Response: Rated T for Toddlers

This is a response to: http://faithisourmedium.blogspot.ca/2012/04/disney-rated-t-for-toddlers.html

Although I agree that the creation of 30-minute-a-day series can increase viewership and sustain the interest of audience, I do not believe there is a new targeted demographic on Disney's agenda. If we were to take into account Mickey Mouse and other related shows, children have arguably been the center of Disney's target audience for quite some time now. Moreover, there already exist toys, books, and plentiful other commodities to further attract their attention and this, again has been going on for quite some time. With that being said, it is the wide age spectrum of Disney fans acquired, from children to adult, which illustrates how powerful the Disney brand is in shaping not only popular culture, but preconceived ideas that children may have as well, ideas which can very well extend into adulthood.

However, one must always take into account the cognitive capacities of children at a very young age—such children cannot process complex ideas at a deeper level compared to their older counterparts. By the same token, these children may very well be watching Disney shows simply for the sake of colours, having a good laugh or because they like a certain character. This is no way suggests that parents should not be concerned with what their children are watching on TV; the suggestions here are to (1) lessen the worry and expose children to as many different, age-appropriate movies as possible to expand their understanding and horizons and (2) immediately address what can be faulty stereotypical formations, perceptions, and beliefs later on in the future. Children's brains are like clay—early on they are easy to mould, but once the clay hardens, efforts to change things become quite challenging if not ever the more next to impossible. The bottom line is that Disney is a heavyweight in popular culture and if used effectively, it can actually be a positive influence to society.    

It's The End of the World! No Wait...It's Not.

What do the above movies have in common? Apocalypticism—a belief that there will be an apocalypse, an imminent ending of the world. Such a belief is a defining feature in the Christian tradition, notably the book of Revelations and the book of Daniel. Moreover, this belief system has become a means behind many blockbuster hits, generating a wealthy amount of profit for the entertainment industry. As the selective few posters illustrate, there are various interpretations as to how such an event will unfold—global warming, viral infections, natural disasters, these are just a few possibilities out of many. In a sense, these apocalyptic movies are quite "monstrous" in their own way; like zombies, vampires and other literal monsters, the "end of times" also addresses yet another fear humans have surrounding death: global destruction. The difference, however, is that apocalypticism addresses humanity's fear on a much more macroscopic and global level compared to that of monsters.

Usually imbued at the end of such apocalyptic movies are survivors and the restoration of the Earth back to its simplistic way. This can actually reflect the way of thinking that many apocalyptic Americans hold—that there has been a loss of a golden age, creating both nostalgia and a hopeful mindset that it such an age can be restored again. From a Christian perspective, survivors in apocalyptic movies can be comparable to Jesus himself in the sense that both were able to triumph over death although within such comparison also arises a contrast: Jesus resembles the triumph of death towards a path of eternal life; human survivors, on the other hand, are still mortal and susceptible to dying. Furthermore, Jesus is s redeemer, a saviour of all humanity whereas humans cannot achieve the same feat. Nevertheless, the ultimate idea here is that apocalypticism is but another "monster" bringing the reality and idea of death closer to humanity and aside from its entertainment purposes; it also helps us address the sociophobics surrounding death. 

Response: Real Monster

This is a response to:  http://whatwouldchirstdo.blogspot.ca/2012/03/real-monster.html

The metaphorical usage of cancer in representing a form of “monsters” that are prevalent in the world today is actually quite a clever move on ccandelario’s part.  Death is, indeed, an endpoint feared by a majority of people, if not all human beings. However, how people grapple and cope with this fear is tremendously diverse and varies between one individual and the next—some are profoundly terrified, others more accepting and understanding as evidenced by ccandelario’s reference of Jamie in “A Walk to Remember”.  

From a Christian standpoint, present us a way of better understanding humanity and God; they illustrate the extreme of what we do not want to be like and what we fear can happen to us when it comes to death: being trapped on this earth (vampires), being lifeless corpses (zombies), being buried alive (mummies), and the sort. Monsters also demonstrate the omnipotence of God’s power. Although cancer does not fall into any of the former’s categories, it can still be classified as a “monster”. Cancer addresses yet another fear surrounding death—that of knowing when one is about to die, dying slowly, and of course, leaving loved ones behind. Moreover, what is currently still an incurable disease illustrates the unlimited powers and creative control that God has over the world, a power that can create both good and evil, a power that is solely at God’s own discretion and jurisdiction.

To have movies like “A Walk to Remember” brings another fear surrounding death into reality (despite the fictional love story lines): sickness. Although a tear-jerker and regardless of the grand entertainment and profitable agenda behind them, such movies of the same genre:

  The Notebook

Titanic (WHO IS WATCHING THE 3-D VERSION?! :) )

The Vow

...all bring into reality different ways an individual can die, sensitizing audience members to death’s reality and multifaceted ways of occurrences. In a sense, these movies help us to come to grasp with death and tries to buffer its tantalizing fear so that we do not enter it paralyzed and immobile without an idea of what to do. This extends both to the person that is dying and those who have to witness and deal with the eventual loss of a loved on. Having death in our face teaches us to appreciate the people and things around us. As the saying goes “live everyday as if it were your last”. 

Monster-copalypse

They are everywhere, and they are after you. Well, your attention and money that is. Even if you're not a fan, you've probably heard of it. Twilight, The Walking Dead, True Blood, Vampire Diaries, heck if you're a Lady Gaga fan you're one—folks, I welcome you to the era of monsters.

In relation to Christianity, monsters have played a pivotal role in revealing things about knowing humanity and knowing God. For instance, vampires (i.e. Twilight, True Blood, and Vampire Diaries) are the illustration of the idea behind human form seeking redemption, a life free from the binds of Earth. This redemptive ethos is actually a key concept in Christian tradition; humans look towards Jesus as the one who has triumphed over death and the saviour who will redeem humanity. As for zombies, these grotesque figures point to the limits of our knowledge and our lack of unknowability of this world and God. Furthermore, they serve to be a reminder of how precious our lives are, how special each moment is because it could be our last. Monsters in general, along with offering us a way to cope with the sociophobics of death, allow us to accept the good things about ourselves.  

The fascination with monsters is not a recent phenomenon; rather, it has existed for centuries and scholars have been studying them for quite a long time. (On a side note, it's given producers quite a substantial amount of money!) It is worth noting that the existence of monsters is not teaching us how to be human; they are teaching us how to be better people in a different way. Let us take The Walking Dead for example. This recent popularized TV show addresses how people are affected by drastic situations and how humans live in dire circumstances. The world has not changed, but it has become exaggerated where the evil still plunders and the wear are left behind. If it were not for monsters, moments of grace cannot occur for without death, there cannot be living. It is through the anticipation of death where we confront our biggest fear and survive to live a life where we can be better people; it is in death were we are the most in life. 

Response: Sublimation and Psychoanalysis

This is a response to: http://ghazala-ahmadzai.blogspot.ca/2012/03/sublimation-and-psychoanalysis.html

In response to your post, I wholeheartedly agree with your assertion that the inability to draw out violent behaviours and tendencies in no ways correlates to these individuals not being affected by violence. That being said, it is also worth noting the ambiguity of violence and how violent behaviour in one context can very much differ in the next. For instance, if I were to walk down the street and hit someone out of the blue that would be considered by most as violence, but if I were to imbue this hitting in a different context, say, in response to being robbed, this would then be seen as self-defense.

Violence is pervasive throughout many mediums—television, the Internet, newspapers, etc—and although there exists many individuals who do not exude violent behaviours, one cannot make an explicit discernment as to what happens on an internal and subjective level. As you noted while drawing upon Sigmund Freud that people respond to their inner drives in three different ways (expression, repression or sublimation), by extension, the same can be applied to the reception of violence: some directly exhibit physical, on-the-surface violent and aggressive tendencies; others more subtle through verbal means such as gossip and the sort. There are even those to respond to violence by inducing harm on their own bodies (i.e. cutting, excessive dieting, negative thoughts).

Finally in addition to your notion of the difficulty to detect creative forms of aggression, I feel that one must always keep in mind: correlation does not prove causation. Sure there is a very strong link between watching violence on television—or any media outlet for that matter—and aggressive acts, but there are a plethora of different human dispositions that to generalize these results as being conclusive for everyone would be quite an irrational claim. The unconscious is, as you phrased it, working in ways that is harder for us to see. 

The Princess and the Frog

Drawing from Towbin et al's report on Images of Gender, Race, Age, and Sexual Orientation in Disney Featured-Length Animated Films, this blog post is going to examine whether or not newer Disney films have improved in their positive portrayal of cultures and gender differences by looking at one movie in particular: The Princess and the Frog. The Princess and the Frog was released in the United States in December of 2009. It was inspired in part by E.D. Baker's novel The Frog Princess and in part by the Grimm brother's fair tale The Frog Prince.

After watching the movie, it appears that there has indeed been an improvement to a certain extent. With regards to gender roles, there still exists the emphasis on the beauty of women as evidenced by Tiana's (the protagonist) childhood friend, Charlotte who is a debutante. Domesticated roles are also illustrated by Tiana's interest in culinary arts. However, barriers are broken as we see Tiana ambitiously working two jobs so she can open up her own restaurant Prince Naveen (a male) unwilling to work and is intent on marrying a rich woman instead. When both Tiana and Prince Naveen turns into a frog, gone is the inferior-superior between genders and in its place a sense of equality. 

There are even certain scenes where roles are reversed and it is the man who requires help from the woman (cue Naveen being turned into a frog first and requiting a kiss from a princess to be set free).  

As for the portrayal of cultural stereotypes, we do not see much of an improvement. The Princess and the Frog borrows from syncretic religion practices in Haiti, Voodoo, and when paired with both the movie's antagonist Dr. Faceiller and his act of killing one of Tiana's friend (an alligator named Ray) it gives the practice an evil connotation. Such an act can serve to be an exaggeration of Haiti's religion and if one is not well versed in it, one might believe this to be the only component of such a religion, especially children.

Nevertheless, irrespective of the extent of changes new Disney films have undertaken compared to its predecessors with regards to representing gender and culture norms, two facts remain true: (1) Disney films reflect the current stereotypes that are majorly held in societies and (2) in turn, they continue to have a substantial impact on popular culture today due to both its pervasiveness across cultures as well as its accumulated audience members. Long Live Disney!

For information on Towbin's article, please see:   

Towbin, Mia Adessa et al. "Images of Gender, Race, Age and Sexual Orientation in Disney Feature
            Length Animated Films." Journal of Feminist Therapy 15.4 (2004): 19-44

For a synopsis on The Princess and the Frog:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780521/synopsis

Response to: Christian Apps: There's An App For That

This is a response to: http://theinternetisthemessiah.blogspot.ca/2012/03/christian-apps-theres-app-for-that.html

In response to your question concerning the goals of both Catholic-based and non-Catholic based app creating companies, I agree that there exists a division of interest between "genuinely promoting the Christian faith" and simply acquiring profit. As for the agenda of not only Surgework, but any religion-based companies out there, it is indeed hard to discern their motives. As we continue to live in a consumerist world, religion has become heavily infused with popular culture. As such, religion then becomes, in a sense, commodified—certain features can now be bought (cue funding for churches, expenses to purchase the Bible, and in your case, applications themselves) and there is a mentality of generating an appeal to captivate the mass population. Boundaries are expanded as religion chances upon a myriad of mediums to promote their faith—television, the Internet, smart phones, radio, etc. Consequently, an inextricable link ties religion and consumer culture together to a point where the former can actually take upon the identity of the latter: the more "consumers/followers" we obtain, the more powerful the religion or product becomes.

I believe it is due to this link between Religion and Popular culture that makes it challenging to discern the motives of not just Catholic and non-Catholic app making organizations, but for any companies in general. One example that comes to mind is companies advocating to assist children in developing countries. Would this be a genuine act or is there profit driven intent behind it? The line between authenticity and consumer/popular culture has been so heavily blurred that to give a clear demarcation is irrevocably challenging. Sometimes, a religion needs to take upon a consumerist approach and acquire profit in order to promote their ideals. This can occur unintentionally and without awareness, likewise for altruistic acts: I can help someone without being aware that there was a hidden sense of relief of being troubled by the person's distress.