Interesting Title Here

Globalization and Culture

2005-12-05T01:22:00.000-08:00

Ahhh! Why or why must everyone in the world be the same? The problem with global hybridization is that it makes everyone the same. With mass media we all have the same access to information assuming we have access to the technology that is required to access mass media. However I begin to wonder if an increase in hybridization will lead to an increase in “Ethnic cleansing.” Can we ever be a totally melded society? Even in America “The world’s melting pot” we have groups like the KKK or the Black Panthers or in my grand home state the Michigan Militia. We’ve been thrown together and have a greater diversity than any other country. We’ve been living side by side with other races for much longer and yet we still cannot all live in the same country without hate crimes and such.
Is hybridization even something to be sought after in the first place? I’d have to say no. After having dinner with a fellow co-worker/team member (stupid Target lingo) who grew up in(on) the Pacific Islands who had a totally different life experience that me or exchanging e-mails with a friend who is currently living in South Africa, those different cultures provide such amazing ranges in ideals and beliefs. If we all believed the same thing and had all the same information where would faith come into life? It is through differences that we find out what we believe to be true. How can you ever grow if you’re never stretched outside a specific set of information? It’s simple, you can’t.
Can we stop the juggernaut that is mass media from destroying all culture? I sure hope so.
Again I find myself falling into the trap of seeing only the bad in mass media though. It is through mass media that we share information regarding health improvements and such. Should people be dying of some horrible disease simply to save their culture from being invaded by westernization? Can we offer our help and not impede on their culture? Is it possible to take the advances we have here and use them to help other nations without imposing our culture as well? Where is the line drawn? Who gets to decide what is too much and can you decide that before it’s too late? All these questions, all semester long and still no answers…

I'm dumb

2005-11-26T00:41:00.000-08:00

Just for the record I wrote down my reading wrong so clearly I'm off. Next week I'll post on Globalization and Culture. I should learn how to read some time...

The Weight of the World

2005-11-25T05:21:00.000-08:00

Nothing like some light reading before bed... While I much prefer Foucault or Derrida, Bourdieu has it's redeaming qualities as well...

In reading the section "America as Social Dystopia" I was reminded of a discussion that took place with some friends post literary theory class. The very first topic addressed in this section is "ghettoization" and while it still makes me giggle to remember my upper middle class Harvard grad Literary theory professor using the term ghetto repetitively it brings up an interesting point of main streaming coarse underground culture and making it something desirable. Wacquant sites the word ghetto. How often is the phrase "that's ghetto" used or as he states (at least I think Loїc is a male name) used in terms like "student ghetto." Take a look at the whole rap scene. The things that used to be “underground,” free style rap, beat boxing, gang fights, east side/south side, baggy pants, do rags and bling are now main stream, watered down, socially acceptable, mimicked by wanna be polo with the collar popped wearin’ frat boys (no offence if any of you were in a frat…) driving their daddy’s Lexus pretending to be “hard core”
It totally negates any cultural connection this “scene” had to the roots from which it was created. We take real, authentic expression and dumb it down so the mainstream yuppies can enjoy it and “the man” can make a buck. By taking a culture and changing it to fit into a mold it was never meant to fit into we destroy all that was beautiful and unique about it. We kill culture in order to make it accessible to everyone.
Then the question comes up, does it need to be something that is accessible to everyone? Does rap have any place in high society? By that I don’t mean that rap can’t be part of high society. I mean that high society is not deserving of something like rap. How can people who live in huge houses with security guards and a 10 car garage truly appreciate a song about being broke, living on the floor of an apartment in the projects with two other families, and selling drugs to be able to eat not to mention the crime surrounding every day life. Do the people who haven’t “suffered” at all deserve the enjoyment that rap brings?
I enjoy listening to rap music. Me… being a white, educated female who comes from a good family where my parents are still married to each other, helped me through college, and call me at least every other day to make sure I’m still alive are living in a nice house with a white fence out front (for real) and a good sized back yard. But in all actuality what do I get out of it? Sure I enjoy the beat and the looks I get when I pull into the Starbuck’s parking lot in my button up shirt and khakis listening to 2Pac on but can I relate to the lyrics at all? No… not really… I’ve never been to the ghetto except on mission trips with my church. Yet I’m allowed to venture in through the music which mass media has so nicely mainstreamed for me. I become part of it in my own head and yet I have nothing that would in any way connect me to the people who actually live the life that’s talked about. How fair is that, that I'm allowed to slip into a culture without paying my dues? What other culture can we do that with?

What do Paris Hilton and a frirst year female sem. student working at target have in common?

2005-11-20T20:16:00.000-08:00

As I was reading about the social class in comparison to cultural consumption it got me thinking about the those in our culture that represent high society. The person that came to mind as the epitome of this example of high society consumerism was Paris Hilton. (I will put up front that I am slightly bias against her based on the fact that I think she is representative of everything that is wrong with today’s society so please excuse any rude comments I may interject in the following analysis few thoughts and I'm counting the parenthetical additions in my word count as well.)
Ah Paris Hilton... at the top of the social triangle and the epitome of consumerism. How does one become a top consumer? I'm debating whether it is the one who consumers the most over all or if it is the one who consumes the most without giving anything back.
I did a little search on msn.com and typed in "Paris Hilton" AND charity. I found out she modeled for charity once and donated the majority of her profits from her sex tape to some charity (I don't really know which one it was because the link was actually to buy the tape and I didn't really want to click on it but Tim feel free to check it out for research...) From what I can tell she does little to no charity work and yet feeds off mass media attention mostly for her wild consumer ways which brings me to my next point…
Is she a real person or just a character actor? In IPC Storey talks about Performing identities. Have we become so consumed by mass media images that we can’t separate real lives from those we’re performing? I know that when I’m at work I pretend to be a super happy extra friendly helpful person… my voice even changes and goes up an extra octave. Sometimes when I come home from work I can’t even get out of that character, but I’m only that person for the 39.75 hours a week they schedule me for. What if I had to be that way all the time because photographers were following me? Would I turn into that person? (Thank goodness I don’t have to answer that question!) By our lives being centered around fakeness that we see on tv or in movies and magazines does our authentic self fail to exist? What about pornography? If we spend our lives in a state of fake sexuality do we fail to see the difference between real intimacy and sex? Does the made up reality become more real than real reality? Stuff that in your postmodern literary theorists pipe and smoke it!
It makes me wonder if when I ask guest at my store if I can help them find anything maybe I should offer to help them find the real them and to stop being so driven by the fake images our pop culture provides for us to consume and be lost in. That being said, I’m off to write in my journal and think about if the real me even exists anymore or if Target has stolen my soul.

What role does mass media play in global trade?

2005-11-12T14:02:00.000-08:00

It seems that television and mass media plays a huge role in global trade, but is it a good role? What does television portray that we're selling to other countries? Are we selling our culture along with the rest of the things we sell to other countries? Is that a bad thing? Is our culture something worth buying? I'd have to say in the current state of things here in America I'd have to say no. Like we've been discussing in class Jesus didn’t sell others his culture he met them where they were at. It seems like mass media could be a good resource for meeting people where they are seeing as how far it can reach and yet is the message we're bringing worth relating? Again I'd have to say no. So how do we fix this problem? I feel like this is always the question when it comes to mass media. We've got it, it's a powerful tool and now that it's gone to the dogs how to we get it back and redeem it? The portrayal of Americans in mass media is horrible, and this is want we're exporting to other cultures. Sure it gives the producers and such an extra several million dollars but what does it do for the rest of the world and for our culture? Nothing! I just really feel like we're going in circles when we talk about how the media affects the world. It's bad, we need to fix it but t how do we do that?
Again in college, in one of my classes we discussed what America sells to other countries through our mass media. I remember an interview with an older brother who was talking to news reporters and he was just yelling about how our television had ruined his family through his younger brother. The images of violence he saw he took back to his family and had apparently torn apart the family. At first I thought that he probably lived in an overly conservative family that didn't allow him any freedom but then I realized also that he was maybe 7, and the things he was learning from television, having not grown up on it like I had, was probably more affected by it than I was. It's sad that this is what we're known for in other countries.

2005-11-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

How does television affect war?
Reading this section reminded me of a conflict I had with a professor in college. It was in a pre 1775 literature class and for some reason we were discussing the war in Iraq. She asked us if we were all keeping up on the news of the war. I told her I didn’t like to watch news on the war and she kicked me out of class. She told me to go back to my room and rethink my priorities. She didn’t even ask me why. I had three very good friends fighting in Iraq and every time I turned on the TV there was more news of people dying. It was hard to deal with just knowing they were over there much less be able to compare where the battles were in comparison to where my friends were. So it got me thinking, does television help or hurt more in regards to broadcasting war?
I’m still undecided if ignorance is bliss or if being in the know is better. How do we know if television has taken the broadcasting of war too far? How much is healthy to know about and what are the lines between hiding information from the public, keeping us informed and completely over saturating us with information? Is it healthy to watch news on war twenty-four hours a day? Who gets to make that call, the mother who’s son is in Baghdad or the billionaire news tycoon who makes big bucks keeping a 24 hour news watch on the “action”?
If you look at the chart on page 134 of Global Transformation in the category of Geopolitics with the progression of early forms of mass media the world in terms of war digresses in to “total war.” The connection caused by mass media created the possibility of mass competition or as it’s stated “Global rivalry.” Without mass media what would our world be like? Do we know too much to be able to live peacefully anymore? How much does information from mass media affect our society and how we view other societies?
I watched a documentary called “Faces of the Enemy” about the dehumanization of the enemies of America as shown through things like political ads and cartoons. Take a look at some of the earlier Newsweek cartoons. Why do we need to project our enemies with such inhuman characteristics? I know the answer is because it’s so much easier to hate something that we don’t see as human. It’s easier to support a war against the devil or against monsters than it is against someone else’s dad or mom, brother or sister, friend.
So now what do we do about it? What do Jesus followers do about war, about war on television, about the mass media’s dehumanization of those we’re fighting?

The last 10

2005-10-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

Television Baby Sitter -- Gone Parents
It would be nice if we could turn our kids over to television without worrying that they're going to be picking up all kinds of things that aren't good for them. Unfortunately we can't.

This site includes tips on how and when to use TV as a baby sitter and compares it to the standards that most parents use in picking out an actual baby sitter. It's an interesting comparison.

The Electronic Babysitter
I don't know about you, but I certainly do not want my child to end up this way! Our children are precious resources! Don't let television be a substitute for good parenting. The TV does have an off button, don't be afraid to use it.

Discusses the impact tv has on children from the point of view of a daycare provider. It discusses the false sense of security a parent might feel by allowing their children to watch children’s programming and how those can be even more violent than prime time TV.

Power Ranger Central

Check out the downloadable wallpapers... it goes from friends hugging to fighting to villains with low-cut costumes. Why does a villain in a children’s television show need a low cut outfit?

Is that really necessary? What are we showing kids?

Will Sponge Bob make you gay?

Conservative Christian groups are up in arms about a small yellow pike of sponge. This site has a link to the alleged "pro-homosexual" clip. I would have watched it again but I was too busy playing Sponge Bob's Bubble Bustin' game

Odd though... busting bubbles... sounds like a dirty joke... probably a homosexual one at that. Uh oh what does that say about me?

Desperate Housewives

Ah yes, in last weeks episode we have a wife suspected of murder, a mother keeping her child locked up in the basement, an embezzling book editor, and a sleazy lawyer who wants to sleep with his client’s wife, who has already cheated on her husband with the gardener. I have it on tape if anyone wants to see it...

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

The show on before desperate housewives! Check out the video clips. It's enough to make you cry. This is quality programming. It's people helping out other people. People donate their time, money, supplies, anything they can to help a family in need. No one is there for themselves (maybe a little free publicity). I'd recommend this site for our wiki as a good example of quality programming. (I also have the end of one on tape...)

Sex and the City
All that is wrong with America today...

So I went to a site about a network of shows and there wasn't a single half naked women or dirty comment alas a safe site I can access from Fuller's library. Sadly the cover story for women's basketball isn't about sports at all... it's about sexual orientation.

Ten Sources and a side comment or two

2005-10-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

Noise
For those of you who aren't familiar with Rob Bell, he's a Fuller grad that's preaching at a church called Mars Hill in Grandville, Michigan. He puts together short DVD sermons. Currently there are 10 available. The one that really hit me as applicable as I focus on the impact of TV on our society is Noise. It talks a lot about how, as a society, we're constantly surrounded by noise. The TV is always on at home, in the car the radio is the first thing most people turn on. Why are we so afraid to just be in silence? How can we hear God, much less anybody else when we don't take the time to just be quiet?

"We’re constantly surrounded with “voices” that are influencing us on how to think, feel, and behave."

Guiding Your Family in a Misguided World
This book provides parenting guides to those seeking to provide sound guidance to their children in a world that is saturated with the messages the media throws at them.

Battle Cry for a Generation

"The fight to save America's Youth"

I'm in the process of getting a complete copy of this book but it talks about taking back a generation that is being attacked by the media's message from all sides. I'll know more when I actually have a copy in my hands but it looks like it could be really good.

Violence on Television

Provides information about the effects of violence on children. Offers suggestions for parents to help them guard their children against over exposure to violence. This article suggests that parents flat out ban any television program that is too violent. In thinking about how Christians respond to media, can we simply just ban anything that is inappropriate and hope for the best? Do we have a duty to help clean up media for everyone? Who get's to decide what too much violence is?

Bobo doll Experiment

Albert Bandura's psychological experiment showing both the short term and long term effects of violent media on both children and adults. Interesting study depending on how in depth we want to go with how media affects individuals.

Family Safe Media
Check out some of the tools on this site. There is a device that limits the amount of tv a kid can watch per week. At first I though... hmmm... good tool. But then I started to think... this is just another thing that can make parents feel good about "protecting" their kids without actually putting any of their effort into actually interacting with the kids? They set the limits and the machine does the rest. The parents never actually have to check up on the kids. The machine does it for them. This provides a way to make the kids keep the rules without the nasty side effect of actually having to enforce the rules yourself. Is this as sad as I think it is or am I just pessimistic tonight?

Parental TV
See rant above for thoughts on this life saving device!

(just changed the cd in my diskman from Kanye West to John Mayer in hopes to quell agitation that seems to be arising after looking at "better parenting" technology, and yes I'm fully aware that I could be doing this without music like I suggested in my first source...)

Television Captioning Censorship Hurts Family Values
An interesting perspective against captioning censorship (over clarification in case you couldn't read the above clearly typed title of this article). Is censorship always the proper answer? Didn't this family values based decision just piss off a lot of people who will more than likely have a very poor view of family values based decisions from now on? What does this tell us about forming a Christian based response to mass media?

Family Guide to TV Viewing

"Because our children are watching"

Check out the cartoon at the top right hand of this page. I feel like that says all I could say about MTV and life as a female. One look at it says volumes of the impact that one channel (MTV) has on the lives of females everywhere not to mention the impact it has on men (practically porn). Take some time to look around this site and see if it's a possibility for one to add to the wiki. The only problem is that it isn't faith based. It's only based on people who want to be good parents. Is this a problem?

Oh yeah, and I went to the lunch dailogue today. In all honesty I never really thought about mission work directed towards Jewish people. It's a sad thing, I fully accept that, however I greatly appreaciated the point made about telling someone "you can be saved except 50 generations of your family before you are all in Hell." I thought it was a very intersting point about weither the "Good News" was good news to everyone.

Second set

2005-10-12T20:16:00.000-07:00

10 New Posts

http://www.ctnonline.com/
The Christian Television Network:
Interesting point: Includes and guide to, and prayer of salvation on their site.
Lots of resources for prayer requests but not so much information about their product or where to find it. Check specifically on the sky angel link.

http://www.christian.tv/

http://www.tct-net.org/
It took me 15 minutes to figure out what TCT even stood for. If someone was looking at this site as a resource they’d leave before they could find anything. All in all a very unsuccessful site. Probably one I’ll be forgetting when it comes to our Wiki.

http://www.cta.uk.com/mission.asp

http://www.skyangel.com/

http://www.acctv.com.au/

http://www.octelevision.net/

http://www.miraclechannel.ca/
Includes a school of TV missions... something to check out in more depth later.

http://www.higherpraise.com/Television.htm
This site was actually fun to play around on. It had a lot of information about praise songs and guitar chords. There were also pages of christian clip art, audio sermons, Sunday school ideas and tons of other stuff. There are several links to christian programming which I’ll be looking at closer in future postings. This site kept my attentioni for a while. However whenever I clicked on a line I was bombarded with pop up ads and it pulled me away from what I was looking at. Stupid pop up ads!

http://www.ucb.co.uk/index.cfm?sectionid=6

A glance at a few verses I looked at:

An interesting group of verses to look at for this would be 1 Corinthians 8:1-13. Possibly something to focus on could be what strong Christians who don’t struggle with the influence of media have to be careful of when around those who are. If I’m watching tv and whatever is on doesn’t phase me or cause me to stumble in my walk but the person I’m watching it with stumbles then I’m still responsible for their sin. I put that stumbling block out there for them.

Also in regards to “chick porn” there’s Song of Songs 3:5 “Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”
While men have their form of porn, women have theirs too. It’s incredibly dangerous when we (being females) pursue relationships with people when it is against God’s will. It takes up time that should be devoted to serving and pursuing God. Yet when we see these types of displays of affection we naturally desire the same and will look for it in places we are not supposed to.

First 10 resources

2005-10-06T15:47:00.000-07:00

http://www.xxxchurch.com/
A site devoted to Christians who are addicted to porn

http://www.christianmedianetwork.com/
Christian Media Network-

http://www.christianmedia.org/
Christian Media Association (CMA)
"Capturing the media for Jesus Christ"

http://www.whiteboydj.com/
Southpaw- Christian Speaker, comedian and DJ (Took Sir Mix A Lot's "Baby Got Back" and changed the words to "Baby Got Book") A must see/listen for anyone who's investigating Christianity and today's pop culture!

http://www.aap.org/family/mediaimpact.htm
Understanding the impact of media on children and Teens

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/familyworks/values-04.html
Effects of Violence on Television Can Impact Family Values

http://atheism.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=atheism&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.geocities.com%2FAthens%2F3682%2Ffundies.html
An atheistic view on the Christian family

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Values_Tour
Information regarding the "Family Values Tour" Feat. such wonderful artists as Limp Bizket, Orgy, and KoRn. Why pick that title for their tour...?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0719062683/104-3308120-3709513?v=glance&n=283155&s=books&v=glance
Beginning theory- for more information on Foucault (as introduced in class) also information regarding literary theory and cultural materialism (I own the book if you're interested in it)

http://www.contemporaryfamilies.org/
Council on Contemporary Families
-a site devoted to the many different types of contemporary families, an interesting site to see how many different "types" of families there are in today’s society. How did/does media play into this?

The first

2005-09-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hey friends,
This is Martha. I'm in my first year at Fuller. I grew up in Michigan and went to Hope College (also in Michigan). If you want I can show you where it is on my hand some time. I was born and raised in the RCA (Reformed Church in America), went to an RCA college and spent three summers working at an RCA camp. What I really hope to take from this class is an understanding of the power our culture has and how we as Christians can impact and manipulate it to create a better society for young people to grow up in, in terms of the values the culture imposes on them.