnancy, abortion presents itself as the only viable option. Not only are we talking about the attitudes of parents, friends, neighbors, boyfriend, peers, teachers, society as a whole, but we are also talking about future. Even if a girl was strong enough to deal with the emotional abuse that comes with learning of teen pregnancy (look at Becki's mom - essentially all she said was "You're an idiot.") she then has to think about her options in terms of education and career. How can she raise a child when she's sixteen years old? Unless she has full financial and emotional support from her family, the future looks pretty grim. High schools, universities, and colleges are not adequately equipped to deal with teenage mothers. Job opportunities die quick deaths when a newborn or toddler is involved, as does any hope of moving up in the world financially. Children will obviously drain your bank account and when the bank isn't stacked to begin with, teenage mothers are looking at a life of struggling simply to stay afloat.

You want to lessen abortion and thus save the lives of millions of fetuses? Try looking at the patriarchal system currently in place. Entirely set up by men for men, Western society is built on a timeline that clashes completely with the female biological cycle. The issue is not with abortion, nor is it with teen pregnancy. A much deeper issue is brewing underneath the surface, and perhaps if we focused on that then abortion and teen pregnancy would lessen considerably. Perhaps we should set things up in a way that produces healthy babies and healthy mothers, and this would include younger mothers and "youth" pregnancy. Day-cares, jobs, universities etc should be built around this clock rather than an unrealistic and male-based one we currently operate on.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: A Reflection on God, Abortion, and the Fear of Death

BANKSY and the Relationship Between Religion and Popular Culture

Many of you will be familiar with the elusive street artist who goes by the name of Banksy. Nominated for Best Documentary for Exit Through the Gift Shop at this year's Academy Awards (though he lost to Inside Job) and internationally notorious for his street art, Banksy's work epitomizes the crumbling relationship between Christianity and contemporary Western society. His work critiques the place of Christianity and religion in modern society and thus falls squarely into Gordon Lynch's first category of "Studying Religion in Relation to Everyday Life". Lynch splits this category into three chief areas, the second of which he describes as "considering how religion is represented in wider forms of popular culture." (Lynch, 23) This blog entry is devoted to analyzing Banksy's social commentary on Christianity through of a few examples of his work.

The above image is a clear response to the faltering influence of Christianity in a technologically dominated society. This image is positively loaded with messages about Christianity and religion in general. If we look at Google as being representative of technology and technology as a representative of science, and we compare this to Jesus as a symbol of religion, we see the ultimate clash between science and religion.

Here Jesus himself admits he does not have the answers - "Try Google," he says, and in this we see religion defer to science. We see a critique of faith in today's society. Who looks to the Bible, the Church, your local pastor in response to a question, conflict, or issue? Very few - instead we flip open the Mac and Google or Wikipedia the answers to moral issues and questions of faith alike. Google represents the all-knowing and all-powerful influence in our society, the father figure and friend alike. Who helps us as students with our assignments? Is it prayer to God that got us through that test or was it that hour we spent googling and researching via the internet? Contemporary society is so technologically focused that we have lost our faith in the former all-knowing, comforting father figure of Jesus Christ and God. Here Banksy mocks the fall of Christian influence to our science-based society. I choose to believe his mockery is satirical, meant not to ridicule the Christian faith but to prompt us to question and examine the overarching influences we subscribe to.

With relation to Lynch, it is clear that forms of popular culture like street art often represent religion in a negative light. Here popular culture represents religion as outdated and having lost touch with the times. Sure, it's a negative message - but critiques like Banksy's are beneficial to religion in that they keep it relevant. The fact that Banksy is utilizing traditional images of Jesus on the cross, a white dove, Mother Mary and baby Jesus - that serves to remind people of the transition our culture has gone through with respect to Christianity. It serves as a medium of reflection and in offending devout Catholics, it brings the issue of religion in modern society back to the forefront of public debate.

Controversial work like Banksy's is often underrated in how it helps exactly what it is critiquing: in calling out religion's failure to integrate into a technologically driven society, perhaps Banksy is calling for its defense. Perhaps it is an attempt to motivate the Catholic Church to respond and retaliate. Perhaps it is an attempt to motivate society as a whole to analyze their views on religion and particularly their hypocrisy when it comes to action vs. words and empty faith. As Lynch notes, "Analyzing how religion is represented in contemporary media is not therefore simply a case of describing these representations. Rather it involves asking what these representations may tell us about wider biases, values, and concerns in contemporary society..." (Lynch, 24) Indeed, the Banksy images serve as a basis on which to evaluate religion's place in today's society. The above image suggests we value technology more than faith, and that perhaps many are concerned about society's move away from faith, morality, and Christianity to a culture that instead focuses on Google, Jersey Shore, and BBM.

The image to the right depicts Jesus's crucifixion - yet in Banksy's portrayal we see Jesus in a Bristol City football jersey, with the stenciled word "RELIGION" below him. This relates very much to Tracy Trothen's article on sports having replaced Christianity as a modern form of 'religion' in contemporary society.

Football (soccer, footy, whatever you want to call it) is a worldwide phenomenon that brings people together based on city, nation, and team. We see during the World Cup Little Italy in Toronto come together for Azzuri, and Little Portugal at St. Clair go insane when Portugal wins a game. German fans all over Toronto united to celebrate how far the German team went in last summer's World Cup, as did fans of Oranje. Africans screamed Bafana Bafana for their boys on the pitch and tears of joy were shed throughout Madrid when Spain emerged victorious. Banksy's interpretation of Jesus in a Bristol City jersey comments on modern society's obsession with sport and its similarities of rituals and togetherness that mirror what Christianity used to be to society.

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Religion and Fashion: The Rosary and the Crucifix as Fashion Accessories

From tattoos to jewelry, religious symbols have become relevant in modern culture as little more than fashion accessories. From ink on the backs of Jersey Shore idiots to pieces in Marc Jacobs' latest show, the rosary and the crucifix in particular have become cult favorites in the fashion industry.

Drugs, Depression, and Religion

Watch this commercial for Abilify, an anti-depressant now on the market. I will relate this to Christianity shortly.

Also note, once again, the inherent sexism in our society. A woman struggling with depression - a man to save her. A man as a doctor as a doctor is a professional sitting at the top of the hierarchy in the working world.