Yes, we have entered into the 20th century (just eight years too late).
Sweeney Todd with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter - highly recommended Tim Burton adventure.
Smart People with Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Ellen Page. Not smart, people. When will I actually care about any of the characters?
Monster with Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci. Wow! Yes, I have been living under a rock on some of these movies. I should have seen them before now. Well, Charlize Theron was amazing.
Smiley Face with Anna Faris. Don't. Much more agape (not even frowny). The film lacks point and even the lame attempt to introduce the depth, theoretical interest and the Communist Manifesto is subverted by the society-preserving ending in which the law breaker pays her debt society. Anna Faris is adorable and comically rich, but the material is poor and weak.
Connections - Progressive Christianity, Michel Foucault, and the Joker in Dark Knight.
A while back, in a church class, we were discussing the difficulty with Progressive Christianity. Progressive Christianity lacks a compelling narrative. Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan are good at sniping at the simplistic and literal interpretation/story of Jesus and the narrative of the roots/formation of Christianity. But there has been no one stepping up with a compelling counter-narrative to the literal reading of the Gospels.
So.
Would Foucault say that we are reading and acting rationally within a grid (episteme?) of stories and meaning that repeat the super-hero meta-narrative? Jesus as super-hero. We, as human culture, are at some level in a crisis so beyond our own understanding that the only way to salvation (whatever that may be) is through the intervention of benevolent billionaires, benevolent aliens, or the loving son of God. Can't we act/work our way out of this? We have a problem of being overwhelmed by the situation and the news, and we choose to wait for a savior and bury our heads in the TV,- alcohol-, entertainment-, consumerist sand.
How do I get my head out of the sand? How do I become unaddicted to the soothing effects of TV, alcohol, sleep? Isn't it important that someone talk about this, act in some micro-political way to nudge people awake [see Walter Bruggemann's The Prophetic Imagination]?
Or is the situation more like Joker's assertion that we (humans in society) are afraid and struggling to have and to enact plans... that are too easily tipped toward evil or destruction?
In fighting 'terrorism' (and terrorism is definitely a bad thing), haven't we (USA) exported and inflicted more violence than the 'terrorists' ever could? We have a much larger budget, after all. What if the real danger is not the 'terrorists,' but that we will become the exporters of terror throughout the world and not even see our own faces, not even see what we are doing? What if we just push the needle deeper into the grooves on the record that plays the soothing song of 'exporting democracy and freedom' back to us? Living inside an empire, can citizens see the imperial activities? Can we really feel compassion for the 'other'? Can we think outside the grid/episteme of the comfortable society?
Jesus, as I read things, told a story of compassion ('com' with; 'passion' to feel; to feel with) within an empire. His story was (is?) so subversive that he was killed by the Powers, like so many prophets before and after. [Perhaps we will talk about Atonement some other day.] Stories and grids of meaning are, following Foucault, indeed, foundational, formational and political.
So, what story do we tell ourselves? What stories do we choose to tell about ourselves?
So.
I live with a healthy sense of cognitive dissonance, obviously. Netflix versus Empire-
awareness. In V for Vendetta, Evie says 'Artists tell lies to reveal the truth while Politicians tell lies to conceal the truth.' Perhaps in art and entertainment, there are some 'truths' that threaten to sneak into our hearts, minds and spirits along with all of the empty intellectual calories. Maybe.
Sweeney Todd with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter - highly recommended Tim Burton adventure.
Smart People with Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Ellen Page. Not smart, people. When will I actually care about any of the characters?
Monster with Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci. Wow! Yes, I have been living under a rock on some of these movies. I should have seen them before now. Well, Charlize Theron was amazing.
Smiley Face with Anna Faris. Don't. Much more agape (not even frowny). The film lacks point and even the lame attempt to introduce the depth, theoretical interest and the Communist Manifesto is subverted by the society-preserving ending in which the law breaker pays her debt society. Anna Faris is adorable and comically rich, but the material is poor and weak.
Connections - Progressive Christianity, Michel Foucault, and the Joker in Dark Knight.
A while back, in a church class, we were discussing the difficulty with Progressive Christianity. Progressive Christianity lacks a compelling narrative. Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan are good at sniping at the simplistic and literal interpretation/story of Jesus and the narrative of the roots/formation of Christianity. But there has been no one stepping up with a compelling counter-narrative to the literal reading of the Gospels.
So.
Would Foucault say that we are reading and acting rationally within a grid (episteme?) of stories and meaning that repeat the super-hero meta-narrative? Jesus as super-hero. We, as human culture, are at some level in a crisis so beyond our own understanding that the only way to salvation (whatever that may be) is through the intervention of benevolent billionaires, benevolent aliens, or the loving son of God. Can't we act/work our way out of this? We have a problem of being overwhelmed by the situation and the news, and we choose to wait for a savior and bury our heads in the TV,- alcohol-, entertainment-, consumerist sand.
How do I get my head out of the sand? How do I become unaddicted to the soothing effects of TV, alcohol, sleep? Isn't it important that someone talk about this, act in some micro-political way to nudge people awake [see Walter Bruggemann's The Prophetic Imagination]?
Or is the situation more like Joker's assertion that we (humans in society) are afraid and struggling to have and to enact plans... that are too easily tipped toward evil or destruction?
In fighting 'terrorism' (and terrorism is definitely a bad thing), haven't we (USA) exported and inflicted more violence than the 'terrorists' ever could? We have a much larger budget, after all. What if the real danger is not the 'terrorists,' but that we will become the exporters of terror throughout the world and not even see our own faces, not even see what we are doing? What if we just push the needle deeper into the grooves on the record that plays the soothing song of 'exporting democracy and freedom' back to us? Living inside an empire, can citizens see the imperial activities? Can we really feel compassion for the 'other'? Can we think outside the grid/episteme of the comfortable society?
Jesus, as I read things, told a story of compassion ('com' with; 'passion' to feel; to feel with) within an empire. His story was (is?) so subversive that he was killed by the Powers, like so many prophets before and after. [Perhaps we will talk about Atonement some other day.] Stories and grids of meaning are, following Foucault, indeed, foundational, formational and political.
So, what story do we tell ourselves? What stories do we choose to tell about ourselves?
So.
I live with a healthy sense of cognitive dissonance, obviously. Netflix versus Empire-
awareness. In V for Vendetta, Evie says 'Artists tell lies to reveal the truth while Politicians tell lies to conceal the truth.' Perhaps in art and entertainment, there are some 'truths' that threaten to sneak into our hearts, minds and spirits along with all of the empty intellectual calories. Maybe.
1 comment:
Interesting questions, Dr. R. It would take a couple of blogging centuries to wade through all the answers. Thus, I will be brief. What you and I mean by Progressive Christianity may be two entirely different things, but I think it offers a compelling narrative nonetheless. I haven't read Bruggeman, but sounds intriguing. Perhaps you could offer a review of the book for us to consider?
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