Taking a look around

Here is the final draft of my outline. I only changed a few things this week, and it appears that I am on track for the paper. My concern is being able to fit all this stuff into 3000 words, but I will try my best. I guess this isn’t a dissertation.

1) Popular Culture in San Gabriel Region and at my local church
A. Uniqueness of So. Cal atmosphere on youth
B. Influence of media among youth (Barker)
a. My local church
C. Hyper-reality
a. Economic/future hopes
b. Gender roles (mook, mid-drift) (Merchants of Cool)
c. Relationships/ Love (Elusive hope of future prospects)
D. The rise of youth subculture
a. Youth band together (Barker, Chap Clark)
b. “Global” youth culture?

2) Church Response to the influence of popular culture on teens
A. Embracing popular culture for our purposes in Christ
B. Reclaiming Reality (Cobb- Cultural studies)
a. Deconstructing “hyper-reality”- shift to “ultimate reality”
C. Re-interpret media messages through Cobb’s chapters on salvation and human nature. Looking at what we are actually searching for through our media consumption.
D. Critique of generational gap in the church and impact on teens

3) Specific Responses from the Church
A. Church-wide
a. Extensive teaching/ workshops on embracing a “Gospel Reality”
b. Placing the counter-cultural aspects of the Gospel as core values.
c. Emphasis on intergenerational ministry and relationships
d. Provide alternate learning environments to broaden exposure of our youth through
(ie. Wilderness trips, missions etc.)
B. Local and Global Possibilities
a. City-wide youth rallies (partnership)
b. Network with local organizations, schools, athletics for evaluation of goals and the impact on the teens of the community
c. Teach “generation-gap” seminars in the community

Wow Jason, that’s a lot of questions in one blog post! I think it’s going to take a long time for us to answer some of those, but we have got to try. Jason asked the interesting question “how has the media shaped us?”. Honestly, throughout this course, I tried to convince myself at times that I had brilliantly shielded myself from the effects of the media and had a safe and balanced view of life. I looked with pity on the “poor lemmings” who had been duped by the system. The truth is, the media has deeply impacted the way I think about many things, and it is a constant process to wade through the junk that comes in the way of me becoming a disciple of Christ. If anything, I am now able to see through shrewd marketing schemes and the way that we are sold very palatable lies about life. I guess that’s what happens when you take a class about culture.

Wow, this quarter has flown by! In our final discussion, we addressed the topic of “fan culture”. When it comes to Star Trek and Star Wars, some fans even use the term “canon” when describing the original texts and ideas. This idea made me question the relevancy of fan culture for the Church. How can we use fan culture in becoming fans of the Biblical narrative, shaping our identities around the text? In addition to this, would it possible to develop “alternative texts” that help to explain Scripture and help us find some common ground for life today. Would such texts be helpful or even desirable?

Merchants of Cool- Part 2.
One of the most interesting questions in this documentary was “Who is the producer”. Is the media really just creating product that speaks to the reality and needs of adolescent life, or are they creating an image that the teenagers in-turn seek to mimic. This question is not easily answered but it must be addressed in the church. I really like some of the ideas that my classmates had about ways to address the influence of media in the lives of our youth. These creative ideas will help us ensure that our youth do not buy into a lie.

1) Popular Culture in San Gabriel Region and at my local church
A. Uniqueness of So. Cal atmosphere on youth
B. Influence of media among youth (Barker)
a. My local church
C. Hyper-reality
a. Economic/future hopes
b. Gender roles (mook, mid-drift) (Merchants of Cool)
c. Love
D. The rise of youth subculture
a. Youth band together (Barker, Chap Clark)
b. “Global” youth culture

2) Church Response to the influence of popular culture on teens
A. Embracing popular culture for our purposes in Christ
B. Reclaiming Reality (Cobb- Cultural studies)
a. Deconstructing “hyper-reality”- shift to “ultimate reality”
C. Re-interpret media messages through Cobb’s chapters on salvation and human nature.
D. Critique of generational gap in the church and impact on teens

3) Specific Responses from the Church
A. Church-wide
a. Extensive teaching/ workshops on embracing a “Gospel Reality”
b. Placing the counter-cultural aspects of the Gospel as core values.
c. Emphasis on intergenerational ministry and relationships
d. Provide alternate learning environments to broaden exposure of our youth through
(ie. Wilderness trips, missions etc.)
B. Locally
a. City-wide youth rallies (partnership)
b. Network with local organizations, schools, athletics for evaluation of goals and the impact on the teens of the community
c. Teach “generation-gap” seminars in the community
C. Globally

“At Lake Ave Church every summer the youth group takes urban kids from low income families in Pasadena to a ranch in Wyoming, where they learn to horseback ride, shoot arrows, rope cows, etc… as well as engage in service opportunities. This is a “carnival” in that it provides alternative space in which these urban youth can experience a rare freedom as well as feel that they are empowered to serve others.”

While much of my understanding of “carnival” relating to Christianity was primarily about satire and comedy that exaggerates reality to a point of absurdity, I found Annie’s example very enlightening.
Annie presented a story from Lake Ave. where urban kids were taken to explore the outdoors. The reason why many youth do not succeed in school or life is due to lack of exposure to better options. For these teenagers who may be looking at a hopeless future, the church can provide an “alternative space”. Many youth are not aware that another world exists; they do not realize how many other options exist. The church needs to provide these elements of carnival, breaking boundaries and limits that were previously in these kids’ lives.

I love the insightful documentary “The Merchants of Cool”. The first time I saw it a few months ago, I was completely blown away. These “hunters of cool” seek to tap into youth culture for financial gain, utilizing whatever methods they can. One very interesting point is that “cool” is constantly changing. Once a product or style is popular, it is already on its way out. This stuff is scary, but it’s also encouraging. What if the Church could come to understand our culture well enough where we could present Christianity with the right methods and language? Of course, we would not alter the message, but the method certainly isn’t sacred.

“The utopian landscapes that many of us watch on the screen or hang on our walls are visualizations of ideal omega worlds.”

I found Cobb’s discussion of Thomas Kinkade, the “Painter of Light” to be very interesting. Despite not being well acclaimed by other artists, his work is the most collected work of any living artist. Clearly, people have a desire for this image of the “peaceable kingdom”, a final place of tranquility and joy. Perhaps Kinkade taps into a deep need that may people feel for both temporal and eternal peace. How can we use this inner desire to effectively share about the true peace that is only found in Christ. What can we learn from Kinkade?

While discussing the “Countercultural model”, Bevans explained that this model “recognizes that the genius of Christianity lies neither in its endorsement of the status quo nor in its cultivation of the ‘new and the next’, but in its challenging and transforming power” p.124

While I understand the potential for this model to damage traditional cultures, it is also true that not all aspects of culture are compatible with the teachings of Christ. I cannot think of a better place to implement this model than here in the U.S. The reason why Christianity has suffered so greatly in this country over the past decades is that it has become common place and watered down to nothing. The countercultural model invites us to challenge the cultural norms and transform our lives to the image of God.

Prof. Bolger discussed the topic of genealogy as it relates to the church. If some things have been done a certain way for many years but nobody knows why, a solution according to Foucault is going back through the genealogy of your church, understanding why certain things started in the first place. There are plenty of things in the Church that need a second look. What if the people of the Church were willing to go back through the years and see why they wanted a church in the first place? If our church has done sunday school for the past 50 years the same way, at what point do we need to re-evaluate our goals and methods for sunday school in the first place?