The Religious Dimensions of Popular Music

According to Till (2010), religious songs were traditionally music that referenced religion and were performed within a religious setting. Nowadays, however, it seems that popular music has become the basis of new religious movements. Thus, instead of songs being made for religions, religions are being made out of song genres. This is due to traditional world religions becoming outdated in their approaches to modern day society issues such as sexuality, including contraception and same sex relationships. Youth go to other forms of media, such as music, to address such issues. Therefore, popular cultural values are changing from the original, traditional and religious ones. As traditional religions become irrelevant to a youthful society, new religious movements are created for young people to learn and develop a culture of their own to address contemporary issues (Till, 2010). Take for instance new religious movements that can be defined as pop cults. 

Till (2010) defines pop cults as "popular music based new religious movements" which offer structures of society and codes of behaviour applicable to youth's own preferences. They are the result of a changing culture. Their texts are living, contemporary traditions that reflect the culture that they are set in, rather than written texts which cannot be changed or adapted as in most traditional religions. They are based more upon the behaviours rather than the beliefs - allowing transcendental experiences of the divine through music mediated and controlled by others, such as a DJ. For example, the music genre recognised as "hip hop" is a pop cult.

It is quite intriguing to think of hip hop, or any music genre for that matter, as being a religious movement. According to Clifford Geertz (1912), religion is "religious belief in the midst of ritual, where it engulfs the total person, transporting him into another mode of existence and religious belief' (p.23). Therefore, hip hop is indeed defined as a religious movement, as the power of dance creates a deeper experience of the rap music and leads an adherent into an intensified spiritual, bodily state (Sylvan, 2002).  This transcendent principle is also evident through DJ mixing and rapping, where artists reach an experiential state when rhyming/mixing. They develop a connection with the spiritual power of the words coming through.

Sylvan (2002) raises some interesting ideologies when considering the lives of hip hop “followers.” It is incredibly amazing to consider this type of music to be an outlet, a place for adherents to lose themselves to connect with God. In the midst of poverty, violence, drugs and poor life styles, the rap music and break dancing calms and redirects one’s energy (Sylvan, 2002). One reaches a deeper spiritual aspect where the words they rap come from within the heart and speak for the larger community. It is a self-generated ritual which taps into the deeper parts of an individual to connect with God and the spiritual world (Sylvan, 2002). Here, the spoken word is sacred, supernatural and potent. Additionally, the sense of unity of the dance floor also emphasises a connection to the spiritual world of the new religious movement. Therefore, hip hop provides a sense of community and religious experience in the midst of the music ritual (Sylvan, 2002).

Hip hop, and other music related pop religions, are sources of spiritual awakening in young people’s lives who can no longer connect with outdated, traditional religions. It creates a community that could be responsible for a change in the future world.

References:

Geertz, C (1912). ‘Religion as a Cultural System,’ Part 1 Classical Sociological Definitions of Religion, 16-23. Retrieved from http://ambounds.org/Class/ReligionReading1.pdf

Sylvan R. 2002. Traces of the Spirit: The Religious Dimensions of Popular Music. New York and London: New York University Press. Ch. 6, Message: Rap Music and Hip-Hop culture. 182-213. (RL)

Till, R. 2010. Pop Cult: Religion and Popular Music. London: Continuum International Publishing, Ch. 9, Do You Believe in Rock and Roll. Musical Cults of the Sacred Popular. 168-192. Ebook.

Image Source:

My own drawing of a hip hop dancer.

Cinematic Christ-Figures

In reference to Christopher Deacy, Christ-like figures within film have become a popular cultural phenomenon. Jesus Christ is portrayed within many popular movies such as The Passion of Christ, Ben Hur and Son of God. However, after reading Deacy's article titled "Reflections on the Uncritical Appropriation of Cinematic Christ-Figures: Holy Other or Wholly Inadequate?", it seems that even non-religious films can foreground a Christ-figure. 

Intellectuals have previously anticipated the decline of religions within modern society. As Sigmund Freud privileges within his theory known as "The Future of an Illusion," the illusion that is religion will be outgrown through secularization. However, it can be seen that religion is not dying, but evolving.

Deacy (2006) develops the ideology that there is a connection between religion and film, where film "underlines the universal nature of the biblical texts (para. 5)." He says that characters within movies can take on the traits of Jesus Christ, even in non-religious films. Many of Christ's attributes can be reflected through a Christ-like figure, such as blue eyes, or being referred to using expressions such as "oh God!" or "Jesus Christ!" (Deacy, 2006). 

It is interesting to think that characters whom do not have a religious role can be likened to Christ through various characteristics. Take the superhero, Spiderman, for example. Peter Parker, or Spiderman, has blue eyes and the expression "my God" is repeatedly used throughout the movie. Spiderman can also be somewhat likened to Christ as he knowingly goes into battles, constantly sacrificing himself for his people. This attribute is taken from Christ who willingly put His life on the line for His people's protection. However, does this mean Spiderman is an unconsciously created Christ-like figure? Or has the director chosen a blue-eyed actor on purpose, to marginalise a spiritual aspect?

How far does this likeness to Christ go? Does this mean that all superheroes and action-characters are Christ-like figures? Is there any true meaning or point behind imposing Christian symbolism onto movies? As Pope (2005) states, "to push it thus would serve only to demonstrate [...] the desperation of theologians to find connections with modern culture." Is there any real relationship between Spiderman and Jesus Christ, or is it all a theory to modernise religion? Spiderman, and other such Christ-figure films, alike Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia, do not offer any traditional religious information or teachings. Therefore, does the supposed Chrisitic symbolism just blur the true meaning of the film itself? Or does the theological "saviour" spin on the movie and characters make the film easier for people to understand? Can any film we watch be twisted and analysed to somehow incorporate a Christian element, such as the ideology of good versus evil? 

Are Christ-figures utilised in non-religious films for the purpose of consumption? Are religious traditions mixed with the modern day film industry for the consumer culture, as a business tool (Carrette & King, 2012)? Or, are movies just simply movies, and theologians are using what they have to incorporate a religious twist in modern culture?

Does Spiderman truly reflect the attributes of Jesus Christ?

References:

Carrette, J, and King, R, 2012. Spirituality and the Re-branding of Religion. In Lynch, G, and Mitchell, J, with Strhan, A. Eds., Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. 59-70. London and New York: Routledge

Deacy, Christopher, 2006. Reflections on the Uncritical Appropriation of Cinematic Christ-Figures: Holy Other or Wholly Inadequate? Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 13. Summer. Retrieved from: http://www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/art13-reflectcinematicchrist.html

O'Neil, Mary Kay, and Salman Akhtar, 2009. On Freud's The Future of an Illusion, London: Karnac, Retrieved from: http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.library.uq.edu.au/lib/uqlib/docDetail.action?docID=10419993

Pope, Robert, 2005. Speaking of God and Donald Duck: Realism, Non-Realism and Animation. In Telford, William, Christianson, Eric and Francis, Peter. eds., 167-81. Cinema Divinité: Readings in Film and Theology. London: SCM

Image Source:

My own drawing.

Linde Ivimey

Linde Ivimey's exhibition was personal, reflective and deeply spiritual. Her artworks, dedicated to the theme of "saints and sinners," were truly inspirational; providing a sense of wonder and a feeling of being on an entirely different planet, removing oneself from the art gallery and diving into the meanings and mouldings of the unique sculptures. Her use of bone and other such medium gives the viewer a sense of connection, or oneness with the artwork. We are made of bone, her sculptures are too made of bone. The experience is wonderful and somewhat sacred due to the lighting, shadows and attention to detail. 

One artwork that really stood out is titled The Twelve Apostles. The sculpture privileges twelve men being blindly led by faith. One student used the phrase "the blind leading the blind" to describe the artwork. To me, it defines religion and faith. It is the faith and overwhelming belief to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ as detailed in scripture. She captures each apostles personality, marginalising Judas as the betrayer. Placed on the end of the twelve figures, Judas is seen holding a hanging noose - a symbol of his betrayal. Thus, the work is connected to religion and spirit and faith. It is beautiful, unique and enchanting. It is a personal spin on religion, utilising the famous twelve apostles to do so, people one can connect with through the Bible. This work, to me, is religion. It is faith in God and foregrounds the notion of forgiveness. Judas, although being a betrayer, was forgiven and is still an important part of the religion, connected to the other apostles through hand. It is a wonderful opportunity to explore the spirituality of a religion whose blind faith is the focus. In this case, art is a new pop religion. 

Image source:

My own sketch of Judas within The Twelve Apostles.

Religion as a Medium

In the article titled ‘Religion as a Medium – the Media of Religion,’ (2011) Weibel aims to privilege religion as a characteristic of media. He begins by foregrounding that all religions rely on the written word, through which God exists. In Holy Scriptures, the written word is the voice of the hidden God. Or, Sigmund Freud (1930) defines it as “the voice of an absent person (Weibel, 2011, p.33).” Religion needs writing to be transcendent, too last through space and time. It is the medium of belief, guaranteeing that Jesus existed, that He was the Messiah and the Son of God.

In other words, religion needs media. With the development of media (from written word to electronic media etc), religions also change. Media influences religious change (Hjavard, 2008). For example, nowadays many religious groupings utilise electronic media to foreground the physical presence of religious leaders and to communicate religious news and religious content (e.g. the Bible can be found online etc.). Weibel (2011) states that media is “essentially the technical redemption of the religious promise (p.41).”

It is interesting to think of technical media as taking on the promise of eternal life, a promise of religions. In other words, all media basically adopts the religious promise as a medium. According to the article, religion is the “original medium of all media” (Weibel, 2011, p.41). It is strange, yet somewhat logical to develop the thought that all mediated life has developed because of religion as a medium. Was the computer, and its hard drive, invented from the religious promise of immortality of the soul? Were airplanes and hovercraft vessels developed due to a religious promise of antigravity phenomena such as prophets walking on water? Can scientists convert various substances using chemistry because Jesus could turn water into wine? What would the world be like if there was never any religion?

Due to secularization, there has been a loss of religion in the traditional sense (Weibel, 2011, p.42). Media utilises religious traits, such as the phenomena of repetition, to create a sense of media religiousness. For example, watching your favourite television show every night or checking Facebook every morning when you wake up are untraditional mediated religious rituals. A second form of media utilising religion as a medium, or characteristic, is art. Art “acts as if it were a religion (Weibel, 2011, p.43).” The artist becomes some sort of “god,” a being of creation. Thus, art becomes a rival of religion. However, it takes on religious characteristics to become, in its own sense, a “popular” religion. Hjavard (2008), states that the concept of a popular religion reflects on how religion blurs into popular culture. In this case, religion and spirituality merges into the lives of everyday artists, where art has taken on the role of religion (Elkins, 2007). Therefore, art and other forms of the media can be substitute religions.

Religion needs the media and the media needs religion.

References:

Elkins, J. 2007. Bridging the Gap Between Modern Art and Religion. Artstyle Blog, Nov 30. Received from: http://www.chicagoarts-lifestyle.com/cac-perspectives-can-modern-art-and-religion-get-along/#more-660

Hjarvard, S. 2008. The Mediatization of Religion: A Theory of the Media as Agents of Religious Change. Northern Lights. 6(1). (RL)

Weibel, P. 2011. Religion as a Medium – the Media of Religion. In B Groys and P. Weibel, Eds., Medium Religion: Faith, Geopolitics, Art. 30-43. Kȍln: Verlag der Buchhandlung, Walther Kȍnig. 

Image Source:

My own image.