Tag Archives: Pop Culture

After Glow

Yesterday afternoon I succumbed to Karen’s wishes in which movie we would be seeing at the local theatre. The final decision was a $1 showing of Star Trek, which neither of us had managed to take in at the time of its initial release. I’ll condense my overall feelings about the movie by saying it was well done, though slightly courageous in its far-reaching impact to the Trekkie universe specifically, and the science fiction genre at large, a genre which I happen to hold very dear.

This came after a long and occasionally heated debate between Karen and myself after adjourning to a nearby Starbucks to discuss what we had seen. Of the group of people that went, Karen and I were alone in our discussion. In retrospect that was the thing about the afternoon that stood out the most to me (I’ll save my conclusions about science fiction for another post), because I think its indicative of how we take in entertainment and treat art in our culture overall.

One of my acting professors in college said that part of the experience of theatre was going out for a cup of coffee after the show with the group you saw the show with to discuss the show. A play or a movie of any quality (okay, okay, I know that can be hard to come by in Hollywood) is going to present questions for discussion, hard issues with which we should wrestle, predictions or revelations of current and future cultural flaws that merit exploration. Should we fail to bounce these ideas around in our minds at least, and at best work them through in conversation with others, then they fall flat. A critical part of the experience is lost.

Similarly, think of the last time you read a good book. Did it not immediately produce a recommendation to friends? That recommendation likely included a synopsis of why you thought so highly of the book. If the person to whom you recommended the book read it, then you had a great deal of potential discussion in which to engage afterward. For example, I recently began exploring Salinger’s short fiction at the recommendation of a friend. After reading Nine Stories, we began discussing Salinger’s stories over our weekly coffee meeting. Not long ago, I recommended this same collection to another friend, who is reading it currently. He wants to talk about it as well. The cycle continues.

To be fair, some of those who watched the movie with us yesterday discussed it with us following lunch today. I’m glad…the movie is actually too good to waste by not discussing the story arc. Whatever the issues a movie or play or book presents, it merits discussion, whether you agree with it or not…discussion about whether you agree with it or not, and why. I’m hoping that this lack of discussion I’m observing is an exception rather than a rule. I hope that, if it is more commonplace, that it is not due to an eroding of critical thinking on a large scale. I’m more inclined to ascribe it to the passivity with which we consume art on demand, immediately leaving one story to latch onto another, without ever taking time to process what it is we just experienced. I think this passivity is more often the case because when I see friends become involved in discussion about a film or play or book, they seem to latch onto it hungrily, eating the thoughts ravenously and finishing with eyes that gleam in want of more.

This is indicative of how little it actually occurs, in any case. Let’s talk more over coffee, shall we? Besides, a cup of coffee after every movie may even boost our economy. See? Everyone wins.

In Search of Character

I avoid prime-time television as much as possible, primarily for reasons of quality. I’m amazed at the mediocrity that permeates the air-waves. Guarding against mind-sucking white noise has become easier since Karen and I stopped having cable piped in. The fact that cable television is a dinosaur, however, and that all of the content we would have watched is just as accessible to us via the Internet (yes, we do everything legally), leads to some occasional exposure to this stuff, however. 

So, I maintain a list of about four to five shows that I watch weekly. I’m picky…at least I like to think so. I commented again as we sat down Friday night to watch a new episode of House, however, that there’s really nothing amazing about the plot from week to week. Sure, there’s the sub-plot of various relationships and interpersonal conflicts that carry from week to week…that’s the making of a good serial. But, ultimately, you know what’s going to happen by the end of each episode. 
Another of our favorites, Bones, leads to the same conclusion. Following the relationships is somewhat unpredictable, but you always know the crime will be solved by Brennan’s amazing intellect after 45 minutes. So I’m left wondering: if my standards are as high as I like to think (I mailed a perfectly good anime film back to Netflix in disappointment the same night, after all), then why am I drawn to media that’s so glaringly light on plot? 
And I’m not alone. I can think of an actor and two professors I know that are just as drawn to one of these shows or the other. So, have I digressed into the brainless desire for entertainment that afflicts most Americans? Has my artistic diet become so saturated by junk food that I no longer desire a well-prepared meal? 
I don’t think so, and this is why. I didn’t go into either of these shows with the expectation of riveting plot. There are those I do go into with that expectation: Heroes, for example. What draws me to House and  Bones, however, is character development. Bones’ realization of her confinement within her own genius and House’s willful succumbing to his own narcissism are irresistible storytelling. The development of their characters is played out in repetitious scenarios, which, considering their respective professions, is realistic. Truly compelling characters tend to be conspicuously absent from most of our media on most evenings of the week, and these, therefore, are a joy for me to watch from a storytelling perspective, even though overall story of the night may be overtly predictable. 
Or, perhaps I really am guilty of wanting some vacuous entertainment during the course of my week. 
No…I like the first explanation better. 

Paris in the Summertime

Although CNN lists this among their hot topics on a newly formatted homepage, I’m not certain its really all that popular a topic, since only one other person has saved my same bookmarks on Delicious. I have to say, though, that I’m intrigued that Paris Hilton “found God” in jail.

Pop culture is a funny thing. My wife and I are intrigued by different cultures, and we love to experience them, but we both find it difficult at times to accept pop culture as a valid cultural manifestation. Once we admit defeat, however, we must admit that it is present: pop culture Americana at its worst, and if ever there was an epitome of this, it is Paris Hilton.

Apparently, though, she’s left it behind her, or at least that’s what she was saying when she was discharged from her adult time-out last week and had a nice sit-down with Larry King. After having time to get to know herself, she has formulated plans that include building a halfway house. After all, that’s the sort of thing that happens when you find God in the slammer.

Among the more interesting things Hilton discussed during her post-release interviews was her new found awareness of a sense of responsibility to the young girls that look upon/worship her as a role model/idol. Certainly, she would have significant amounts of negative role modeling to undo there after some of the other modeling (and occasional videography projects) she’s done. Despite my inescapable cynicism, however, something about this sounds believable.

I fear, though, that there is a test of faith that will occur here, as Hilton was immediately assaulted with publicity upon her release, and, has been well stated, there is no such thing as bad publicity in our entertainment industry, be it from incarceration or anything else. Whatever faith she has found she will find sorely tested, I imagine, by those she labeled as negative influences and from whom she wants to stay away.

No faith comes without testing. I hope Hilton’s is up for the challenge, because her gifts lend themselves to accomplishing much good. Hopefully, her time spent finding herself led to the discovery of the good person I’m sure she is. Hopefully, it led to the discovery of a faith…and a God…she’ll find is worth holding onto, popularity be damned.

Hopefully.

Which, I guess, is sort of what faith is all about.

 

Choosing the Right Beer

I was listening to an interview with Dick Staubs this afternoon on The Kindlings Muse about his new book, The Culturally Savvy Christian. He’s speaking of the horrendous “parallel universe” that modern Evangelicals have created for ourselves…Christian bookstores, Christian coffeeshops, Christian schools, etc., in an attempt to make our own pop culture and be separate from everyone else (exactly the opposite of what Christ modeled)…and likened modern Christianity to beer. The allusion goes something like this: our current generation(s) want strong, pure ale, but what the modern church is giving them is “Christianity Lite.”

Essentially, Staubs echoes my sentiment that we have digressed into producing pop-culture expression, art, and surface explorations of spirituality instead of engaging and transforming our culture with depth and truth.

It’s funny, because just last night Karen and I were discussing a lack of passion. It seems as though life sucks the passion out of us as we’re doomed to year after year of selling our souls to the industrialized machine in exchange for money instead of engaging in what truly matters.

Staubs points out that the digression began after the 60’s, when the art that was created during that passionate decade that was supposed to transform culture was taken over by corporate interests when everyone moved into the “real world” and got jobs on Wall Street.

I think he has a point.

I don’t like the real world, but I’m stuck here for the time being. Maybe we should try to engage it and change it with something of depth instead of stupid Christianized cliches on youth group T-shirts? Who knows? If we come out of our bubbles and start serving real beer, people just might become intoxicated with it.

Of course, we’re too comfortable for that. But, it was a nice thought. Pardon my interruption…you can go back to sleep now.