Celebrity Voyeurism

I don't know about you, but I am tired of this whole Tiger Woods thing. Although I'm loathe to admit this, I get US Weekly mailed to my house. I never signed up for this gossip magazine, and yet every week it arrives, and every week I read it cover to cover. I know all about who's dating who, who's wearing what, and how much money I need to spend in order to be pretty and popular. I hate it, but I can't put it down. This week, the cover story was about Tiger and his mistresses. If you want to hear about the dirty details, just Google it...

I feel dirty when I read about these things. I couldn't even make it through the whole Tiger story. Other recent scandals that have made me feel the same way are the whole Jon and Kate divorce, and reaching further back, poor Michael Phelps and his choice of herbal inhalants. Nationally, and even globally, our society feeds on the perceived moral failings of its god-celebrities. Somehow we think that if someone is worthy of our attention, that their sins are fair game for judgment, criticism and dissection. Something about this socially condoned and encouraged hunger feels fundamentally wrong to me, and I'm trying to figure out exactly what it is.

As Christians, we are indeed called to be holy - to be set apart. Historically this has been tied most clearly to our bodies - who we choose to sleep with, what we choose to ingest, where we choose to go and with whom we associate. But the kingdom of God is about relationship - how we interact in all our brokenness with all the other broken people in the world, and how together we can choose love over hate, peace over violence, acceptance over judgment. Too often, however, Christians have been at the forefront of the judgment parade, chastising anyone who doesn't adhere to "The Rules" as unholy, unworthy, undeserving of forgiveness unless they seem appropriately sorry.

Being called to holiness doesn't give us the right to demand the same of others. Being called to follow Christ means rejecting the wisdom of this world, it means choosing to be in relationship with others based on love, not self-interest. Should Christians read US Weekly? Why am I so drawn to this gossip, and why does it make me feel so dirty after I've partaken? What if anything should the church say about celebrities' infidelities and poor choices? And why does the whole world seem to take pleasure when one of its created gods falls so far?

Theology of a Lip Ring

I had to take my lip ring out. It never healed quite right, and so I went to get it looked at on Monday. The guy said, "Oh, your jewelry's just too small. I'll switch it out for you." But when he went to switch it out, it was too swollen to put it in. So he said, very apologetically, that he would repierce it for me once it healed. I had been somewhat prepared for this possibility, but was disappointed nonetheless. While I'm having fun being able to drink from both sides of my mouth again, I do miss my lip ring a whole bunch. I'm pretty sure I'm going to get it done again, once this one heals. There are plenty of people who understand why, but also a large number of people who don't. I run into this a lot.

I have seven tattoos in addition to my dearly departed lip ring. I didn't modify my body in order to shock, or to be different, or to be cool. Granted, sometimes it's fun to shock and be different, but it can also sometimes be detrimental when trying to establish relationships. I got my piercings and tattoos because they're an expression of who I am and where I've been. They are a physical expression of the spiritual, emotional and mental journey I've been on my whole life; as I continue that journey, I expect that I will continue to change on the outside, continue to reflect how I'm changing on the inside.

The mods do make some people uncomfortable, though, especially when it comes to publicly performing the duties of a mainline church pastor. Although I know it does make some uncomfortable, I will not hide or change my modifications in order to participate in or lead worship in my church. When asked to consider whether I would take the lip ring out in order to lead worship, my answer must definitively be no. I've thought a lot about that answer, practically and theologically.

I believe that worship should be a place and time where we can come as we are. If I change who I am (and a visible piercing or tattoo definitely says something about who I am) in order to lead worship, then I'm saying there's something wrong with the way I am. That somehow, I'm not acceptable to talk to and about God in front of people unless I look more like them; that I have to change in order to become suitable.

One argument against this could be the same one used to prevent me from wearing my cap backwards when I played softball in sixth grade. When you do a certain job, or perform a certain function, there's a certain outfit you wear. For softball, it was a uniform, and everyone was supposed to look the same. Some may argue that leading worship is like any other job - there's certain clothing and apparel that are appropriate, and others that are not. I don't have a problem wearing a skirt to worship, although the heels can be a bit much. As much as I'd like to wear jeans, I don't have a problem wearing slacks instead; I understand that for many people, Sunday morning is still a time to "bring your best", and if I wore jeans it would distract them so much I wouldn't be able to lead well. I totally hear that argument, and think it has validity.

But my point is that for me, at least, body modification isn't something that I do casually, like I choose my clothing. While piercings are less permanent than tattoos, both are at least semi-permanent outward expressions of inward truths. While I do appreciate the aesthetics of the lip ring and of my tats, they also do a whole lot more than look good. They start conversations, identify me with a number of cultural groups, and serve as outward reminders of certain places on my journey that have transformed me. The process of choosing and getting a piercing or tattoo serves as a significant spiritual ritual for me.

I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, and I also know a lot of people don't feel this way. Let me hear from you either way.

~peace&blessings~

Procrastination, Hobgoblins & Violence

A wise professor once said to me (well, to my class, but I was there, so it was totally to me),

Procrastination trades a sense of satisfaction for a sense of relief.

I've been procrastinating for long enough that no matter what I write down at this point, I'll be relieved for having updated this blog. Other than my tendency to procrastinate, the other stumbling block for updating is the fact that I'm a grad student. In graduate school, we learn how to back up everything we say with footnotes and citations and blah blah blah. So now, even on the Internet, I have this nagging fear that I'll say something that someone will challenge me on and I won't be able to back it up and for some reason that terrifies me. So I'll take another quotation to heart:

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. ~ Emerson

I guess what I mean is, I'm nowhere near 100% on most of what I write here, so feel free to call me on my stuff, and I'll feel free to change my mind.

That out of the way, I've been thinking about a lot of things I'd like to write about, but due to time constraints, I'll just throw out something I wrote while doing my reading for my Faith and Film class this week. Let me know what you think:

Violence in video games and movies and gaming does not reinforce a belief that violence is good by themselves. Children and adults are not formed only by the media which they consume and in which they participate. This is precisely why the church needs to engage with these forms of culture, to examine them and to see them for what they are. Not only that, but the church is also responsible then for teaching and reinforcing what is good. If the only voice a young person hears is the one that is based on Hollywood conventions and capitalist calculations, then that is the voice that they will hear. But if they are learning how to live a life of love from their families, from schools, and from the church, they will also gain the skills necessary to make the right decisions in their own lives. When confronted by a situation in real life where violence is an option, they will then have the tools they need to act as people of faith in the world.

Violence portrayed in popular culture is often redemptive violence - a direct contradiction to the non-violent resistance proclaimed and lived by Jesus. So does this redemptive violence play a role in our spiritual development in any way? Or is it just so much chaff we should let blow away from our lives? Does it matter if we participate in it, or is it just harmless fun?

Facebook & εκκλησια

I struggle to make relevant, interesting status updates on Facebook (and I even sometimes manage to remember to crosspost them to Twitter). Due to the way the spheres in my life crash into one another, I tend to keep them relatively generic and detail-free. However, some of what I'm feeling almost always makes it through. So this week, I posted how I was feeling super fatigued and thinking I might have to drop a class yet again this semester (right now I'm thinking I might squeak through, but life keeps conspiring against me...). So here's the responses (which you can also see on my Facebook page):

• Sorry you aren't feeling well. I am a sicky too.
• I hope you feel better!
• Hope you are feeling better, Rachel - or are at least able to get some rest.
• ...but have you started the book?
• sending prayers your way.
• I recommend vitamin B12!
• Hope you get better!

These comments are from members of the church I'm serving, my aunt, a friend from the open mic I play, a friend from local pastor school, a friend from high school, and a friend from my favorite hangout spot in Cambridge. All of these people, many of whom I haven't seen in months if not years, were able to encourage me from wherever they happen to be in the world. Few of them know each other, and probably never will.

And yet, through Facebook, we're connected. Through Facebook, we're part of a community. I'm not going to make the leap that says that my Facebook friends constitute an ecclesia that is comparable to a purposeful Christian community. However, I think there's something to be said for the way that social networking sites allow "the assembly" to no longer be defined by physical boundaries.

There's a lot of anti-technology, specifically anti-Internet rhetoric in academia (totally subjective opinion, but that's my impression) as regards community. The concept of having church on the Internet is sure to ruffle quite a few feathers if brought up in the classroom or during community lunch. I'm always on the defending side, and the responses I got when I mentioned I wasn't feeling well are why.

If the church is the body of Christ in the world, does that body need to be together physically in order to be the body? Does Facebook (and MySpace and Twitter et al.) allow for new ways of being the body of Christ in the world? Can you have church on the Internet? What about incarnation - the physical embodiment of the Word that we remember and reinforce with the sacrament of Communion? Can there be a church without a building? What role can/do/should social networking sites play in the global body of Christ?

~peace&blessings~

Voyeurism & Vengeance

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to watch the latest Jason Statham vehicle, Death Race. The film wasn't too original, the script wasn't that compelling, and the ending was fairly predictable. All in all, a pretty traditional U.S. American action flick. It wasn't something I expected to inspire theological reflection; but sometimes I just can't help myself.

There's a pretty detailed plot synopsis here, and my discussion will probably include spoilers, so consider yourself warned.

Death Race is a play off of the gladiatorial story, and toys with our culture's obsession with reality television. You can read about gladiators here, if you're so inclined. Is reality television the 21st century version of the Roman gladiator pits? In Death Race, the question is taken to an extreme. Some other artists have dealt with this same issue: Stephen King's The Long Walk and The Running Man were published in 1979 and 1981, long before the current reality TV craze; Series 7 (2001) was one of the first films to imagine a world where we watched people die on television and enjoyed it. While we could argue that we will never get to that point, how far away are we really?

And, more importantly, as Christians, what is our responsibility in watching reality TV, in watching people suffer and seeing it as entertainment? Is it something we should do? Or is it something we should avoid? I have to admit, there's something that feels wrong when I watch Jon & Kate plus 8 or The Biggest Loser. Even knowing that a lot of what makes the final cut has been edited and manipulated so that I'll feel a certain way towards the characters (actors? personalities? people?), I still think of those people as real. And watching their suffering and passing judgment on them feels wrong.

The other issue that seemed especially vivid for me in this film was the issue of vengeance. I noticed a similar plot device used in two other films I watched recently, Taken and Fast and Furious. In all three films, the (male) protagonist has something horrible happen to his (female) significant other. In Death Race, Jensen's wife is murdered and he's framed for it; in Taken, Bryan Mills' daughter Kim is kidnapped to be sold into sex slavery; and in Fast and Furious Dom's girlfriend Letty is murdered. In all three films, the hero commits horrible violence in order to gain vengeance for this wrong that has been done to him.

We as the audience are okay with this. In Death Race, we know we're supposed to sympathize with Frank, because we see what a good guy he is in the beginning. We know he loved his wife and baby girl, and that the only reason he's going around snapping people's necks and blowing them up is because he's trying to get out so he can be with his baby girl again. We know that Warden Hennessey, with her white clothes, blonde hair and red lipstick, is the enemy, and that even though she doesn't get her hands dirty, she is ultimately responsible for all of the violence that Frank commits. Bryan Mills slaughters countless kidnappers and ignores other victims of the sex trade, all in search of his lost daughter. Dom kills and steals and commits violence, all in the pursuit of the truth of what happened to his precious Letty.

What do we as Christians believe about violence as vengeance? With the very real war in Iraq and Afghanistan, this is not just a question about what movies we watch or books we read. There is something in us that yearns for justice - and yet, we're told to turn the other cheek to someone who slaps us on the right. Christianity is a religion of nonviolence, and yet it has been used to justify violence in the pursuit of vengeance for centuries.

I don't have a lot of answers, but that's not my job. I just like starting conversations. So let's conversate. :)

~peace&blessings~

Pop Culture Pastor Presents...

Welcome to the Pop Culture Pastor blog...a place where, I, your pop culture pastor, will present various phenomena from U.S. American pop culture for your edification, pondering and heated discussion. I'm always open to new ideas, so if there's something you'd like talked about, just hit me up.

A few things to note:

- I will be dealing with mature material, so be forewarned - this will probably get R-rated. My taste in films tends towards horror and quirky humor, not romantic comedies and family films.

- If you decide to comment, and it's hateful or just rude, I reserve the right to delete it. This is a place for open, honest discussion and exploration of the places where pop culture meets theology, not a place for screaming matches across the vast expanse of the interweb.

- I am a pastor working in a United Methodist church; my particular theological framework is primarily Christian. Therefore I'll be reflecting on things from a decidedly Christian perspective. That doesn't mean that other spiritual or religious traditions are unwelcome. But Christianity is the language I speak best, so it's the one I'll use the most.

That's all I can think of for now, but there will be more to come soon enough. Enjoy!

~peace&blessings~