Sunday, October 7, 2007
case studies
howdy y'all! I was just thinking that since the case studies are due this week on thursday, it might be cool if we could proof-read each others papers. its just an idea but i think it would help cuz when other people look at ur work they catch things that you might not originally see. let me know what you think!
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4 comments:
Sounds like a good idea.
But I can't contribute any of my time till after my Italian quiz Tuesday night - I need a good grade to get my average up in that class :\ I'm gonna try to crank out my 2 reports by Wednesday though.
I'm gonna do the same --- hopefully i'll be successful! Good luck on ur Italian quiz!
SIMPSONS
1) Case Study Summary – brief summary of case study based on the reading and in-class presentation, remember to cite sources when you quote specific materials. (PR:6)
- The case study involving the Christian Century was not at all surprising. There were some, like Morrison, who reacted to the television as many parents reacted to Elvis Presley. He believed that the “decline of Protestant influence [was linked] to the rise of commercial entertainment” (Rosenthal, 142). This negative reaction was understandable to something new. Eventually the positive aspect came into light: if the advertisers saw the television as an influential tool for their products, it could work the same for religion as well. Television helped transform domestic religion. But again arose a problem when, although some of the programs proved TV as good, there were commercials and other images that were questionable and possibly dangerous for viewers. TV as good entertainment was not accepted, and so its “potential contribution…lay in the realms of politics and education” (Rosenthal, 147). However, there was a Protestant fear of / rivalry with the Roman Catholic Church, and Catholicism was blamed, as well as Secularism, for censorship and other issues. For a while, in the 1950s, the answer was abstinence from all television. But by the late 1960s, it was recognized as an “important shaper of social values”, even though it still promoted violence (Rosenthal, 154). Though the Christian Century was not a full supporter of the television, they did see its positive qualities. Unfortunately the negative issues outweighed the positive aspects for mainline Protestantism.
2) Discussion Response – share highlights of your group’s interaction based on the set of questions for each week
- In my group we discussed the positive portrayal of The Simpson’s from the religious aspect. They go to church every Sunday, and there are many characters with many different religious affiliations in the show as well: Jewish, Hindu, etc. Though from the surface they might seem like a dysfunctional family, The Simpson’s are actually very family-based – a Protestant value; in fact, a value in many religions. We talked about how there are some people/religions that may find the TV show offensive, depending on the episode, because it seems to put down a particular religion. The show is not making fun of religion, it is reaffirming it; and it is possible that a lot of the writers and producers of the TV series have religious backgrounds as well as their viewers. Religious satire is just a part of what makes the show humorous.
3) Reflection / Critical Thinking about Application to Course Themes – respond to the relevant questions:
A) What do you learn from this case study about how religious groups respond to media?
- I have learned that when religious groups respond to media, they cover every single possible outcome. They make something that seems like a simple issue to the naked eye become a sometimes decade-long debate about how its helpful toward their community, how it is potentially harmful, and probably many other things I do not want to think about. When it is one religious person that must make a personal decision, they will do what is best for them, but it is so hard to please a vast group of personal preferences while still remaining true to their faith.
B) What do you learn from this case study about how media producers frame / present religion?
- Media producers frame and present religion in a way that is suitable to, in the case of The Simpson’s, a very multi-cultural and multi-religious viewing audience. They not only equally praise, but equally satirize certain aspects of each religion.
MATRIX
1) Case Study Summary – brief summary of case study based on the reading and in-class presentation, remember to cite sources when you quote specific materials. (MR:15)
- The chapter from the book gave seven different ways of interpreting films. James Wall saw films as artistic, somewhat religious, but he tried to see the creator’s vision through use of basic elements such as plot. John May seemed a bit wishy-washy in his approaches; he had three: heteronomy, theonomy, and autonomy. Heteronomy saying “literature should be judged by Christian faith,” theonomy was based on the “belief that literature and religion are unable to judge each other,” and autonomy should be confined to “the language of film itself” (Nolan, 171). Neil Hurley chose to “develop a ‘cinematic theology’ specific to each given theme” (Nolan, 172). Larry J. Kreitzer basically said that the Bible influences art and vice versa, in turn reinforcing both. Robert Jewett believed that “contemporary Americans are shaped more by popular culture than by formal education or religious training” (Nolan 174), and his theory coincides with May’s autonomy approach. Martin and Ostwalt had three critiques: theological, mythological, and ideological. They believed that “religion and film are independent modes implicated in the search for meaning” (Nolan 176). And finally, Steve Nolan preferred the theory of interpreting film as film, “regarding film as experience rather than text” (Nolan, 177).
2) Discussion Response – share highlights of your group’s interaction based on the set of questions for each week
- When my group started discussing the movie clip from The Matrix our group leader could not stop thinking of religious symbols: Neo as Jesus, Morpheous as a God figure, the bald guy as Judas…and those are only characters. Neo’s choice of the blue pill or the red represented the choice of all humans: the right to choose even their own religion. And maybe when he is released from his human cocoon and raised up into the ship, that could represent his salvation. The concept about what is ‘real’ that Morpheous explains to Neo may reference the fact that though you cannot see or hear or touch God, that does not mean He does not exist. And that is all simply from a Christian perspective. From the mythological perspective the machines could be seen as the Greek gods – feared by all mankind. Many of the Greek gods were feared by mortals, their power was absolute, they treated humans as disposable toys, and yet they needed them to have someone to rule over. And, from the Buddhist perspective, I again mention the concept of ‘real’ because it relates back to the belief that the world is an illusion, or maya. There is, later in the movie, the boy that can bend a spoon with his mind… but to the boy, “there is no spoon”, which gives humans the ability to change the world around them with the power of thought. Also, when Neo touches the mirror and it seems to envelope him, maybe that is the realization brought to life that the world is a mirror image and Neo was about to see the world as it really was. Wall would interpret this film by looking at it as art, and the vision and message of the artist. However, May might try to interpret the film using a basis of literature. Media producers may construct or portray a popular religion by using symbols/metaphors/figures that the audience relates to easily, and they might incorporate ideas from other religions to add spice to the film; but they always seem to Hollywood the film somehow for dramatic effect.
3) Reflection / Critical Thinking about Application to Course Themes – respond to the relevant questions:
A) What do you learn from this case study about how religious groups respond to media?
- There are so many different approaches and so many different religious groups out there it is difficult to sum up. Basically, each group will find the symbols that can be related to their religion and interpret the film based on that criteria. However, some may see that the film was made from a combination of religious ideals and in turn choose to exclude/ignore/ban the film.
B) What do you learn from this case study about how media producers frame / present religion?
- Media producers frame / present religion in a way that will touch as many people as they can, because the greater the audience, the greater the chance of success of the movie.
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